3507 Deere John

Earnings are up at John Deere--a wet finger in the wind senses alternative fuel--which means new demand for large farm equipment (which can be used only on huge farms, with huge government subsidies). You've got to hand it to the greenies and tree huggers. They pave the way for new technology and profits for business. Located in Moline, IL, John Deere's focus on ethanol probably makes the unions, big-ag and investors rejoice.

The company started in Grand Detour, Illinois, where the river takes a mighty turn, or detour. Deere found a way to open up the prairie sod with a better blade to cut through the deep, matted roots of the grass. I think my grandparents were living on a farm there when my dad was born (and the doctor never filled in his name on the birth certificate so he found out at age 65 when applying for Social Security that he was "baby boy" in the county record.) We used to take our children to the John Deere Museum in Grand Detour (between Dixon and Oregon) in the 1970s.