In 1837, farmers were in a bind.\u00a0 The prairie soil of the Midwest was sticking to farmers\u2019 cast-iron plows and hindering productivity. \u00a0Enter John Deere, a typical blacksmith producing horseshoes and hayforks, who had an innovative idea.\u00a0 By creating polished-steel plows from sawmill blades, Deere overcame the sticky soil situation, boosted productivity, and launched John Deere.<\/p>\n
Fast-forward 179 years and John Deere is still leveraging innovation to revolutionize farming and address a societal problem: food scarcity.\u00a0 Given that the global population will reach 9.6 billion people by 2050, food production must increase by 70% over the next few decades. (i)\u00a0 Farmers are pushing equipment providers, like Deere, to reimagine themselves as technology companies and focus on their technological capabilities to differentiate in the world of \u201csmart farming.\u201d<\/p>\n