Profit at Deere & Co., the world’s largest farm equipment manufacturer, will fall below analysts’ estimates in 2007, according to the company.

Total net income of $150 million to $175 million for the first quarter was the company’s prediction, resulting in 65 cents to 76 cents per share. Analysts on average were expecting 97 cents per share.

Chief Executive Officer Robert Lane is limiting production to prevent excess inventory due to higher fuel and fertilizer costs which the company expects will hurt farm budgets.

Posted: 11/21/2006 7:57:17 AM

Firefighters continue to struggle against a wildfire that has already claimed the lives of four of their brethren as it races across Southern California.

The fire, which authorities claim was arson, has already claimed 38 square miles and was only 5 percent contained early Friday. Over 1,000 firefighters are battling the blaze to protect homes and build fire lines.

According to the Associated Press:

Forecasters were calling for strong Santa Ana winds that could reach up to 60 mph. A “red flag warning” was in effect through Saturday night because of a mix of strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures.

Posted: 10/27/2006 12:59:41 PM

With some of them going for upwards of six figures, these are not the treehouses Spanky, Alfalfa and the rest of Our Gang would build. And while these upscale treehouses have been around for years, BusinessWeek reports they are more and more becoming a luxury item homeowners are hungry for-at seemingly any price.

Given a good amount of creative freedom by one of his clients in McLean, Va., home designer Anthony Wilder built an elaborate tree-house office in 1997 that connected to the raised back door of the house by way of a cable bridge. Because it blended well with the style of the house and added an isolated space for working as well as entertaining, the addition was one of the prime buying motivators for Bob and Patty Finch, who scooped up the property when it went on the market a few years later.

Wilder built the tree house and bridge for about $250,000, and says his client probably recouped most of that investment.

For those unwilling or unable to make such an investment, there’s always a stay at the famous Treetops Hotel in Kenya or a visit to the $6 million Treehouse at Alnwick Gardens.

Posted: 10/19/2006 10:49:04 AM

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicted Florida’s orange harvest this year-the worst since 1990-will show a drop of 25% compared with two years ago (last year wasn’t exactly a banner year, either).

Blaming last year’s Hurricane Wilma and a period of cold weather this past February, the department predicted just 135 million boxes (a little over 12 billion pounds) of oranges will be picked in the 2006-07 season.

Posted: 10/13/2006 1:05:48 PM

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is awarding $17.5 million in grants to develop renewable energy and increase energy efficiency. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced 375 recipients in 36 states, according to this article.

“These grants will directly promote energy savings and increased energy production in rural America,” Johanns said. “The Bush administration is committed to providing more energy from within our nation’s borders, especially here in America’s agricultural heartland and these grants will help accomplish this goal.”

Rural Development grant funds can be used to pay up to 25 percent of the eligible project costs. In addition, the program provides loan guarantees up to $10 million to fund up to 50 percent of eligible projects.

Posted: 9/11/2006 10:43:41 AM

I guess it’s not really a business story, but I’m willing to bet this act of kindness helps him sell real estate in the long run.

Todd said he volunteered to help the firefighters because it’s the right thing to do. Montanans help one another in time of need, he said.

Posted: 9/5/2006 10:32:22 AM

Mitchell Joachim and colleages at MIT are working on the next step in so-called “Green Construction”. Rather than building homes using ecofriendly methods, why not make the entire home an ecosystem of its own? Why build when you can grow? From this article in Technology Review,

The basic framework of the house would be created using a gardening method known as pleaching, in which young trees are woven together into a shape such as an archway, lattice, or screen and then encouraged to maintain that form over the years.

Says Joachim, “Design intervention only guides the growth. Nature — life — does the rest.”

Posted: 8/2/2006 12:24:10 PM

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger named a director and deputy last week to oversee California’s firefighting agency. State Fire Marshal Ruben Grijalva was named director of the state’s Department of Forestry.

Posted: 4/26/2006 12:05:33 PM