CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) — Farm equipment maker Deere & Co. said Nov. 21 its fourth-quarter profit rose 52 percent as strong worldwide agricultural sales more than offset declines in other sectors from the United States housing slump.

Increased ethanol production helped fuel higher demand for farm equipment, pushing sales up 20 percent.

Earnings for the August-through-October period climbed to $422.1 million, or $1.88 per share, from $277.3 million, or $1.20 per share, in the previous year. That compared to a $1.55-per-share consensus estimate by analysts polled by Thomson Financial. The Moline, Ill.-based company said its earnings per share results do not reflect a recently approved 2-for-1 stock split.

Revenue grew to $6.14 billion from $5.12 billion on the strength of 35 percent increases in sales of both agricultural equipment and commercial and consumer equipment. Analysts had expected total sales of $5.8 billion.

Deere officials said on a conference call that global fundamentals for agriculture are highly encouraging. In the U.S., investor relations executive Bill Ratzberg said “the outlook for our customers’ income is strong and supportive of equipment demand.”

Morgan Stanley analyst Robert Wertheimer said the ramp-up in farm machinery profit has not fully developed, meaning Deere has plenty of room to grow.

“Deere is still in the early stages of a multi-year boom in farm equipment, led by rising ethanol demand,” he said in a note to investors.

Deere stock has doubled in the past 15 months. Equipment operations revenue increased to $5.42 billion from $4.49 billion in the prior year. Sales in the company’s agricultural division increased, making up for declines in construction and forestry revenue.

Deere said it anticipates 2008 earnings of about $2.1 billion and first-quarter profit of approximately $325 million. Equipment sales are expected to climb by about 12 percent for the year and to be up about 25 percent for the first quarter, the company said.

For the full fiscal year, net income was $1.82 billion, or $8.01 per share, up 8 percent from $1.69 billion, or $7.18 per share, a year earlier. Revenue was $24.1 billion, up 9 percent from $22.1 billion.

Asoyia ups non-GMO premium

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Asoyia is launching a higher premium program for 2008 to increase the bottom line for Midwestern soybean growers.

The non-GMO premiums will now start at $1.25 per bushel, with a potential to earn up to 40 cents more per bushel, subject to soybean market volatility. Pay no technology fees on any non-GMO seed.

Growers can compare and calculate the advantage of growing Asoyia non-GMO soybeans at www.asoyia.com with the online profit calculator. The increasing consumer need for more heart-healthy foods is driving the demand for Asoyia oil. Asoyia will offer 11 non-GMO varieties for improved seed emergence, disease resistance and standability in a high-yielding one percent ultra low-linolenic soybean.

Recently, Asoyia expanded its distribution channels with seed partner Merschman Seeds, Inc. and ag retail distribution outlets Heartland Co-op, Big Country Seeds, CargillTM AgHorizons, Big River Seed and Grain and many more.

Transportation allowances are provided where applicable and with flexible delivery schedule to Cargill facilities in Bloomington, Ill., and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in November 2008 through September 2009.

Dow AgroSciences introduces new portfolio of herbicides

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Dow AgroSciences has introduced a new Technology for Traits portfolio of herbicides that provides growers with weed control tools designed for high performance in herbicide-tolerant corn or soybean production systems.

SURESTART, SONIC and DURANGO DMA herbicides make up the portfolio. Damon Palmer, product manager for Dow AgroSciences, said the new herbicides have been designed to control weeds in Roundup Ready crops.

SURESTART and SONIC are designed to help protect the yield and profit potential of herbicide-tolerant corn and soybeans during early developmental stages from weed competition, due to delayed glyphosate applications and the growing number of glyphosate-resistant and -tolerant weeds. They are ideal partners with the company’s new glyphosate, DURANGO DMA.

Palmer said the herbicides in the portfolio work together in a two-pass program in herbicide-tolerant corn or soybeans for better early season control of tough weeds. Data from 35 experiments in nine states over the course of seven years found that a soil-applied herbicide in corn followed by glyphosate yielded seven percent more than a post treatment of glyphosate alone.

Cummins earns J.D. Power award in customer satisfaction

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Cummins, Inc. announced it has earned a prestigious award for customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Heavy-Duty Truck Engine/Transmission Customer Satisfaction Study.

Cummins received the award for highest customer satisfaction with heavy-duty diesel engines in the “vocational” segment. The Cummins ISX and ISM make up almost all of the Cummins engine models in this segment. Cummins led the ranking on three engine factors affecting customer satisfaction, leading the vocational segment on performance, cost of ownership and warranty.

The vocational segment is defined as heavy-duty trucks operating with rugged trailer or body types such as dump trucks, concrete mixers, garbage/refuse trucks, Lo-Boy and logging trailers, cranes, utility trucks, wreckers and other related trailers and bodies. It typically involves rugged business environments such as construction, sanitation/refuse, forestry, mining and utility services.