The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in collaboration with the Attorneys General of Illinois and Minnesota, has filed a lawsuit against Deere & Company. The action addresses what the FTC describes as unfair practices that have escalated repair costs for farmers while limiting their ability to perform timely repairs on essential farming equipment.
According to the FTC's complaint, Deere's practices over several decades have restricted farmers and independent repair providers from repairing Deere equipment. This situation forces reliance on Deere's authorized dealers for necessary repairs, which the FTC claims has increased costs for farmers and boosted Deere’s profits from its agricultural equipment and parts business.
FTC Chair Lina M. Khan stated, "Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating for farmers, who rely on affordable and timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn their income." She emphasized that the FTC aims to enable farmers across America to repair their own equipment or choose independent repair shops.
Deere holds a dominant position in the large agricultural equipment market. The company is accused of making it difficult for farmers to access repair tools outside its authorized dealer network. The only fully functional software tool capable of performing all repairs on Deere equipment is produced by Deere itself and made available exclusively to its dealers.
Historically, farmers preferred repairing their own equipment or using local independent services due to lower costs and better reliability. However, with increased computerization of farm machinery, they now depend on a software tool called Service ADVISOR provided only by Deere's authorized dealers.
An alternative tool known as Customer Service ADVISOR exists but lacks full functionality for all repairs. Additionally, Deere does not provide information necessary for developing a generic fully functional repair tool as seen in other industries like automotive.
By controlling access to its repair tools, Deere maintains complete market control over certain repair services related to its products. This monopoly allows them to charge higher prices through authorized dealers who predominantly use expensive branded parts rather than generic ones.
Despite public pressure advocating for farmer rights regarding self-repair capabilities—alongside state legislative actions—Deere continues withholding comprehensive repair tools from owners and independent providers. This restriction impacts farm operations by denying efficient scheduling needed for optimal crop yield while increasing expenditure on repairs and parts.
The FTC seeks court intervention requiring Deere to provide access to its Service ADVISOR tool among other resources previously limited to authorized dealers alone. The Commission voted 3-2 in favor of filing this lawsuit with dissenting opinions from Commissioners Melissa Holyoak and Andrew Ferguson accompanying Chair Khan’s statement supporting the action.
The complaint marks an official step when there is “reason” suggesting legal violations perceived as contrary to public interest according to Commission guidelines.
