Photo: Petar Milošević / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
John Deere is based across the river in Moline, Illinois, but much of its work happens in Iowa. It builds tractors in Waterloo, cotton pickers and sprayers at its Des Moines Works in Ankeny, and engines and drivetrains in Waterloo. Its Dubuque plant builds construction equipment.
The company traces to 1837, when blacksmith John Deere built a steel plow in Grand Detour, Illinois, that could cut through prairie sod.
Deere has pushed into technology, with GPS guidance, self-driving tractors and See & Spray, which uses cameras to spot weeds and spray only them. It owns most of Clarion’s Hagie Manufacturing.
UAW workers at Deere went on strike in 2021 for five weeks before agreeing to a new contract.
Curt Hanneman writes for Clarion News Online.