Why Deere Is Weeding Out Dealers Even as Farms Boom†

Some Veteran Retailers Feel Betrayed By Shift; 'We Are Not a Family'

Wall Street Journal, August 14, 2007 — For more than a century, Deere & Co. has relied on dealers to sell its iconic John Deere tractors and other farm equipment. Deere dealers like to brag that they "bleed green," the company's trademark color.

But even as the farm boom helps Deere harvest record profits, dozens of North American dealerships are getting sent out to pasture, including some that have passed through families for generations. Chief Executive Robert Lane says times have changed. In an age when tractors use satellites to track the location of every seed, he says, dealers must match the sophistication and size of agribusiness customers.

Steering Deere Clear of "Commodity Hell"

Chief Executive Robert Lane says investment in a new breed of GPS-guided machinery will keep the company—and profits—on the cutting edge

BusinessWeek, November 22, 2006 — Deere & Co. was founded on innovation. The maker of agriculture, construction, and grounds-keeping equipment opened in 1837 when John Deere, a Vermont blacksmith who had resettled in Illinois, came up with a breakthrough product: a steel plow that, unlike earlier iron models, could slice through the rich soil of America's prairies.

Emerging Giants

BusinessWeek, July 31, 2006 — How multinational companies are eclipsing household brand names in US market

For Now, Focus is more on Innovation than on Budget Cuts†

Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2006 — Managers are focused more on new creative technologies to save money