Deere transporter Adrian Carriers expands shipping outreach

We were back on the road today — first, to Milan, Illinois and then back on Rt. 84 to Savanna. It was an interesting chance to learn more about Adrian Carriers.

The local Quad City based company opened back in 1978. These days, it offers the largest container yard between Chicago and Omaha.

It’s really a busy place. The company moves up to 250 containers a day for firms like Deere & Company, ADM, Pioneer and many others.

Now, it’s ready to expand in Savanna, Illinois. Adrian Carriers will create a facility for shipping containers inside the former Savanna Army Depot.

With access to trucking and the BNSF rail line, it’s a lower cost alternative for importers and exporters.

Adrian Carriers hopes to create up to 25 new jobs in the Quad Cities and Savanna. They hope to have the Savanna operation running by July 2011.

That’s good news for the local economy and a region that knows about dealing with tough times.

Deere and the living Iowa landscape

I’ve been making a lot of drives north on Highway 61 lately. This time of year, harvest season, the rolling fields of corn and soybeans looks especially interesting.

I’m keeping an eye on them before the big Deere combines roll through the fields for another season. It’s really a snapshot in time.

It’s easy to see why Grant Wood picked this region to do a large chunk of his painting. The rural images in his work turn into a real-life landscape.

I can imagine him capturing these scenes in Jackson and Dubuque Counties. While times have certainly changed, this landscape looks much the same. And this time of year, it’s a beautiful sight.

Deere hosts “Illinois is Broke” seminar

The Deere & Company headquarters hosted some 30 local business leaders and the group, Illinois is Broke, on Tuesday.

The group is offering a non-partisan call to action for budget reform linked to the state’s pension and retiree health care system.

“In 10 years, it’s estimated that all of those pension funds will be out of money,” said Jim Farrell, retired chairman and CEO of Illinois Tool Works.

Moline Mayor Don Welvaert knows about the impact. Moline now pays 44% of its payroll on police and fire pensions. That’s up from 17% in 2000.

“I think we need to do something very soon in the line of pension reform, or we’re not going to have any money to operate the city,” he said.

For more information, check out the website, http://www.illinoisisbroke.com.

Deere lays of 55 in North Dakota

It won’t be a very pleasant weekend for 55 employees at the Valley City plant. That’s after John Deere Seeding Group made the cuts permanent due to an unexpected downturn in market conditions.

That leaves the Valley City location with about 225 workers, where it makes air seeders and other equipment.

John Deere is horsing around at Equestrian Games

John Deere will be the official equipment sponsor at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. That’s a long title for a horse competition.

It takes place from Saturday to October 10, in Lexington, Kentucky. That’s prime horse country, of course, and home to some pretty good looking Kentucky Bluegrass.

Deere will provide a variety of grounds care equipment, and some of it will remain onsite at the Kentucky Horse Park after the event.

Deere will also support many pre-event elements and serve as the title sponsor of the Reining competition during the 2010 Games.

Survey Says: Farmers Optimistic About Ag Economy

With the roar of combines cutting through rows of corn these days also comes good news from a survey: U.S. farmers are more optimistic about their financial situation than they were in April.

That’s the finding from a survey-based index produced by DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

According to DTN’s editor-in-chief, that positive report may help to spark sales of Deere & Company tractors.

Net-farm income will climb 24% this year thanks to expanded livestock sales and exports pushing crop prices higher.

Deere stock records pleasing level

It should be good news for the farm economy. Deere & Company recently recorded a new 52-week high at $72.47. The stock climbed more than 4% on a volume of 6.51 million shares.

Deere, of course, operates in agriculture and turf, construction and forestry, and credit. It also provides wholesale financing to dealers, operating loans and finances retail revolving charge accounts.

On the road again with this early harvest

I felt a bit like the popular Willie Nelson tune as we were “On the Road Again” to rural Warren County. That’s where we visited the Monsanto Agronomy Center.

On Wednesday, a group of visiting farmers from a variety of southern states stopped by on a tour with the Illinois Corn Growers Association. Everybody was really nice, and it was a great morning to be outside.

Not far away, a combine was busy in action at Rob Elliott’s farm just outside Monmouth, Illinois. After a rough beginning to the growing season with excessive rain, warmer than normal temperatures this summer are leading to an early harvest.

While it’s great to be out in the fields with good weather now, the impact earlier this year is expected to cut into yields. Elliott warns that this won’t be a bumper crop.

“We’ve been blessed in this area the last couple of years with very high yields,” he said. “This year, we’ll be back below average probably.”

So far, Illinois farmers have harvested about a quarter of the corn crop in central and eastern Illinois. That’s well above the five year average and way ahead of the late harvest in 2009.

Waterloo’s Fall Fest is a hit for Deere and community

Waterloo just completed a busy weekend of viewing Deere memorabilia, checking out vintage machines and getting a close-up look at Deere’s TechWorks operation.

From the newspaper’s description, it looks like everybody had a good time.

According to the Waterloo Falls Courier, thousands of people visited over the three-day run. No word yet if Fall Fest will be back in Waterloo or a one-time deal.

Early harvest keeps Deere running

Our drive back from St. Louis on Wednesday turned into a real fact-finding mission. There were lots of Deere combines in fields, kept busy harvesting corn. The combines were out in places like Litchfield and Lincoln, Peoria and Galesburg.

While on a story Thursday, I ran into one of the University of Illinois Extension Service staffers at a Bureau County farm. He told me that harvest is running about three weeks early this year.

With plenty of sunshine and dry weather to enjoy most of this week, it’s easy to see why farmers are busy keeping their Deere running. It’s always a great sight and a sure sign that fall is just around the corner.