Growers who lock in seed and crop protection this fall have the option to carry the bill until November 2027 at 0% or with the low rates that are available. If the finance offer reaches the table when the retailer builds the quote.
A new integration between AgVend and John Deere Financial is built to make sure it does. The companies announced Sept. 29 that manufacturer-sponsored 0% and low-rate programs now surface inside retailers’ AgVend-built platforms during planning, quoting and ordering, with transactions flowing to John Deere Financial in the background.
“Our mission hasn’t changed since day one: find and remove the friction that costs retailers time, money, or relationships. With this integration with John Deere Financial we eliminated friction between our Partner Retailers and their customers,” says Alexander Reichert, CEO, AgVend.
The integration is live and available partner retailers of AgVend.
Pitched against the growers operating line
David O’Malley, agribusiness manager for John Deere Financial U.S./Canada, says with three years of farmers navigating tight margins, lower than average commodity prices and elevated input prices, working capital and cash is tight and alternative lending options are being explored.
He puts operating lines at 7% or more–at above average highs–and says other lenders and local banks are tightening.
“We view what we offer as an alternative to cash, as an alternative to their operating line of credit, their bank,” he says. “We’ve also heard that lenders are pulling back and not extending the lines of credit that they once were 3-plus years ago.”
The product is the Multi-Use Account from John Deere Financial which was used for this new integration with AgVend for the U.S. market. O’Malley says it has more than 250,000 active account holders who use their account for seed, crop protection, fertilizer and for parts and service purchases at their local John Deere dealership.
The timing is the hook. A grower can commit this fall or winter, with payment not due until after the 2027 harvest.
“They can lock in those inputs early with their local ag retailer, get the best deal available, plus the financing, plus the interest savings, cash flow benefits and they don’t have to pay for that till after their 2027 harvest,” O’Malley says.
The math or savings the grower sees
With the newly announced integration, growers can connect their Multi-Use Account to the retailer’s portal and see balance, available credit and limit. A built-in John Deere Financial calculator compares one of the 0% of low rate offers versus a growers operating line in “two clicks,” O’Malley says.
His example: a $100,000 crop input purchase or commitment this fall, on a 0% manufacturer program, due in November 2027.
“The interest savings on that alone is over $10,000,” he says.
The retailer passes the quote with the financing offer attached, and the grower reviews terms digitally inside the retailer’s grower portal platform. O’Malley says “growers should take advantage of this free money and low rate financing as it gives them much needed cash flow support and lowers their costs for the upcoming 2027 season.
The retailer’s balance sheet
For retailers, O’Malley describes this John Deere Financial solution as “an account receivable replacement tool.”
Retailers need to reconsider the risk and cost of carrying in-house accounts. John Deere Financial sends statements and processes customer payments.
“We will take 100% of the risk, and there’s no recourse back to these retailers,” he says. “Let’s just say there’s $1 million of transactions within a week, we will fully fund that retailer back that money within 48 hours, or two business days.” He says holding large amount of accounts receivable and the risk, “is probably not a good use of capital and puts added stress on the balance sheet” for a retailer. “Our solution really gets them out of the banking and risk management business, let John Deere Financial handle that for you.”
Early results, per AgVend COO Tracy Linbo, show 8 to 10 minutes saved per transaction. And retailers skip the steps of re-keying or reconciliation.
“We’ve valued the trust that John Deere Financial has earned with ag retailers and farmers for decades. As we set about building this integration, we had two goals: remove a step in the process and bring financing to where the work already happens. Every minute spent re-keying numbers is a minute not spent with the grower in front of you,” Linbo says.
Manufacturers have sponsored these John Deere Financial programs for years, including Bayer, BASF, Vylor/Corteva and more, but this is the first time the 0% and low rate offers are digitally integrated into a retailer’s workflow.
O’Malley calls it John Deere Finanical’s first full end to end, digital retailer integration, for crop input financing.
“We do have plans to bring this new finance innovation and integration to other retailer platforms in the future,” O’Malley says.
He says what operators should weigh that financing is playing more of material role in the crop input space in the market today. A decade ago, he says, discounting was the standard incentive.
“Now you’re seeing 0% and low rate cash flow and interest saving finance solutions that help retailers bring value to growers during the process of considering and buying crop inputs for the full season,” he says. He expects it to continue.
