Updated January 16, 2025 at 09:28 AM ET
Tractor maker John Deere faces a federal lawsuit that accuses the company of illegally forcing farmers to use only authorized dealers for critical repairs, boosting its multibillion-dollar profits.
The lawsuit — filed on Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission along with Illinois and Minnesota — escalates a long-running battle over farmers' right to repair their own agricultural equipment and parts.
As tractors and combines have gotten more computerized, farmers have complained that Deere has restricted access to its software and made it difficult, or nearly impossible, for owners to diagnose and fix problems themselves or with the help of independent mechanics. Instead, farmers have to use authorized dealers, who tend to charge more and may take longer.
The lawsuit, which Deere called "meritless," accuses the company of withholding access to its technology and best repair tools and of maintaining monopoly power over many repairs. Deere also reaps additional profits from selling parts, the complaint alleges, as authorized dealers tend to sell pricey Deere-branded parts for their repairs rather than generic alternatives.
"Unfair repair restrictions can mean farmers face unnecessary delays during tight planting and harvest windows," FTC Chair Lina Khan wrote in a statement. "In rural communities, the restrictions can sometimes mean that farmers need to drive hours just to get their equipment fixed. For those who have long fixed their own equipment, these artificial restrictions can seem especially inefficient, with tractors needlessly sitting idle as farmers and independent mechanics are held back from using their skill and talent."
Deere & Company, for its part, says the FTC's complaint is "based on flagrant misrepresentations of the facts and fatally flawed legal theories, and it punishes innovation and procompetitive product design." The manufacturer says it was actively negotiating with the government over a potential settlement before the filing, which landed just days before President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office.
Indeed, Republican Commissioner Andrew Ferguson, who is Trump's pick to become the new FTC chair, voted against suing Deere. In a dissenting statement, he and fellow Republican Melissa Holyoak wrote that they welcomed the FTC "taking up the cause of the farmer" but the timing of the case lent it "the stench of partisan motivation."
They also wrote the FTC did not gather enough evidence to have "any real confidence of our ultimate chance of success" in litigation. It's unclear how or whether the complaint against Deere might proceed under Ferguson.
Earlier this week, Deere said it was expanding a pilot program for farmers to repair equipment either by themselves or by going to independent technicians. The company says, among other things, the pilots let people reprogram Deere electronic controllers.
"Deere remains fully committed," the company said in a statement, "to ensuring that customers have the highest quality equipment, reliable customer service and that they, along with independent repair technicians, have access to tools and resources that can help diagnose, maintain and repair our customers' machines."
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