Deere’s Acquisition of Hagie: 3 Things We Learned

It seems like the biggest news stories in agriculture always break on a Tuesday.

Today John Deere announced it had acquired a majority ownership stake in high clearance sprayer manufacturer Hagie Manufacturing.

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Financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed as of right now, according to Barry E. Nelson, Manager, Media Relations, John Deere, but he did shed some light on a few aspects of this eyebrow raising deal for us.

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  1. A Win-Win: Nelson says the deal is a “win-win” for both Deere and Hagie. He says Deere gets a line of high clearance sprayers to market for the upward trending late season application situation (which the equipment giant had lacked in its equipment portfolio prior to this merger) and Hagie receives the benefit of access to Deere’s extensive dealer channel and support team, an important aspect in equipment sales that Hagie had reportedly lacked in the past as well. In the future, Nelson confirms, Deere also gives Hagie an international distribution channel. Historically speaking, the Clarion, IA-based manufacturer has enjoyed the majority of its market share in the North American market.
  2. Precision Integration: Prior to integration with Deere, Hagie had offered up sprayers such as its acclaimed 2016 DTS10 model with Raven Slingshot wireless technology and 360 Yield Center products like Y-Drop as factory options. Nelson says Hagie machines will be, just as current Deere sprayers are, “pre-wired to handle the latest technologies – whether it’s GPS systems, guidance or the latest with our John Deere Operations Center, whereas that machine is going through the field, it can take in the data, store it in the John Deere Operations Center and then through whatever data management system our customers are using, their consultants, their trusted advisers can get into the John Deere Operations Center and help them analyze all of that data, and then that helps them create a prescription for the following year. All of that technology that we currently have in our machine we will now make sure the Hagie lineup is also integrated for that in the future.”
  3. Deere not as worried about commodity prices as the rest of us: It’s a question that I am sure a media relations vet like Nelson saw coming a country mile away, yet as a reporter there are times where you have to ask the obvious question anyways, just for the sake of getting it on the record. I asked Nelson why this acquisition now, with ag equipment markets in general in the proverbial toilet and Deere having announced quite a few layoffs in the past? His response: “Well if you think about it agriculture is a cyclical business, and as we go through different cycles Deere has long-term strategic plans. No matter if it’s a good cycle, a bad cycle or whatever, we want to do the right thing not only for our business, but also to make sure we are taking care of our customers and helping our dealers.”

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