How has 2017 been for John Deere in terms of sales?

I would say 2017 has been a difficult year in Europe, especially when we think about France. In western France we had a very tough year. We’ve also had tough years in Italy and Spain because of the drought. But we were also surprised by the significant increase in business in the CIS countries in 2017, particularly Russia, Ukraine and some of the Stan countries. In the UK and Ireland, we had a strong year and picked up significant market share, especially for high horsepower tractors, big combines and forage harvesters.

What are your thoughts on the glyphosate debate in Europe?

John Deere supports glyphosate in general because the research underlines that it is not harmful to human health. While it is a political discussion, glyphosate applied in the right quantities supports sustainable agriculture. Especially when we think about C02 and saving fuel.

Listen to an interview with Christop Wigger in our podcast below:

How do you see the recovery in dairy markets?

Dairy will be one of the key drivers in 2018 when it comes to market recovery as the demand for large arable machines will probably stay flat due to the weak wheat and oilseed rape prices. We expect the milk price will stay strong until at least the second half of 2018. With dairy farmers recovering liquidity we expect stronger demand for small to mid-sized tractors as well as hay and forage machinery next year.

What will the impact of Brexit be?

Brexit is a very complicated topic, but we don’t want to see a hard Brexit in March 2019. This is not only for agriculture but for the whole economy. The system is not prepared for this. We need to find a mutually acceptable solution because otherwise we could see a very radical disruption.

What’s the outlook for steel prices in 2018?

I think there is a very clear direction for steel prices and that is up. The big question is how much prices will go up. The sector is already talking about shortages and some constraints. That is certainly one of the things which keep the supply management teams of all agricultural machinery producers awake at night.

Where do you see the future of farming machinery?

The whole area of precision farming is a mega-trend. This week at Agritechnia we have seen some very concrete solutions. For example, products like John Deere’s operations centre are becoming more and more mainstream. The second trend is automation. You will see more autonomous combines like the new S700. The third future trend is electrification and the step from hybrid technology towards battery powered machinery.

Maybe the fourth trend will be finding new business model solutions because the large arable farmers don’t want to own machines. They want to find flexible rental solutions.

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