BISMARCK, N.D. –  (Aug 22, 2012)  —  Gov. Jack Dalrymple late Tuesday toured the John Deere manufacturing plant in Valley City where company officials are in the process of hiring about 65 additional workers to meet the plant’s production workload.

The John Deere Valley City Seeding Group currently employs about 320 people. Plant Manager David Bradford and other John Deere employees led Dalrymple and North Dakota Commerce Commissioner Al Anderson on a tour of the plant which manufactures crop seeders and tillage equipment.

Dalrymple said,  “I was impressed with the plant’s efficiency, the quality of its workforce and with John Deere’s commitment to the community.  John Deere’s Valley City plant is a good example of the innovation and expertise that continues to drive our state’s manufacturing growth while other states are experiencing declines in this important economic sector.”

 Manufacturing accounts for about 10 percent of North Dakota’s gross domestic product and directly employs about six percent of the state’s workforce. Strong market growth, both domestically and internationally, have contributed to North Dakota’s healthy manufacturing economy.