A full set of Rural Lifestyle Dealer staff reporters hit the GIE+Expo in Louisville, Ky., October 22-24, 2014. They shot video, "tweeted" and "facebooked" along the way. Here is just a sampling of some of the news and products they found.

John Deere continues to update its commercial zero-turn offerings with the new Z997R Diesel ZTrak. The Z997R features a powerful 37.4 hp Final Tier 4 diesel engine, providing a workhorse solution for customers needing a large zero-turn mower in all conditions, including tall and wet grass. The Z997R is available with a 60-inch or 72-inch 7-Iron PRO side discharge deck, an industry exclusive 60-inch 7-Iron PRO Mulch On Demand deck, or a 60-inch 7-gauge fabricated rear discharge deck.

John Deere has made changes to its high- spec 5M model lineup, popular with rural property owners, farmers and ranchers, turf maintenance customers, and governmental agencies.

John Deere is offering two new special edition Gator utility vehicles bound to turn some heads.

Lakeland Equipment sells new and used tractors, farm equipment and lawn-care equipment. The dealership has grown substantially and now has six locations in and around Monroe County and was recently named as one of the top small businesses in the Democrat and Chronicle's "Top Workplaces" program.

Net income attributable to Deere & Company was $980.7 million, or $2.65 per share, for the second quarter ended April 30, compared with $1.084 billion, or $2.76 per share, for the same period last year.

John Deere is continuing to meet the needs of its customers with the expansion of its Mulch On Demand (MOD) mower deck offering.

Finding room in a tractor cab for tools, parts, and other items needed while in the field, has always been an issue with operators. Small toolboxes have been supplied and located on different areas of the tractor, but the storage space has been limited. Now, John Deere has found a convenient solution with a new Tractor Utility Box.

The 2014 John Deere Gator line-up features updates that enhance the quality and improve the utility experience in the field, on the trails or around the jobsite. Utilizing customer feedback and market-driven research to improve the lineup, the updates focus on operator side retention, winch enhancements, and specific performance tweaks to each model category.

John Deere introduces the 4M and 4R Series compact utility tractors for farmers, ranchers and rural property owners who are looking for the most versatile, feature-rich chore tractor available. Six models (4044M, 4052M, 4066M, 4044R, 4052R, 4066R) make up the family and provide operators the uptime, performance, comfort and convenience needed to complete a wide variety of tasks, including loading, mowing, raking and digging.