Deere & Company announced today it will review strategic options for its crop insurance business, which underwrites policies through John Deere Insurance Company, a business unit within John Deere Financial.

Deere said no formal decisions have been made and no agreements have been reached concerning the company's crop insurance operations. Citi has been retained as exclusive financial advisor to assist in the initiative.

Effective risk management remains an important factor in successful farm operations, Deere noted. John Deere will continue to design, manufacture and offer technology, equipment and services in its precision agriculture offerings that enhance farming operations for customers.

Deere has been involved in the crop insurance business for 8 years, during which John Deere Insurance Company has become a top-10 provider of crop insurance with national distribution and a product portfolio of both government-backed multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI) products as well as private crop insurance products such as hail protection.

Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land, providing advanced products and services to cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure.