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Amid Trade War, US Farmers Put Off Equipment Purchases

Kane Farabaugh

   DECATUR, ILL. - In the world of agriculture, there is often a dividing
   line marked by color -- red and green -- which on a farm, doesn't mean
   "stop" or "go."

   "Just like you might be accustomed to Ford or Chevy, on the farm, it's
   either Case or John Deere," said farmer Megan Dwyer of Colona,
   Illinois, whose family falls firmly in the red camp and uses Case
   tractors, even though they farm near the Moline headquarters of John
   Deere, manufacturer of the iconic green equipment.

   "We bleed red and have red on the farm," Dwyer said. "It's all I've
   ever known."

   Some of the Case machinery Dwyer's family purchased in the 1970s is
   older than she is and still in use today. She admits they could use new
   equipment, but being able to afford it is another matter.

   "There's not really money there to do it. We're operating at a loss
   right now," she said.

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