(Reuters) -Deere & Co lifted its full-year profit forecast on Friday, as it expects solid demand for its tractors and combines from farmers flush with cash after a run-up in grain prices.
The company’s results, seen as a proxy for farmers’ purchasing power, have benefitted from record grain prices that have boosted farm incomes and spurred more investments in machinery.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated net farm income in the country to have risen 25% to $23.9 billion in 2021.
The Moline, Illinois-based company forecast fiscal 2022 net income between $6.7 billion to $7.1 billion, up from its prior expectation of $6.5 billion to $7.0 billion.
First-quarter net income fell to $903 million from $1.22 billion a year earlier, as costs related to supply chain and labor weighed on margins.
(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
