FTC sues John Deere over ‘unfair corporate practices’ and ‘high repair costs’

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has He criticizes it for “unjust” conditions that force farmers to pay the premiums for the premiums. The federal agency, along with the attorneys general of Illinois and Minnesota, alleges that the company engages in practices that prevent farmers from being able to repair their equipment.

In other words, this is another salvo in the . The complaint alleges that John Deere does questionable things, such as embedding software into farm equipment, to discourage people from trying to fix things themselves. In addition, the suit shows “decades” of illegal behavior that causes farmers to go to the company’s legal teams to fix it.

“Illegal processing restrictions can be devastating to farmers, who rely on cheap and timely processing to harvest their crops and earn income,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a press release. “The FTC’s actions today are intended to ensure that farmers across America have the right to repair their equipment or use the retail outlets of their choice.”

The post goes on to say that Deere makes “the only standard programming tool that can do all the repairs” for its equipment, which was only offered to authorized dealers. These retailers allegedly charge higher prices than independent shops, giving the company illegal monopoly power. Farmers have been insisting that they can fix the equipment, but the computer has locked the machine out of operation until an authorized technician has done what they want. This, he says, is just turning the software on.

The company . Although he signed a and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) in 2023 which should make its software, tools and documents available to farmers and independent retailers. It doesn’t appear that this actually happened, as the suit says it “continues to deny owners a well-prepared device.”

The lawsuit seeks to “stop Deere’s anti-competitive conduct” by ordering it to use its own repair software, in addition to “other repair products available from authorized dealers.” Nathan Proctor, PIRG’s Freedom to Organize Campaign Director, that “We don’t have to tolerate companies that prevent maintenance. When you buy something, you have to do whatever you want.”