Do you remember me posting the John Deere that got itself Fooseified? Back in 2010? Well the Drive just discovered it in the John Deere Archives facility in East Moline, Illinois.

 

I posted about it in https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/07/1970-john-deere-model-4020-that-chip.html

and just found the Drive article on it https://www.thedrive.com/news/hot-rod-designer-chip-foose-made-this-john-deere-tractor-look-like-an-old-race-car

Greg found a cool innovation of re-using stuff in his grand fathers garage

He graduated high school in 1957, 

 bought his own farm the same year, 

proceeded to erect a barn behind house there. 

 In 1959 he built a work shop. 

In 1960 he bought a sears air compressor it has date on it, and is still in use.

And he made this hose reel!

It has a pipe union in it with a leather washer with grease on it to seal air. 

Greg says in his post that he was born in 1971, and has no idea how many times his grandfather, Greg himself, and his 2 sons, and countless neighbors pulled this hose out 

His grandfather passed away in 1999 but this thing lives on. 

The hub that the hose is rolled up on is a 4 legged John Deere logo, 5 gallon oil can.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1294444273957513/permalink/27026081263700461

no doubt these have been on a farm since the day they arrived, never leaving the farm for repairs. Those were done in the barn. Never taking a day off, until something broke that couldn't be fixed. Then they became the parts to fix the replacement.

https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2026/05/projects.html

Plaintiffs who paid John Deere’s authorized dealers for large equipment repairs from January 2018 to now, will recover somewhere between 26% and 53% of overcharge damages, now that JD settled, and agreed to pay $99 millio

The ag manufacturing giant will also make digital diagnostic, maintenance, and repair tools available to third parties for 10 years.

the price of used equipment skyrocketed in response to the infamous service difficulties. Even when the cost of older tractors doubled, farmers reasoned that they were still worth it because repairs were simpler and downtime was minimized. $60,000 for a 40-year-old machine became the norm.

A judge’s approval of the settlement is still required, though it seems likely. Still, John Deere isn’t out of the woods yet. It still faces another lawsuit from the United States Federal Trade Commission, in which the government organization accuses Deere of harmfully locking down the repair process.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/john-deere-to-pay-99-million-in-monumental-right-to-repair-settlement

I just heard from my morning FM radio show hosts, that there are a LOT of stories, mostly tear jerkers, during the current winter Olympics. Here's one they mentioned

U.S. Olympic cross-country skier Ben Ogden, who raced at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and the current 2026 Italy Winter Olympics

His father, John, a former cross-country skier, famously woke up at 4 a.m. to clear a homemade ice rink on a local pond using a John Deere lawnmower equipped with a custom-built Zamboni attachment to save his son the time wasted to go to town (or something similar) to get in his practice efforts on the local ice rink

Ensuring the ice was perfect for them, he engineered his own "Zamboni" system to smooth out the ice, a testament to the DIY spirit that supported Ben's athletic development.

Ben Ogden made Olympic history earlier this week, ending the United States’ 50-year medal drought in cross-country skiing. The two-time Olympian claimed silver in the men’s cross-country skiing sprint. He is just the second U.S. man to claim an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing since Bill Koch, also a native Vermonter like Ogden, did at the Innsbruck Games in 1976.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/us-olympian-ben-ogden-was-introduced-to-skiing-by-his-father/ar-AA1W62Ee#:~:

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission sued John Deere for what it said was decades of unlawful practice in creating a monopoly on repairs.

Before the lawsuit, farmers and repair shops couldn’t reprogram software, making it effectively impossible to repair some modern equipment. 

Now, if a repair tech wants to do repairs on modern equipment, he needs a special laptop, a tractor plug in, and an account with John Deere’s operations center. 

Aside from all the gear needed for repair work, the license Deere’s new service will cost farmers $195 per machine each year.

https://www.kcrg.com/2025/08/27/john-deere-launching-new-repair-service-mechanic-warns-equipment-costs/

Dan Brinkmann, an auto technology instructor, created “The Night Shift” back in 2008, an after-hours auto shop in the Four Rivers Career Center, in Washington, Missouri

The Automotive Technology program is a two-year program in which students learn auto repair and maintenance skills. It is one of the few programs in the country meeting the strict industry standards required for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification by the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation

What started as an after-school group refurbishing tractors has now grown into their biggest project yet, a 1978 Kenworth W900A semi-truck. The massive machine is in the process of being completely rebuilt, repainted and brought back to life, all by students.

students learn valuable work and life skills through restoring antique tractors. They participate during their high school career to better themselves and help better their community by volunteering their time to bridge the gap between entry level employees and seasoned employees in their future careers. Students get together at the beginning of each year and choose their restoration projects for the year and work diligently to complete them two nights a week during the school year.

During the restoration process, the students are responsible for the restoration, documentation, and entry into the DELO Tractor Restoration Competition, a national tractor restoration contest sponsored by Chevron Delo.

they have restored a 49 John Deere model A  https://greenmagazine.com/preserving-the-past-building-for-the-future/

https://www.4rtc.org/about

https://frcc.washington.k12.mo.us/49590_3

https://www.facebook.com/fourriverscc

https://www.firstalert4.com/2025/08/18/under-hood-after-hours-auto-class-that-restores-more-than-just-engines

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=773320197933206&set=pb.100057656979626.-2207520000

totally has my attention, as I wait to see what he's going to do with the torque and power... turns out? Just pass by at idle. But still!

oh the joy of starting a 1944 John Deere tractor

 

https://www.youtube.com/@EandTRustyIronAdventures/shorts

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578457192696

Ben helped his grandfather restore his 1941 John Deere H when he was a kid, now he's trying to find it

"I want to find it. He's 91 years old, and I want it to come back. I want him to hear it again. I want him to see me with it," said Thompson. "He regrets selling it. I don't want him to have any regret."

The serial number on the tractor is 32202, he hopes someone can recognize the tractor, or let him know where it is if they have it.

Note the front rims that aren't the common solid rims on a model A or B

https://www.facebook.com/@benjaminleethompson

https://www.wzzm13.com/article/features/grandson-hoping-to-find-grandfathers-long-lost-tractor/69-59017276-5b66-4d2e-85e2-1524d328b9f7

Keller’s Retired Tractors in Wisconsin collected tractors for 50 years, 587 tractors, 74 of them are the first production tractors off the assembly line, 12 are experimental

Bruce’s grandfather, John Keller, who never collected himself, but opened a John Deere dealership in Forest Junction in 1929.

By the time the 1980s rolled around, Bruce and his dad had shifted their collecting philosophy from simply old tractors to rare ones.

“There’s some tractors that are not common to our area. High crops were down in Louisiana, Florida and Californi. Orchard tractors, which there are a few in Wisconsin but not real popular. So we started collecting the rare stuff,” explains Bruce

Bruce says one of his dad’s prized finds is a 1929 Experimental John Deere, 

It took Bruce 32 years to get an experimental 1936 John Deere BW-40, a special narrow experimental tractor of which only six were ever made and only 4 exist, which were sent to vegetable farmers in the Sacramento Valley.

https://www.wbay.com/2024/09/05/small-towns-john-deere-lovers-disneyland/

Deere settles US SEC bribery probe unit

Deere agreed to pay $9.93 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that a Thailand subsidiary, Wirtgen Thailand, offered cash, meals, sham consulting fees, sightseeing ventures disguised as "factory visits" in Switzerland and other European countries, and massage parlor "entertainment." to win government business, and engaged in commercial bribery.

high-level managers and employees at the agricultural equipment and heavy machinery company's Wirtgen Thailand unit made improper payments to officials at entities including the Royal Thai Air Force and Thailand's Department of Highways.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/deere-pay-993-mln-settle-us-sec-bribery-probe-2024-09-10/

Just another day in getting business done the old fashioned way

John Deere, has announced around 610 production staff, 280 workers from Illinois, and 330 employees in Iowa, will be out of a job by Aug. 30

The company says it generated $10.166 billion in profits last year, but "rising operational costs and declining market demand requires enterprise-wide changes"

Earlier this month, Deere announced it is moving the manufacturing of skid steer loaders and compact track loaders from its Dubuque facility to Mexico by the end of 2026.

In October, John Deere announced its first wave of 225 layoffs at its Harvester Works plant in East Moline. Another 34 production employees were laid off in May at its Moline Cylinder Works factory, while in March, company officials announced that they would lay off 150 more workers at a plant in Ankeny, Iowa, where sprayers and cotton pickers are made.

About 500 employees have been let go at its Waterloo plant in Iowa

https://www.fox9.com/news/john-deere-announces-mass-layoffs-midwest-amid-production-shift-mexico

John Deere is sparking outrage by laying off American workers and moving more of its agricultural equipment manufacturing to Mexico.

 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-13567647/Americas-oldest-companies-slashes-jobs-Midwest-shifts-work-Mexico.html

waaaay back when, John Deere advertised in movie theaters, and one old one in Michigan still has the original ad, and movie poster

at 830 hp, the 2025 John Deere 9RX four-track tractor is the company’s most powerful yet.

https://www.agriculture.com/the-2025-9rx-series-is-john-deere-s-biggest-tractor-yet-8600115

this looks like it's a forest crawling machine! Olofsfors tracks over tires on a John Deere 1270G 8x8 tire forest processor

https://forestmachinemagazine.com/new-alliance-tyres

It's so annoying that corporations are run by people making millions annually, and they best they can do to improve their business is getting young people hired to be social media experts. Now, John Deere is trying this

John Deere has launched a campaign, a celebrity-driven social media campaign for the first time in its 185-year history, to find the next Chief Tractor Officer, whose main job will be to create Tik Tok and Instagram content to reach younger consumers, and get Gen Z interested in buying John Deere products.

They've recruited Brock Purdy, who has the most wins of any quarterback in Iowa State history, leading the program to a 30-17 record, which resulted in him being drafted by the NFL into the 49rs, and in his video are influencers, including Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas, tennis player Anna Frey, business influencer Natalie Marshall and agriculture content creator Laura Farms.

the next Chief Tractor Officer's main job will be to: "create face-melting social media content that shows all the incredible and unexpected ways farming and construction work hits different." 

The gig comes with a face-melting salary close to $200,000.

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/24/1246780874/the-winner-of-a-john-deere-competition-will-help-launch-tiktok-channel

I'd have done that the old fashioned way for 1/2 that, without social media. 

But corporations gave up on the old fashioned ways of doing business, probably because the marketing and advertising companies that used to make commercials that last forever in memory (dog chasing a cat sized chuck wagon through a kitchen, don't squeeze the Charmin, Budweiser frogs, etc) are worth it, but, they charge the same for the lame flops 

And magazines are tanking. 

But just sending someone around to farms and talking to people that use tractors, to logging sites, to construction sites and talking to excavator operators, and talking to lawn and garden workers, and ATV users, and getting their stories, no matter how cool, how old, or how many that I or anyone else who digs tractors, construction equipment, and perfectly mowed yards and lawns, comes up with...  isn't what corporations want to pay for unless it's going to result in the desired amount of internet traffic. 

That just isn't going to sell more NEW tractors, probably not even attract new investors into buying John Deere stock. 

I don't think John Deere wants to face the marketing problem head on, and make nice with farmers and ranchers, after all, they (John Deere) pushed for that proprietary law to prevent farmers and mechanics from fixing John Deere made products less expensively than the dealership hourly rates.

It's all about the videos for tik tok and Instagram traffic, just like the Dodge marketing campaign looking for a new Chief Donut Maker... when Dodge already has Goldberg as a spokesman, and after that nothing else hit the media. 

Learn more about the job at https://www.JohnDeereCTO.com and get your application in by April 29!

https://www.adweek.com/creativity/john-deere-seeks-a-chief-tractor-officer-to-be-the-face-of-its-tiktok-channel/

https://forestmachinemagazine.com/

the winner will find ways to grab attention and tell unexpected stories about the brand’s technology;

for example, some people use its equipment to clear snow from stadiums, 

while its autonomous tractors and herbicide sprayers with built-in cameras can precisely target weeds

how the grounds crew at Wrigley Field maintains their iconic ivy-covered outfield wall? How about watching a world-class roadbuilding crew paving a street in a day?

But do you think social media influencers know of Norman Borlaug? Not a chance. 

fixing up a 1964 John Deere tractor... start at 00:37

Deere & Co convinced a federal jury in Delaware that construction rival Caterpillar, must pay $12.9 million in damages for violating its patent rights in road-building technology.

The jury determined that Caterpillar's road-milling machines, which remove the surfaces of roads before repaving them, infringe five Wirtgen patents

The jury also found that Caterpillar's infringement was willful, which could lead a judge to multiply the damages up to three times.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/deeres-wirtgen-wins-129-mln-caterpillar-road-construction-patent-trial-2024-02-23/