“I’m an advocate for agriculture because I think it’s the finest industry in the world,” words spoken by John Lagemann, Senior VP, Sales & Marketing for the Agriculture and Turf Division, who has 35 years with John Deere and that in itself is a true testament.
John had a busy schedule at the 2017 Commodity Classic, not only wearing his John Deere hat, but also representing the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) Board of Director’s as Agriculture Chair. However, not too busy to spend some time talking about the overall farm economy and how John Deere is helping their farmers farm smarter.
“We believe the longterm tailwinds of agriculture are still strong. Agriculture is still a cyclical business. It’s cyclical because demand and supply on a world basis matters. Right now we are going through one of those cycles that is tough for people within the industry. Having said that, I believe the professionalism through our producers is better than it has ever been. They have learned to deal with variables in pricing of commodities, in interest rates, in input costs, etc. They have learned to manage those risks and as a result, the health of our producers is strong.”
John said that margins matter and the best thing industry partners can do is help improve those margins. Moving into the topic of technology, John said it really started in the early 2000’s with guidance. “Now you have the whole wave of communication. Technology and bandwidth has improved. Communication has become a lot more available. And you have the whole realm of agronomic data that helps our producers manage input costs more. If you understand your agronomic data and can measure those margins, then you can translate that into a better margin based on inputs and outputs.”
Deere & Company has again been included in Fortune Magazine’s ranking of the World’s Top 50 Most Admired Companies. Listen to my complete interview with John to learn more about how they are instilling the legacy and admiration of John Deere into the future of agriculture. [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cc-17-jd-lagemann.mp3″ text=”Interview with John Lagemann, John Deere”]
View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Commodity Classic Photo Album
