Article: Corn colors firms' results: Deere makes hay on price rise; Sara Lee's costs grow.

Byline: James P. Miller

Aug. 16--Two of the state's biggest companies reported quarterly results Wednesday, and though farm equipment-maker Deere & Co. and packaged-food giant Sara Lee Corp. operate in very different markets, both corporations' results reflect the impact of the nationwide push to boost production of ethanol, a gasoline alternative.

Making fuel from food has helped send grain prices sharply higher. That means farmers are planting more acreage and pocketing fatter profits. And because they are so flush, many are opting to replace their old tractors and combines with new green-and-yellow rigs made by Moline, Ill.-based Deere.

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