Deere & Co. reported second-quarter profit growth below analysts’ estimates as slowing demand for construction equipment offset rising farm-machinery sales, Bloomberg reported.

Net income climbed 22 percent to $763.5 million, or $1.74 a share, from $623.6 million, or $1.36 per share, a year earlier, the Moline, Ill.-based company said. The average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg called for a profit of $1.75 a share. Sales for the three months ended April 30 gained 18 percent to $8.1 billion, higher than the $7.71 billion expected by analysts.

The company predicted today that profits in the current-quarter will fall short of analysts’ estimates. Shares fell as much as 6.3 percent in early trading.

Deere forecast construction machinery orders will fall 3 percent this year as new U.S. residential building may hit 60-year lows. The company earlier projected sales would be unchanged in the face of the subprime mortgage crisis. CEO Robert Lane is relying on agricultural sales to continue to rise as demand for food and biofuels pushes up prices for corn and soybeans.

For its third fiscal quarter, Deere forecast income of $550 million to $575 million, below analysts’ estimates of $654.6 million. Deere reaffirmed its 2008 forecast of full-year net income of $2.2 billion. Analysts, on average, project profits of $2.3 billion.