Does John Deere support Israel?

Deere & Company acquired control of Plastro Irrigation Systems, the Israeli irrigation equipment maker founded at Kibbutz Gvat in 1966, agreeing in March 2008 to pay Kibbutz Gvat NIS 265 million (about $73 million) and completing the move to 100% ownership on June 5, 2008. Plastro was folded into John Deere Water, making Deere the world's third-largest agricultural irrigation company, with major operations headquartered in Israel. Ended: Israeli private-equity fund FIMI acquired John Deere Water from Deere in 2014.

John Deere bought the assets of Beit Hashita Metal Industries — a maker of spare parts for cotton harvesters and combines, 51% owned by Kibbutz Beit Hashita — out of receivership for about NIS 55 million, after the Nazareth District Court approved the sale, committing to keep about 75% of its 110 employees. The plant continues to operate as Deere-owned JDBH Works Ltd in the Tzvaim industrial park, manufacturing components for Deere's harvesting equipment.

John Deere sells in Israel through independent authorized dealers and importers — its official national dealer MIFRAM (Haifa) and importer Kalrom, listed in Deere's own global dealer locator — rather than through a Deere-owned sales subsidiary. A 2013 Corporate Watch investigation documented John Deere-branded equipment being marketed by Israeli distributors (Kalrom alongside Amir Marketing) at packing houses in West Bank settlements such as Na'ama; Deere responded that the West Bank 'is not part of their assigned territory.' The settlement marketing is the action of independent Israeli distributors, not of Deere & Company itself.

On December 12, 2012, the U.S. Army (Army Contracting Command, TACOM office) awarded Deere & Company a firm-fixed-price contract (PIID W56HZV13C0100, sole-source) for John Deere Model 7130 tractors, spare parts and tire/wheel sets, plus modified John Deere 7130 tractors described in the award as 'for Israel market'; net obligation after a 2013 price correction was $412,172.10. USASpending.gov's award record confirms the recipient is Deere & Company itself — the corporate entity, address 2000 John Deere Run, Cary, NC, with a UEI matching Deere's parent record — not a dealer, reseller or unrelated 'Deere'-named company. Federal-contracts data aggregator HigherGov's analysis of the same award (awarding office listed as ACC Detroit) states it was funded, in whole or part, by foreign funds under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, meaning the U.S. Army procured the tractors for Israel as the end user, reimbursed through the FMS mechanism. This is a contract between Deere and the U.S. government — the U.S. Army bought and paid for the equipment — not a donation by Deere to Israel; no evidence in the award record that Deere structured, discounted, or otherwise treated this as anything other than an ordinary government sale.

John Deere announced a strategic partnership with Drive TLV, a Tel Aviv-based smart mobility innovation hub, to scout and collaborate with Israeli startups in autonomy, advanced sensing, manufacturing, cybersecurity, connectivity and electrification for Deere's agriculture and construction technology.