science

John Deere

John Deere is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand John Deere rather than just read about it. In short: Deere & Company (doing business as John Deere) (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment and lawn care equipment. It also provides financial services and other related activities.

Key takeaways

John Deere belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect John Deere to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of John Deere from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Deere & Company (doing business as John Deere) (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment and lawn care equipment. It also provides financial services and other related activities. Deere & Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DE. The company's slogan is "Nothing Runs Like a Deere", and its logo is a leaping deer with the words "John Deere". It has used logos incorporating a leaping deer for over 155 years. It is headquartered in Moline, Illinois. It ranked No. 84 in the 2022 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations. Its tractor series include D series, E series, Specialty Tractors, Super Heavy Duty Tractors, and JDLink.

History

19th century In 1836 Deere & Company began when John Deere, born in Rutland, Vermont, United States, on February 7, 1804, moved to Grand Detour, Illinois to escape bankruptcy in Vermont. Already an established blacksmith, Deere opened a 1,378-square-foot (128 m2) shop in Grand Detour in 1837, which allowed him to serve as a general repairman in the village, and a manufacturer of tools such as pitchforks and shovels. An item that set him apart was the self-scouring steel plow, which was pioneered in 1837 when John Deere fashioned a Scottish steel saw blade into a plow. Prior to Deere's steel plow, most farmers used iron or wooden plows to which the rich Midwestern soil stuck, so they had to be cleaned frequently. Deere created a highly polished steel surface that allowed the soil to slide easily. This tool addressed the difficulty of tilling the Prairie State's soil and greatly aided migration into the American Great Plains in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

In early 1843, Deere entered a business partnership with Leonard Andrus and purchased land for the construction of a new, two-story factory along the Rock River in Illinois. It used water power to operate machineries. This factory, named the "L. Andrus Plough Manufacturer", produced about 100 plows in 1842, and around 400 plows during the next year. Deere's partnership with Andrus ended in 1848, and Deere relocated to Moline, Illinois, to have access to the railroad and the Mississippi River. There, Deere formed a partnership with Robert Tate and built a 1,440-square-foot (134 m2) factory the same year. John Gould was later brought in to manage the accounts. Production rose quickly, and by 1849, the Deere, Tate & Gould Company was producing over 200 plows a month. A two-story addition to the plant was built, allowing further production.

Deere bought out Tate and Gould's interests in the company in 1853, and was joined in the business by his son Charles Deere. At that time, the company was manufacturing a variety of farm equipment products in addition to plows, including wagons, corn planters, and cultivators. In 1857, the company's production totals reached almost 1,120 implements per month. In 1858, a nationwide financial recession took a toll on the company. During this period, the company announced its work on a steam engine that will pull its plow but the product did not materialize. To prevent bankruptcy, the company was reorganized and Deere turned over his interests in the business to his son-in-law, Christopher Webber, and his son, Charles Deere, who would take on most of his father's managerial roles. John Deere served as president of the company until his retirement in April 1886, but died one month later in May 1886 in Moline, Illinois. The company was reorganized again in 1868 when it was incorporated as Deere & Company. While the company's original stockholders were Charles Deere, Stephen Velie, George Vinton, and John Deere, Charles effectively ran the company. In 1869, Charles began to introduce marketing centers and independent retail dealers to advance the company's sales nationwide. This same year, Deere & Company won "Best and Greatest Display of Plows in Variety" at the 17th Annual Illinois State Fair, for which it won $10 and a silver medal. The core focus remained on the agricultural implements, but John Deere also made a few bicycles in the 1890s.

20th century

Increased competition during the early 1900s from the new International Harvester Company led the company to expand its offerings in the implement business, but the production of gasoline tractors came to define Deere & Company's operations during the 20th century.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Company logo used between 1876 and 1912

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Deere

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Deere claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to John Deere before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about John Deere ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of John Deere

In research: John Deere appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses John Deere in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: John Deere is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1837 establishments in Illinois, Agricultural machinery manufacturers of the United States, American brands, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Deere outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study John Deere in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John Deere means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain John Deere out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John Deere in simple terms?

Why does John Deere matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study John Deere?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on John Deere.