Deere CEO pay plows new ground As I was gathering my information for my income tax preparation I paused and wondered how it would feel to have a $52.4 million dollar year for 2007 to report. This figure was reported in the Jan. 16, 2008 Wall Street Journal as the total compensation for the CEO of the company that I had retired from: John Deere. When asked about this at the annual shareholder’s meeting on Feb. 27. Mr. Lane replied that the Wall Street Journal was inaccurate and referred shareholders to information on Deere’s compensation committee contained in the company’s proxy statement. I believe the Wall Street Journal. | 