In photos: Supersized John Deere equipment

Jul 18, 2023

Take a look at the fabrication process for vehicles like colossal dump trucks, motor graders, and wheel loaders.

photographs by Christopher Payne , text by Kristin Shaw | Updated Aug 2, 2023 6:37 PM EDT

Every time a delicious kernel of corn passes your lips or you crunch into a slice of crusty, freshly-baked bread, you can thank a farmer. According to the US Department of Agriculture, farming and food-related industries contributed about $1.3 trillion to America’s gross domestic product in 2021.

It’s not a stretch to say that agriculture is critical to our lives, as is the machinery that prepares the land, plants and fertilizes the seed, precisely pulls the weeds, and harvests it all. From its inception in 1837, John Deere started by manufacturing a steel plow and has evolved into a modern company producing highly technical equipment. But beyond making farming vehicles like combines and tractors, the Illinois-based company also manufactures heavy construction and forestry machines such as motor graders, dump trucks, and skidders.

[Related: The metallic guts of GE’s massive jet engines, in photos]

Here’s an inside look at this colossal machinery and the people who put it all together in the John Deere Davenport Works factory in Davenport, Iowa.

[Related: An exclusive look inside where nuclear subs are born]

Correction: This article has been updated to clarify that the equipment made at the Davenport, Iowa facility is for construction, not farming. Additionally, a dump truck originally identified at a 410 P-Tier has been updated to be correctly described as a 310 P-Tier.

Kristin Shaw has been writing about cars for Popular Science since 2022. She accrued extensive experience in the telecommunications, tech, and aviation sectors before she became an automotive journalist specializing in anything with wheels.