Profits were up in Deere and Company’s third-quarter and Deere spokesman Ken Golden says it’s the tenth-straight quarter in which the company’s out-performed the previous year. He credits two factors for the strong performance.He says markets are strong — all equipment divisions have had strong sales, and he says employees have also “worked very hard to improve the business.” Golden says people sometimes think of Deere and Company as just a farm-implement maker, but it has significant business in lawn care, forestry and other consumer items. He says the farm-equipment sector in the US took a downturn before the rest of the economy and as it was already beginning to improve, Deere also saw improvement begin in its construction-equipment group, forestry products and consumer items. While the company spokesman doesn’t make predictions, he will say Deere anticipates no change from the steady improvements as it enters its fourth quarter this year. They’ve projected higher return on investment this whole year than originally expected — and he says good business means steady employment.