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Deere & Co. stockholders have placed three proposals on the agenda for the equipment maker’s annual meeting in Moline, Ill., on Feb. 24, 2010. All three relate to the position of chief executive officer, a job held by Robert Lane for nine years before he was succeeded by Samuel Allen in August.

Here are the proposals, as described in the recent proxy statement:

• Limit CEO compensation in any fiscal year to no more than three times the average of the other executive officers listed in the proxy statement’s summary compensation table. According to the proposal, “the compensation Deere paid its CEO was 4.548 times the average of the other (named executive officers) in 2008, not including the additional money he received from the exercise of stock options.”

• Give the stockholders the opportunity at each annual stockholders’ meeting to vote on an advisory resolution, proposed by management, to ratify the compensation of the executive officers. The proposal quotes a report by RiskMetrics Group, which said: “The internal pay disparity is significant in almost all pay components. Mr. Lane receives a significant portion of the performance bonus and his long-term incentive multiple is substantially higher than other named executive officers.”

• Amend the bylaws to require that an independent director shall serve as chairman of the board of directors, and that the chairman shall not serve as CEO at the same time.

Deere’s board of directors is recommending a “no” vote by stockholders on all three proposals.