Deere and Company bucks the national economic downtrend. Moline-based Deere and Company is the world’s largest farm machinery maker, and that global presence fueled the company’s financial performance in the third quarter. Deere executives yesterday said the quarter’s profits doubled due to a sales surge in Europe. Overseas sales were up 41 percent. Ag equipment sales overall were up 14 percent. Sales in the company’s commercial and consumer products division — including sales of Deere lawn care products — jumped 11 percent. Deere spokesman Greg Derrick says Deere’s strong financial performance was also due to “cost controls” to reduce expenses. The company’s predicting slackening ag equipment sales in North America due to the poor growing season in much of the corn belt, but Derrick says the company seesseveral hopeful signs in the farm economy: improving commodity prices, more liberal tax allowances for farm equipment purchases and the higher federal payments in the new Farm Bill.
