Deere & Co. profits dropped to $387 million in the quarter ended Jan. 31 from $681 million in the same period last year, the Moline-based company said today. “Deere’s first-quarter performance reflected sluggish conditions in the global farm sector, which reduced demand for agricultural machinery, particularly larger models, and led to lower sales and income,” Samuel Allen, Deere chairman and CEO, said in a release. “At the same time, our construction and forestry and financial services divisions had higher profits, showing the benefit of a well-rounded business lineup. Worldwide sales and revenues dropped 17 percent, to $6.4 billion in the quarter. Equipment sales dropped to $5.6 billion from nearly $7 billion in the year-ago quarter. Deere’s financial services operations rose to $157 million for the quarter from $142 million a year ago.