Deere & Company will soon provide an outlook as to what may be in store for the agriculture industry in 2016. The world’s largest seller of combines and tractors will report its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Wednesday. With the report will come a sales outlook that will set the tone for the farm machinery industry in 2016. The report is expected to show a big step down in Deere’s projection that would signal a prolonged slump for the sector, according to the Wall Street Journal. Demand for farm equipment has paralleled that for machinery used in mining and oil-and-gas production, which likewise are reeling in a global commodity slump. For fiscal 2016, analysts expect Deere’s total equipment revenue to fall 7% to $24.4 billion from the $26.3 billion estimated for the past year.
As in 2008, equipment manufacturers are hoping for Congress to restore tax deductions for farmers up to $500,000 and to make the deductions permanent to help spur equipment purchasing.