Deere to close Ottumwa and Hagie’s Clarion plants, moving windrowers, balers and STS sprayers by 2029

John Deere will shut two Iowa factories over the next few years and shift the hay tools and sprayers they build to other plants, the company announced Wednesday. The plan closes Ottumwa Works, the home of Deere’s windrowers and round balers, and ends manufacturing at the Hagie sprayer plant in Clarion. It comes one week after Deere said it was calling back laid-off workers and hiring at several Iowa and Illinois plants.

For farmers, the announcement is mostly about where machines will be built, not whether they will be sold. Still, if you run Deere hay equipment or a Hagie high-clearance sprayer, or you are thinking about buying one in the next two or three years, the moves are worth tracking.

What is moving, and when

• Windrowers: from Ottumwa Works to Des Moines Works by the end of fiscal 2027.
• Round balers: from Ottumwa to Des Moines by the end of fiscal 2028. Deere then intends to close the Ottumwa plant.
• Hagie STS sprayers: from Clarion to Deere’s Thibodaux, Louisiana, factory starting in fiscal 2028. Manufacturing at Clarion is set to end by fiscal 2029.
• Small planters: out of the John Deere Seeding plant in Moline, Ill., and into Deere’s Paton, Iowa, site in fiscal 2027.
• Sugar cane harvesters: production now split between Thibodaux and Catalão, Brazil, will be consolidated in Brazil in fiscal 2029.

Deere’s timeline was reported by CBS2 Iowa, Iowa Capital Dispatch and DTN. The company also said its Construction and Forestry Division is reviewing “strategic sourcing opportunities.”

Deere framed the changes as a way to match plant capacity to where customers buy and to concentrate investment in modern, heavily used factories. In its release, quoted by KCCI, the company said the moves reaffirm its “commitment to U.S. manufacturing.”

Jobs and communities

Deere did not give a job count for each plant. A spokesperson told DTN and Iowa Capital Dispatch that about 300 positions would be affected at normal production volumes, but that the company is running “far below normal production volumes due to the downturn in the ag economy.” Other outlets reported about 700 workers at Ottumwa, according to DTN.

The City of Ottumwa put the payroll the community stands to lose at over $30 million, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. According to the city, the John Deere Foundation has reaffirmed close to $1 million in support for the two communities over the next three years. Deere said help for affected workers could include transfers, retraining, retention offers, relocation help and severance.

In Louisiana, moving cane harvester production to Brazil will affect 350 to 400 employees, DTN reported, citing Louisiana Economic Development. Iowa Capital Dispatch said the Thibodaux plant built about 35 cane harvesters a year for the U.S. market.

The news lands a week after Deere said it expected to hire more than 400 people and call back more than 275 workers in Waterloo, leaving about 125 still laid off in the Des Moines area, according to DTN. We covered that announcement in what Deere’s callbacks mean for equipment buyers. The company told DTN its workforce tops 12,000 in Iowa, with roughly 6,500 more in Illinois.

A short history of the Hagie name

Hagie got its start building self-propelled sprayers and personnel carriers in the 1940s, and Deere took ownership of the Iowa company in 2020, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported, citing Hagie’s website.

What equipment buyers should ask

Deere said it “expects to continue serving customers without disruption” and plans to manage the transitions to protect quality, availability and service. Plant moves can still bring questions at the dealership. If one of these product lines is on your list, consider asking your dealer:

• Order timing. Which plant will build the unit you order for 2027 or 2028, and does the move affect delivery dates or available options?
• Parts and service. How will parts support for current Ottumwa-built windrowers and balers and Clarion-built STS sprayers be handled during and after the moves?
• Trade and resale. Does the dealer expect any effect on trade-in values for machines built at plants that are closing?
• Get it in writing. If a delivery date or spec matters to your operation, ask for it on the purchase agreement.

Shopping for hay tools now? Our sourced comparison of new 2027 windrower and baler options lays out the published specs.

What to watch

Deere said employees will get more detail as plans are finalized, and that it will work with union representatives, local leaders and communities during the transition, and that it wants to find a good next use for both Iowa sites. More equipment coverage is in our Machinery & Tech section.