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Deere and Co, the owners of the John Deere tractor brand, has reviewed its earnings forecast for the financial year to October, saying it will finish at about US$1.9 billion despite sales having fallen by 19% in the year so far, not 17% as previously forecast.
Earnings Feb-April dropped 30% to US$690.6 million, on revenues down 20% to US$ 7.40b, much less than forecast.
Samuel Allen, chairman and chief executive, said “JD expects to be solidly profitable in 2015 despite a pullback in the farm machinery sector. All in all we remain confident in the company’s direction and our ability to meet our customers’ needs.”
First quarter results were noteworthy in light of the weakness blighting the global agricultural sector.
Deere agricultural sales fell 25% to US$ 5.77b; the construction division gained 2% to finish at US$ 1.63 billion.
Lower commodity prices and falling farm incomes put pressure on demand for agricultural machinery, particularly larger items such as combine harvesters and large tractors traditionally bought by Canadian and North American grain farmers.
Deere predicts the market in Brazil will fall by 15-20% due to economic uncertainty and the high-interest government loans normally used to fund agriculture.
The Canadian and US markets look likely to fall by only 25% as the the livestock sector show signs of rallying on the back of low grain prices.
The 2026 delivery of their thirteenth John Deere tractor marks a relationship with the brand that goes back over 40 years, in a business that was first registered in 1963 and a family enterprise that dates back over one hundred years.
A long way from when AI meant plunging a plastic-covered arm armpit deep up a cow’s rear, John Deere has shown off its new artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, aptly called JD, which aims to simplify data processing on farms.
Leading John Deere technicians and apprentices from New Zealand and Australians were recognised at the recent sixth annual JD Technician of the Year Awards, held in Brisbane.
Gareth Hale is the current custodian of a 160-year legacy that saw his great grandfather dairying in Taranaki since the mid-1850s and grandfather dairying in the Waikato from the early 1900s.
Developed in Australia and launched in 2021, John Deere’s See & Spray Select System uses camera-based green-on-brown technology to identify living green plant matter in fallow paddocks and apply herbicide only where it is needed.
As part of its Election 2026 coverage, Rural News asked political parties how they would help pull the arable sector out of the doldrums. Here's what they said:
Farmers are being encouraged to rethink how they manage waste on farm with the launch of ruralwastesorted.co.nz, a new website bringing together practical tips, real farmer experiences and resources.
New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) is celebrating the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) coming into force today, bringing New Zealand wine improved access to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
New Zealand’s red meat sector has welcomed the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement taking effect, which removes India’s 33% tariff on New Zealand sheepmeat.
More than 95 per cent of New Zealand’s forestry and wood exports to India can now enter tariff free as the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement comes into force today.
Federated Farmers is backing Feilding High School’s call to keep Agriculture and Horticultural Science as a standalone subject in Year 11.
