They have been on this path a long time. I grew up in the midwest and 30 years ago I remember there were "John Deere" farms and those farmers refused to buy anything else. Deere's marketing echoed this sentiment. The rest of the farmers had a mix of other brands, but almost never a Deere, because the reasoning was that you find the best product regardless of brand. There could also be an aspect of protest over quality, but in general I still believe Deere to be a little less than the other companies who often specialize in doing one thing (type of tractor) really well. It is probably obvious at this point I grew up on an anti-Deere farm but we eventually did buy one of their lawnmowers.