John Deere & Co. Backs Off Diversity Policies, Following Tractor Supply

John Deere is joining a list of large American companies backing off from diversity policies in the face of conservative criticism.

The maker of John Deere tractors and other agricultural machinery on Tuesday said it would no longer participate in “social or cultural awareness” events. The company will also audit its mandated training materials to make sure they do not contain “socially motivated messages,” Moline, Illinois-based John Deere said in a statement posted on social media.

The move comes only weeks after retailer Tractor Supply shut down its corporate diversity efforts, and illustrates the growing pressure on companies to shelve diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The announcements by both companies come amid an online campaign by conservative activists that mark another chapter in an ongoing debate about the efficacy and fairness of policies aimed at making organizations more diverse and inclusive.

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The Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling ending affirmative action in college admissions further emboldened the movement by conservative and anti-DEI activists to seek the end of such policies in the workplace.

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National Black Farmers Association President John Boyd, Jr., on Wednesday called for the resignation of Deere CEO John May and a boycott of the company, saying John Deere “continues to move in the wrong direction” in regards to DEI and has “failed to show its support” for Black farmers since NBFA’s founding.

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