Commentary

The Subject Is — Color!

2640 in Olive Drab (OD Green). Some units were painted in darker “Federal Green.”

JD 410 Backhoe Loader painted Sunset Yellow, which is approximately Pantone 1345.

310-A Backhoe Loader painted Omaha Orange.

In the mid-1960s, especially coinciding with the opening of the new Deere & Company Administrative Center (now World Headquarters) at Moline, Illinois, earth tones became a part of the overall color palette. Over the next several years, and extending to this present time, one thing after another got the earth-tone touch. It started with the Administrative Center, affectionately dubbed the “Rusty Palace” by Deere employees across the country, referring to the planned and intended purplish-brown rusting of the exterior framework of COR-TEN® steel that supports the suspended architectural masterpiece.

Company Chairman William A. Hewitt appreciated earth colors and their tie to the work performed by Deere products, industrial as well as agricultural. It would only be a matter of time until such colors were adopted for applications as varied as clothing patches and the operator stations of tractors and other self-propelled equipment. The earth tones, however, have not yet made their way to the exterior of the product lineup, and may never. Perhaps the artwork of the late 1980s, mentioned in the September–October 2005 issue, is as close as we’ll get to that point.

Whatever the case, color is still on the minds of those who manage the world’s largest and most successful producer of ag machinery. An article in the July 2005 John Deere Journal is titled “Forestry Adopts John Deere Green.” It has been a wide loop. The Lindeman-John Deere “BO” Crawler of the 1930s and 1940s was enlisted to do some forestry work, although it was primarily intended for use in groves and orchards. The Dubuque-built two-cylinder tractors that followed in the later 1940s through the 1950s became increasingly popular for forest service, and the movement began. Most of them, at that time, were painted John Deere ag green and yellow, with industrial yellow becoming a no-cost alternative choice. Beginning with the introduction of the “440” Series Tractors, industrial yellow became the norm. It’s interesting to see the company return to its traditional colors for this application, citing global product recognition and reputation as the reason.

Could Deere regularly offer color options to customers? It would be a very difficult proposition, initially requiring market research, evaluating customer reaction, choosing shades compatible to — or at least not disagreeable — with traditional green implements, developing and testing paint quality and durability, coordinating painting activities as the factory, offering accurate touch-up paint to dealerships, etc.

John Deere emblem in beige with dark brown background.

One respondent suggested that the company offer tractors in ag yellow, wheels and all, which would be a natural for Deere, would retain product identity, and might just be a real knockout. A few said they liked the earth tones paint scheme, offering that they would choose it over green and yellow just for the change. Interestingly, all of the respondents choosing earth tones were women, which pleased us to learn that at least some read the magazine.

And that brings us full circle with the comments made in the September–October 2005 issue — again stating that if there ever is such an option (an alternative color scheme for tractors), perhaps it will be inspired by the women of agriculture, who have continued to become a factor of ever-increasing prominence in farm financial decisions. Editor

Green and yellow in the woods in 1956. A “420” Crawler and No. 61 Bulldozer, moving dirt to expose the stump.	Coming full circle, 50 years later, an ag green John Deere 648-G III Grapple Skidder hauls logs out of the forest.