John Deere Forestry division celebrates company's 175 anniversary

John Deere Forestry division celebrates company's 175 anniversary
John Deere Forestry division celebrates company's 175 anniversary
John Deere has earned a strong reputation for quality over the years and is now one of the oldest continuously running companies in the country, and to celebrate this feat, John Deere's Forestry division is honoring the company's 175 years of operation.

Since the beginning, John Deere has been committed to American values such as hard work and ingenuity, which has shown in the quality of the company's products. Over the years John Deere expanded to be not only the leading agricultural machinery producer in the world, but also a major player in the construction and forestry equipment market.

Today, logging operations all over the world use John Deere products to keep up productivity, ensure projects stay on target and drive the highest possible profits. And although the company started as an agricultural producer, the origins of its forestry division go back further than most people realize.

John Deere's first product - the plow that changed the way Midwesterners tilled their soil - was made from a sawmill blade. From there, further advancements were made in forestry, and continued into the late 1800s, but official John Deere forestry products were not used for commercial logging until the 1930s. The change came about when John Deere customers saw a versatility in their agricultural products, and used them for logging operations. It was thanks to these visionary farmers that John Deere was able to develop products that helped woodworkers operate more easily, safely and efficiently.

By the 1940s, John Deere was making great strides in its forestry department, especially with the MC Crawler, which is regarded as the hardest-working machine ever produced by John Deere. The machine was Deere's first purpose-built vehicle, and received widespread attention for its ability to operate in areas most thought were unworkable. The Crawler was used for skidding, loading and other similar tasks.

Another milestone came in 1977, when John Deere released the 743 Tree Harvester, which transformed logging operations into a highly efficient and safe practice, compared with earlier decades when trees were still cut by workers with chainsaws.

Today, John Deere's forestry equipment features the company's advanced technology found in most of its agricultural products, which allows operators to monitor usage and productivity, helping teams develop the most efficient logging strategies.