Deere & Company
Company History
John Deere History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1837 in Grand Detour, United States
When was John Deere founded?
John Deere was founded in 1837 in Grand Detour, United States by John Deere, making it 189 years old.
- Founded
- 1837
- Founding place
- Grand Detour, United States
- Founders
- John Deere
- Headquarters today
- Moline, Illinois
- Milestones documented
- 12 (1837–2026)
- Current CEO
- John C. May
- Acquisitions
- 4
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1837 | John Deere Founds the Company |
| 1837 | Steel Plow Invented |
| 1848 | Move to Moline |
| 1918 | Waterloo Boy Tractor Company Acquired |
| 1958 | Deere & Company Incorporated |
| 2000 | Robert W. Lane becomes CEO |
| 2009 | Samuel R. Allen becomes CEO |
| 2017 | Wirtgen and Blue River Deals |
| 2019 | John C. May Becomes CEO |
| 2021 | Acquired Bear Flag Robotics |
| 2025 | FY2025 Revenue of $45.684B |
| 2026 | Right-to-Repair Settlement and Profit Rebound |
- Where was John Deere founded?
- John Deere was founded in Grand Detour, United States in 1837. wikidata.org
- Who founded John Deere?
- John Deere was founded by John Deere.
- When did John Deere start?
- John Deere was founded in 1837.
- How old is John Deere?
- John Deere is 189 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
In 1837, blacksmith John Deere, who had moved from Vermont to Grand Detour, Illinois, heard local farmers complain that sticky prairie soil clung to their cast-iron plows. Using polished steel, reportedly from a broken saw blade, he shaped a plow that shed soil cleanly. Demand grew quickly, and in 1848 he moved the business to Moline on the Mississippi River to scale production.
Founders
John Deere
John Deere (1804-1886) was a Vermont-born blacksmith who moved to Grand Detour, Illinois, in 1836. In 1837 he built a polished steel plow that scoured itself clean in sticky prairie soil, solving a problem that slowed Midwest farmers using cast-iron plows. He moved the business to Moline in 1848, emphasized consistent quality, and handed day-to-day leadership to his son Charles, who incorporated Deere & Company in 1868 and built its branch and dealer system. Education: Middlebury College. John Deere was born in 1804.
Key Milestones
John Deere Founds the Company
John Deere develops the first commercially successful self-scouring steel plow in Grand Detour, Illinois, after observing that sticky prairie soil would not shed cleanly from common cast-iron plows. The product gives the company a durable origin story: Deere wins by solving a customer's field problem with better material, design, and reliability.
Source: deere.comSteel Plow Invented
John Deere built a self-scouring steel plow in Grand Detour, Illinois, in 1837.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgMove to Moline
Deere moves the business to Moline, Illinois, where river access, transportation links, and supplier proximity make it easier to scale from a blacksmith shop into a manufacturer. The move matters because the future Deere model depends not only on invention, but on repeatable production, logistics, and a widening dealer reach.
Source: deere.comWaterloo Boy Tractor Company Acquired
Deere bought the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, maker of the Waterloo Boy tractor, in 1918.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgDeere & Company Incorporated
Deere & Company is incorporated in Delaware, formalizing the modern public-company structure behind the John Deere brand. By this point, the company has evolved far beyond plows into tractors, agricultural implements, and industrial equipment, but the core operating pattern remains the same: sell durable machines through trusted channels and support them over long working lives.
Source: sec.govRobert W. Lane becomes CEO
Robert W. Lane became CEO of Deere & in 2000. Lane's contribution was managerial modernization.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgSamuel R. Allen becomes CEO
Samuel R. Allen became CEO of Deere & in 2009. Allen's contribution was to internationalize and diversify Deere while preserving the company's premium equipment brand and dealer economics.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgWirtgen and Blue River Deals
Deere signs major acquisitions on two sides of its strategy. Wirtgen gives Deere a deeper roadbuilding platform in construction equipment, while Blue River Technology adds computer vision and machine learning capabilities for plant-level precision agriculture. Together, the deals show how Deere was pairing industrial scale with software and sensing capability.
Source: s22.q4cdn.comJohn C. May Becomes CEO
John C. May becomes chief executive officer on November 4, 2019, after serving as president and chief operating officer and after earlier roles in agricultural solutions, information technology, turf, utility, and international operations. His appointment marks Deere's leadership shift toward a smart-industrial strategy built around production systems, precision technology, and digital tools.
Source: sec.govAcquired Bear Flag Robotics
Deere & acquired Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million. Deere acquired Bear Flag Robotics to accelerate autonomous operation in agriculture, including technology that can allow existing machines to perform field work with less direct human control.
Source: prnewswire.comFY2025 Revenue of $45.684B
Deere reports FY2025 net sales and revenues of $45.684 billion and net income attributable to Deere & Company of $5.027 billion, down from the prior cycle peak but still profitable through weaker equipment demand. The year underscores the business model tension: Deere is investing in autonomy, precision agriculture, and lifecycle services while still exposed to farm income, construction demand, tariffs, and financing conditions.
Source: sec.govRight-to-Repair Settlement and Profit Rebound
On July 8, 2026, Deere settled the FTC and five-state antitrust case over repair access, agreeing to give farmers and independent repair providers the same repair tools as dealers for 10 years. In August it reported Q3 FY2026 net income of $1.379 billion, up 7%, and raised full-year guidance to $4.75-$5.00 billion.
Source: ftc.govMajor Acquisitions
NavCom Technology
1999Deere acquired NavCom Technology to deepen its GPS, satellite-positioning, and machine-guidance capabilities at a time when precision agriculture was moving from experimental technology toward commercial field use.
Wirtgen Group
2017Deere agreed to acquire Germany-based Wirtgen Group to expand from its traditional agriculture and construction equipment base into a broader roadbuilding platform with milling, processing, mixing, paving, compaction, and rehabilitation brands.
Blue River Technology
2017Deere acquired Blue River Technology to bring machine learning, computer vision, and plant-level decision tools into precision agriculture, especially targeted spraying that can identify weeds and apply inputs only where needed.
Bear Flag Robotics
2021Deere acquired Bear Flag Robotics to accelerate autonomous operation in agriculture, including technology that can allow existing machines to perform field work with less direct human control.
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John Deere Company History FAQ
What are the historic milestones across the 185+ year history of Deere & Company?
Key milestones include the polished steel plow invention (1837), moving to Moline (1848), acquiring Waterloo Boy tractors (1918), launching the well-known Model 'D' (1923), the 1960 New Generation of Power launch, Saarinen headquarters opening (1964), acquiring Blue River & Wirtgen (2017), and unveiling the Autonomous Tractor (2022).
How did the well-known John Deere Model 'D' tractor transform farming in 1923?
Launched in 1923, the John Deere Model 'D' was a well-known two-cylinder kerosene tractor celebrated for its distinct 'Johnny Popper' engine sound, exceptional reliability, and simplicity, remaining in continuous production for 30 years until 1953.
What was the famous 'Deere Day in Dallas' New Generation of Power launch in August 1960?
On August 30, 1960, CEO William Hewitt flew 6,000 dealers to Dallas, Texas, for 'Deere Day in Dallas,' unveiling an entirely new line of 4- and 6-cylinder modern tractors (Models 1010, 2010, 3010, and 4010). The launch stunned the industry and propelled John Deere to the #1 farm machinery spot worldwide ahead of International Harvester.
How did John Deere design its well-known world headquarters in Moline, Illinois?
In 1964, CEO William Hewitt commissioned world-renowned architect Eero Saarinen to design the John Deere World Headquarters in Moline, Illinois. Built with unpainted COR-TEN weathering steel and vast glass walls nestled into rural woodland ravines, the campus is celebrated as a masterpiece of modern architecture.
How did John Deere support farmers through the devastating 1980s Farm Crisis?
During the severe 1980s US agricultural recession, when competing tractor makers collapsed or were bought out (like International Harvester), John Deere provided flexible loan terms through John Deere Financial, stood by struggling farm families, and emerged from the crisis as the industry leader.
When did John Deere introduce GreenStar satellite precision guidance in the late 1990s?
In 1997, John Deere introduced the GreenStar precision agriculture system, combining StarFire GPS receivers with yield mapping monitors in combine cabs, launching the modern era of data-driven digital agriculture.
What was the significance of the 2024 Starlink satellite connectivity agreement?
In January 2024, John Deere signed a landmark agreement with SpaceX's Starlink to connect new and existing agricultural machines via low-Earth orbit satellite terminals, ensuring that farmers in remote rural regions across the US and Brazil have high-speed cloud access.
What is John Deere's long-term vision for the future of global food production?
John Deere envisions fully autonomous, connected, and sustainable agricultural ecosystems by 2030, empowering farmers to feed, clothe, and fuel a growing global population of nearly 10 billion people with higher yields and reduced environmental footprint.
How did John Deere start?
John Deere was founded in 1837 by John Deere, a blacksmith working in Grand Detour, Illinois. He noticed that pioneer farmers were deeply frustrated because the rich, incredibly sticky Midwestern soil clumped onto their cast-iron plows, forcing them to stop every few feet to scrape it off. Deere brilliantly created a highly polished, self-scouring steel plow using a broken saw blade, completely revolutionizing American agriculture.
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