For maximizing the value of the John Deere & Company Pension Fund, How
could the neural network possibly outperform a human? Is the neural
network really learning? Why or why not?

Of course it's learning... Neural networks can learn to recognize
patterns and to classify new information on the basis of learned
patterns.  It may or may not be better than a human, depending on the
size of the network, the quality of the training, and the
sophistication of the human.