Deere takes a hit as farm economy weakens
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Deere takes a hit as farm economy weakens
Aug 13, 8:37 AM EDT
MOLINE, Ill. (AP) -- Deere's third-quarter profit fell 15 percent and the farming equipment maker believes that the same weak sales at home and abroad will cut into earnings for the entire year.
Chairman and CEO Samuel Allen said Wednesday that the company will be scaling back for the remainder of the year to bring production more "in line with demand for our agricultural products."
With commodity prices falling, the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February predicted that farm income in 2014 would sink to levels not seen in four years.
That is cutting into the spending power of farmers and hitting companies like Deere, the world's biggest farm equipment supplier.