(Radio Iowa) — Iowa’s largest manufacturing employer is releasing its fiscal year end financial report. Quad Cities-based John Deere is reporting a net income of 785-million dollars for the fourth quarter and two-point-three billion for the year. The quarterly earnings rose 54-percent from a year ago, while the fiscal year earnings are up almost 209-million dollars. Despite an ongoing slump in the ag sector due to still-low commodity prices and trade troubles, Deere says farm machinery sales in the Americas made solid gains. The company’s forecast for 2019 calls for net income of nearly $3.6 billion on sales gains of about 7-percent.