U.S. Political Contributions and Advocacy

At John Deere, we believe that participating in democratic political processes around the world and advocating for public policies that permit us to compete fairly and freely in the marketplace are vitally important to all our stakeholders. In whatever form it might take, our engagement in the political process is grounded in and guided by our firm commitment to strong corporate governance and global corporate citizenship.

In compliance with U.S. federal and state election laws, John Deere administers the John Deere Political Action Committee (JDPAC), a voluntary, non-partisan group comprising U.S. employees. JDPAC members voluntarily pool their personal financial contributions to support elect federal and state office candidates who understand and support the general business interests of our company, customers, employees, and stakeholders. Under federal law and company policy, participation in JDPAC is limited to U.S. administrative and executive-level employees.

Except for administrative expenses, JDPAC is funded solely by John Deere employees and not supported by funds from John Deere itself. The company does not reimburse employees directly or indirectly for political contributions, including contributions to JDPAC.

Oversight of JDPAC’s contributions and related activities are governed by its board of directors, comprised of 13 John Deere employees from throughout our various business units. JDPAC does not engage in legislative matters or lobbying activity. Further, JDPAC does not seek to influence any particular vote through contributions.

JDPAC fully discloses all contributions made and received through reports filed with the Federal Election Commission and various state ethics commissions, as required by law. For transparency, John Deere posts an annual report on our website summarizing JDPAC contributions made in the most recent calendar year or election cycle, categorized by state, candidate, and amount. View the annual report for the 2021–2022 election cycle here.

Political spending by John Deere reflects our business interests and is used to further our public advocacy goals. John Deere complies with federal, state, and local campaign finance laws and regulations governing political contributions and the disclosure of these contributions. Consistent with U.S. federal law, John Deere does not contribute corporate funds to federal candidates, national political party committees, or other federal political committees. For example, even when permitted by applicable law in connection with certain state and local elections, we do not use corporate assets to support or oppose any candidate for political office or ballot measure. The company does, however, reserve the right to make exceptions to this practice so long as any contribution we make is consistent with our public policy agenda, in accordance with our Code of Business Conduct, and previously approved by our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Public Affairs. John Deere does not pay for any independent expenditures or electioneering communications, as those terms are defined by applicable law. In the interest of transparency for our shareholders and other stakeholders, we publicly disclose and update annually our corporate political contributions. John Deere did not make any political expenditures out of corporate assets in the 2019 or 2020 calendar year. John Deere belongs to several trade and industry associations and pays regular dues to these groups. We join trade associations in part to join other like-minded companies in engaging in public education and advocacy efforts regarding major issues of common concern to our industries.

Our participation in trade associations is subject to management approval and oversight. We publicly disclose and update annually a list of those U.S. trade associations to which John Deere pays dues or makes other contributions of $50,000 or more, as well as the portions of such dues or payments that are not deductible under Section 162(e)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code. View the annual report for U.S. trade association memberships and expenditures here.