Thanks, Brent. Let's start with the worldwide Ag & Turf second quarter results on slide 6.
Net sales were down 18% compared to last year, primarily driven by lower shipment volumes and the impact of currency translation, partially offset by positive price realization. Price realization in the quarter was positive by 1.5%, while currency translation was negative by 2%. Operating profit was $794 million, resulting in a 13.3% operating margin for the division. The year-over-year decrease is primarily due to lower shipment volumes, sales mix along with the unfavorable effects of foreign currency exchange. These factors were partially offset by price realization, lower selling, administrative and general expenses, reduced production costs and lower research and development expenses.
Before reviewing our industry outlook, I'll first provide an update on the operational status of our facilities around the world, as well as some commentary on the regional dynamics impacting ag markets, starting on slide 7. In North America, nearly all Ag & Turf facilities remained operational during the second quarter. A few factories have experienced temporary production stoppages due to the supply-based disruptions. Although risk and uncertainty remain, we currently forecast to recover any delayed shipments throughout the balance of the year. For our large ag business, the remainder of our 2020 production schedule is largely backed by customer orders through either our early order programs or rolling order books. Specifically, order programs for combines and crop cares are completed, while large tractor order books extend into the fourth quarter, roughly 90% full. Right now, our North American customers are focused on planning and crop protection. Planted acres for soybeans are expected to rebound this year, while corn acres are forecasted at the highest level since 2012. Favorable spring weather has resulted in above average planning progress at this stage of the season and is running well ahead of last year's severely impacted progress. Despite the recovery in planted acres, the current environment is weighing on farmer sentiment, as near-term demand for agricultural commodities remains uncertain. Recent shifts in the food supply chain combined with decreases in ethanol demand have contributed to the likelihood of elevated carryout levels for grain, which has weighed on commodity prices. The impact of the Phase 1 agreement with China remains an unknown variable at this time, since most agricultural exports to China from North America tend to occur around the harvest season. As a result, farmers are taking a wait and see approach on any anticipation of an uptick in exports. Despite the many unknowns and variables, large row crop farmers by and large have continued operations as normal. And on a positive note, key input costs such as fuel and fertilizer decreased, providing some offset to the decline in commodity prices. Dairy and livestock farmers on the other hand have seen greater degrees of short-term disruption due to lower milk and protein prices. Restaurant and school closures have shifted food consumption trends, creating an oversupply of some egg products in the near-term. Government aid directed towards these producers will help offset some of the recent effects but we expect this segment to remain challenged for the year. Regarding our consumer-oriented businesses in the U.S. Turf and utility sales have remained resilient, especially in the seasonally important month of April. With many U.S. consumers quarantined and together with favorable spring weather in North America, home and lawn projects have buoyed demand for products such as riding lawnmowers and compact utility tractors. While we've been encouraged by demand through April, it's important to note that demand is typically driven in part by the overall economic situation. And as a result, we've taken a more cautious outlook for the rest of the year. Shifting to South America. Farming conditions in Brazil have been favorable as the first crop is mostly harvested and expected to set a record for soybean production, despite some persistent dryness in the southern growing regions. Its second crop is also in overall good condition. Crop exports have been particularly strong while a sharp depreciation in the Brazilian real has posted and boosted margins for the industry. Despite the solid levels of profitability, farmers have remained cautious on further investment, due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, as well as possible implications stemming from the Phase 1 U.S.-China trade agreement. Moving on to Europe. Our ag facilities are largely operational after experiencing some short-term disruptions. This is due in large part to the amazing efforts of our team and what they've put in place to both keep employees safe and keep operations running. As an example, at one facility, we entirely restructured our processes over the course of two days and were able to reopen immediately thereafter. We split production into two shifts, enhanced social distancing by workstation and procured additional personal protective equipment. Furthermore, we designed and trained employees on entirely new work protocols. These actions gave our employees the confidence to return to work. Within a week of establishing these new processes, our facility was operating near its original level of productivity.
This is just one of many examples in the region, where we've taken extraordinary efforts to maintain operations in order to support our customers. While our facilities remain up and running, market conditions in Europe are mixed. Arable farmers are contending with the uncertainty of lower yields due to adverse weather and softening commodity prices impacted by the pandemic. Despite the uncertainty, conditions for arable farmers remain mostly stable, with weaker currency providing some support to the incomes. On the other hand, the dairy sector has experienced significant pressure as dairy prices have been negatively impacted by the closure of schools and restaurants, and the overall disruption to the food supply chain and near term changes in consumption.
Conversely, pork margins remain strong as exports to China are at an all-time high. Lastly, in Asian markets, our operations have varied significantly by country. In China, our facilities are all open after experiencing closures in January and February. Meanwhile, our Indian facilities shut down from late-March through most of April and are operating at limited capacity today. Correspondingly, market conditions and sentiment vary country by country with key markets in India, China and Southeast Asia moderating due to uncertainty.
Before reviewing our industry outlook, I'd like to highlight a few themes observed throughout the quarter on slide 8 that reflect the value of our dealer channel and connected support capabilities. First, regarding our channel. It's important to note that substantially all of our dealers remained operational during the quarter and made full ability to service our customers. We've long viewed their overall financial health as a formidable competitive advantage in our industry. Financially, our North American ag channel came out of the last agricultural trough stronger than when they entered. Today, as they work through COVID-related challenges, our channel is starting from a position of strength and stands ready to serve an industry fleet advancing an age, while offering support on new technologies that deliver lower cost of operations and overall better outcomes. Because of consistent investments made by both Deere and our dealers, over the last 10 years, we're uniquely able to serve our customers in this challenging environment in a way that sets us apart from other industry players.
The combination of dealer investments and service capabilities coupled with Deere's investment in critical precision ag infrastructure positioned us to meet customer needs throughout the pandemic. Since 2011, Deere's equipped large ag vehicles with connectivity capabilities standard in each machine. This basic connectivity was the first critical step on this long journey to enable the many precision tools customers rely on today. Features like the John Deere Operation Center, Service ADVISOR Remote, Expert Alerts and Remote Display Access are all part of a comprehensive precision ag infrastructure, we've been building out for a decade and important tools that feed our data and analytics capabilities. Just as importantly, our dealer channel already has the resources and infrastructure in place to actively utilize these tools and to serve our customers.
Over the years, they've invested significantly in establishing their own technology departments and operation centers to better monitor and service customers' machines. For example, over the last two years, our Brazilian channel established over 30 customer data operation centers dedicated to the full-time monitoring and support of customers' operations. The value of these collective investments became more evident than ever over the course of the last few months. We've seen a significant increase in the use of our connected support tools, with total connected machines up 30% year-over-year, totaling over 200,000 ag machines worldwide. For some features such as Remote Display Access, we've seen adoption rates increase well over 100% since last year. The increase has been particularly encouraging in regions like Europe and Brazil. Not only have these tools allowed customers to practice social distancing guidelines, they've also decreased downtime and cost of their operations. So, while the recent environment has been challenging on many fronts, it's also confirmed to us that our strategy to intensify our precision investments while reshaping our organization to allow for greater degrees of agility and responsiveness is positioning us to deliver our customers a truly differentiated experience.
With that context, let's turn to our 2020 Ag & Turf industry outlook on slide 9. We expect ag industry sales in the U.S. and Canada to be down roughly 10% for 2020, reflecting increased uncertainty in the U.S. and slightly more challenging conditions in Canada. Moving on to Europe, the industry outlook is forecasted to be down 5% to 10%, as a result of lower yields for arable farmers and a difficult market for dairy producers. In South America, industry sales of tractors and combines are projected to be down 10% to 15% for the year. Despite relatively positive fundamentals in Brazil, farmers have adopted a cautious stance due to COVID-related uncertainty and any potential shifts in global trade between the U.S. and China. Meanwhile, there remains an ongoing economic uncertainty in Argentina. Shifting to Asia, industry sales are expected to be down moderately as key growth markets like India slow due to countrywide lockdowns.
Lastly, industry retail sales of turf and utility equipment in the U.S. and Canada are projected to be down 10% in 2020. Despite positive sales trends through the second quarter, we've taken a more cautious outlook on the rest of the year. Moving on to our Ag & Turf forecast on slide 10. Fiscal year 2020 sales of worldwide Ag & Turf equipment are forecast to be down between 10% and 15%, which includes expectations of 2 points of positive price realization, offset by currency headwind of about 2 points. For the division's operating margin, our full year forecast is ranging between 8.5% and 10%.
At this time, I'd like to turn the call back over to Brent Norwood to cover details on the quarter for Construction & Forestry division. Brent?