John Deere has announced that it will not attend any international agricultural and turf trade shows in Europe during the company’s 2021 fiscal year (1 November 2020 to 31 October 2021).

The firm says the move is to ensure the safety of customers and employees, as this would require extensive international travel. Instead, the company will use a new marketing mix of traditional and digital tools to deliver information to customers.

John Deere said its key focus in 2021 will be the change in its operating model, to become a “smart industrial company”. Deere has said it is moving towards being a production system-based organisation, in order to build a customer-driven and streamlined business. This is one of the biggest organisational restructurings in the company’s 183-year history, which requires a change of marketing approach and an extended focus on precision ag technologies.