Chicago Daily Observer

In the quarter ended July 31, Deere’s net income rose 7 percent to $575 million, or $1.32 a diluted share, from the year-ago $537 million, or $1.18 a share. Revenues grew by 17 percent, to $7.74 billion from $6.63 billion.

Per-share results fell short of the $1.36 a share analysts had been anticipating. Perhaps more unsettling, Deere cautioned Wall Street to expect fourth-quarter net of $425 million, significantly below the $491 million that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected.

ave you ever wondered how the U.S. can produce so much food with relatively few farmers? On September 24, 2007, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago you could have learned some of the reasons behind the cornucopia of output from U.S. agriculture at our conference The Role of R&D in Agriculture and Related Industries: Today and Tomorrow. The conference explored the role of research and development (R&D) in agriculture, biotechnology, and the food industry, focusing on policies that promote industry growth and rural development. This conference brought together those interested in the R&D issues facing agriculture and related sectors of industry, particularly biofuels and food manufacturing.

In 1973 Richard Nixon, US president, under political pressure be­cause of rising domestic food prices, banned the export of soyabeans. The policy had predictably dire results, but today, with the world in the grip of another bout of food price inf­lation, governments worldwide are rushing to distort the market with subsidies and quotas, price controls and export taxes. They should stop

As a kid growing up, I recall the periodic food drives to which our family regularly contributed making a small difference in people’s lives.

Later, as a young man I had opportunities to travel widely throughout the Middle East, Asia, and South America where I saw first hand many desperately poor people. It was convenient for me to return from those trips concluding that some problems are just too big to be solved and grateful that I lived in country of prosperity.

I’ve always been bothered by the Matthew Gospel passage in which Jesus says “The poor you will always have with you.” I understand the comment was made by Christ admonishing his apostles that he would not be with them much longer, and not to justify poverty. Nevertheless, I have used the passage to justify my own complacency.

That’s why this week my ears perked up when I heard ... Read More...