On January 10, 2024, Deere & Company announced that it has received a shareholder proposal from National Center for Public Policy Research requesting the Board of Directors commission an audit analyzing the impacts of the Company?s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) policies on civil rights, non-discrimination and return to merit, and the impacts of those issues on the Company?s business. The audit may, in the Board?s discretion, be conducted by an independent and unbiased third party with input from civil rights organizations, public-interest litigation groups, employees and shareholders of a wide spectrum of viewpoints and perspectives. A report on the audit, prepared at reasonable cost and omitting confidential or proprietary information, should be publicly disclosed on the Company?s website.

In addition, the board has recommended a vote against this proposal at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on February 28, 2024.