Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accusing it of “unfair” practices that force farmers to pay higher than average repair costs. The federal organization, along with the attorneys general of Illinois and Minnesota, allege the company uses practices that prevent farmers from repairing equipment they own.
In other words, this is another salvo in . The complaint says John Deere uses questionable practices, such as embedding software in farm equipment, to discourage people from trying to fix things themselves. In addition, the lawsuit points to “decades” of illegal behavior that forces farmers to turn to the company's authorized network of dealers for repairs.
“Restrictions on illegal repairs could have devastating consequences for farmers who rely on affordable and timely repairs to harvest crops and generate income,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a press release. “Today's action by the Federal Trade Commission aims to ensure that farmers across America can repair their equipment themselves or use the repair shop of their choice.”
The suit further alleges that Deere manufactures “the only full-featured software repair tool capable of performing any repair” on its equipment, which was only available to authorized dealers. These dealers allegedly charge higher prices than independent stores, giving the company illegal monopoly power. Farmers have long argued that they can perform basic equipment repairs, but computers lock down the systems until the work is done by an officially licensed technician. This thing is said to simply flip a software switch.
Company . It even signed with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) in 2023 to make its software, tools and documentation available to farmers and independent repair shops. It doesn't appear that this actually happened, as the lawsuit alleges that the company “continues to illegally withhold a fully functional repair tool from equipment owners.”
The lawsuit seeks to “stop Deere's anticompetitive behavior” by mandating access to its software repair tool as well as “other repair resources available to authorized dealers.” Nathan Proctor, PIRG's Right to Repair Campaign Director, that “We should not tolerate companies blocking repairs. When you buy something, you should be able to do whatever you want with it.”