Wheat Harvest

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Wheat Harvest

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R A W M

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Description

Deere & Company (brand name John Deere), is an American corporation and manufactures agricultural, construction, and forestry machinery, diesel engines, drive trains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment. In 2013, it was listed as 85th in the Fortune 500 America's ranking and 307th in the Fortune Global 500 ranking.[3]

John Deere also provides financial services and other related activities.

Deere is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols DE.The company's slogan is "Nothing Runs Like a Deere", and logo is a leaping deer, with the words 'JOHN DEERE' under it. The company uses different logo colors for agricultural vs. construction products. The company's agricultural products are identifiable by a distinctive shade of green paint, augmented by yellow trim.


History
19th century

Deere & Company began when John Deere, born in Rutland, Vermont, USA on February 7, 1804, moved to Grand Detour, Illinois in 1836 in order to escape bankruptcy in Vermont. Already an established blacksmith, Deere opened a 1,378 square feet (128 m2) shop in Grand Detour in 1837 which allowed him to serve as a general repairman in the village, as well as a manufacturer of small tools such as pitchforks and shovels. Small tools was just a start, the item that set him apart, was cast-steel plow, , which was pioneered in 1837. Prior to Deere's steel plow, most farmers used iron or wooden plows which stuck to the rich Midwestern soil and had to be cleaned frequently. The smooth sided steel plow solved this problem, and greatly aided migration into the American Great Plains in the 19th and early 20th century.

The traditional way of doing business was to make the product as it was ordered. This style was a lot slower and less efficient. Deere quickly realized that this wasn't going to work so he increased his plow production by manufacturing plows, and then putting them up for sale. This allowed customers to see what they were buying beforehand. Not only was it good for business it was a lot more convenient for the customers. Word of the product began to spread quickly.

In 1842, Deere entered a business partnership with Leonard Andrus and purchased land for the construction of a new two-story factory along the Rock River in Illinois. This factory, named the "L. Andrus Plough Manufacturer", produced about 100 plows in 1842 and approximately 400 plows during the next year. Deere's partnership with Andrus ended in 1848, and Deere relocated to Moline, Illinois in order to have access to the railroad and the Mississippi River. There, Deere formed a partnership with Robert Tate and John Gould and built a 1,440 square feet (134 m2) factory the same year. Production rose quickly, and by 1849, the Deere, Tate & Gould Company was producing over 200 plows a month. A two story addition to the plant was built, allowing further production.

Deere bought out Tate and Gould's interests in the company in 1853, and was joined in the business by his son Charles Deere. In 1857, the company's production totals reached almost 1,120 implements per month. In 1858, a nationwide financial recession took a toll on the company. To prevent bankruptcy, the company was reorganized and Deere sold his interests in the business to his son in law, Christopher Webber, and his son, Charles Deere, who would take on most of his father's managerial roles. The company was reorganized again in 1868, when it was incorporated as Deere & Company. The company's original stockholders were Charles Deere, Stephen Velie, George Vinton, and John Deere, who served as president of the company until 1886. Despite this, it was Charles who effectively ran the company. In 1869, Charles began to introduce marketing centers and independent retail dealers to advance the company's sales nationwide.

In 1853 Deere bought out Tate and Gould�s interest in the company and his son was able to join him in the family business. At that time, the company was manufacturing a variety of farm equipment products in addition to plows; including wagons, corn planters and cultivators.In the 1890�s the company even made a few bicycles, however the core focus remained on the agricultural implements.
20th century
John Deere Plow & Cultivators Co.'s New Orleans House, 1903

Increased competition during the early 1900s from the new International Harvester Company led the company to expand its offerings in the implement business, but it was the production of gasoline tractors which would come to define Deere & Company's operations during the twentieth century. In 1912, Deere & Company president William Butterworth (Charles' son-in-law), who had replaced Charles Deere after his death in 1907, began the company's expansion into the tractor business. Deere & Company briefly experimented with its own tractor models, the most successful of which was the Dain All-Wheel-Drive, but in the end decided to continue its foray into the tractor business by purchasing the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company in 1918, which manufactured the popular Waterloo Boy tractor at its facilities in Waterloo, Iowa. Deere & Company continued to sell tractors under the Waterloo Boy name until 1923, when the John Deere Model D was introduced. The company still manufactures most of its tractors in Waterloo, Iowa.

On an episode of the Travel Channel series "Made in America" that profiled Deere & Company, host John Ratzenberger stated that the company never repossessed any equipment from American farmers during the Great Depression.[6]
A John Deere-Lanz 700 tractor

In 1956, Deere & Company bought-out the German tractor manufacturer, Heinrich Lanz AG (see Lanz Bulldog).
This section is incomplete. (October 2011)
21st century

As of 2014, Deere & Company employed approximately 67,000 people worldwide, of which half are in the United States and Canada, and is the largest agriculture machinery company in the world. In August 2014 the company announced it was indefinitely laying off 600 of its workers at plants in Illinois, Iowa and Kansas due to less demand for its products.[7] Inside the United States, the company's primary locations are its administrative center in Moline, Illinois and manufacturing factories in central and southeastern United States

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