The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued legal proceedings against John Deere, alleging it is illegally driving up repair costs by forcing farmers to rely on its authorised dealer network. The FTC has taken proceedings against Deere & Company over its use of what it calls unfair practices that have driven up equipment repair costs for farmers while also depriving farmers and independent mechanics of the ability to make timely repairs on critical farming equipment.
The FTC works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. Its complaint alleges that, for decades, Deere’s unlawful practices have limited the ability of farmers and independent repair providers to repair Deere equipment, forcing farmers to rely on Deere’s network of authorised dealers for necessary repairs. The FTC’s complaint alleges this practice has boosted Deere’s multi-billion dollar profits on agricultural equipment and parts, growing its repair parts business, while burdening farmers with higher repair costs.
In response, Deere said the lawsuit “ignores the company’s long-standing commitment to customer self-repair and the consistent progress and innovation we have made over time, including the launch of Equipment Mobile in 2023 and the previously announced launch of new capabilities for John Deere Operations Center later this year.
“The complaint is based on flagrant misrepresentations of the facts and fatally flawed legal theories, and it punishes innovation and pro-competitive product design. John Deere will vigorously defend itself against this baseless lawsuit.”
The FTC outlined: “The only fully functional software repair tool capable of performing all repairs on Deere equipment is produced by Deere. Deere makes this tool available only to Deere’s authorised dealers, forcing farmers to solely rely on more expensive authorised dealers for critical repairs.”
The FTC complaint says farmers must now rely on Deere’s interactive software tool called Service ADVISOR, which Deere makes available only to its authorised dealers. It claims that an inferior repair tool exists, called Customer Service ADVISOR, but that it is incapable of doing all repairs on Deere agriculture equipment. It says Deere also fails to make available to generic repair tool developers the information necessary to develop a fully functional repair tool, as equipment manufacturers in the automotive and trucking industries do.
The FTC claims that through its limited distribution of its repair tools, Deere has been able to control and limit who can repair its agricultural equipment. It notes that Deere’s repair restrictions allow it to reap additional profits through parts sales, as its authorised network of dealers almost always use expensive Deere-branded parts in their repairs in lieu of generic parts.
In a statement from Deere, it says: “Consistent with Deere’s announced plans for the launch of additional self-repair capabilities, and at commission staff’s invitation to enter settlement discussions, the parties were engaged in active negotiations over a potential resolution to the investigation when the FTC filed the lawsuit. As our equipment has become more technologically advanced, Deere has introduced a number of new innovations, tools, and resources to equip customers and independent repair technicians with the maintenance and repair needs of our equipment. Deere remains fully committed 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.”
The FTC complaint says that despite public pressure to give farmers the right to repair their own equipment, including state legislative action, Deere continues to unlawfully withhold a fully functional repair tool from equipment owners.
Deere said: “For decades, John Deere has empowered customers to take control of their repair and maintenance needs, from publishing operator, diagnostic, and technical manuals, to selling parts over the counter to customers and independent repair shops to developing digital tools like Customer Service ADVISOR. John Deere’s latest expansion will offer a more user-friendly, centralised platform for self-repair.”
The FTC’s lawsuit seeks to stop Deere’s anti-competitive conduct by ordering that Deere make available to owners of Deere tractors and combines, as well as independent repair providers, access to its fully functional Service ADVISOR repair tool and any other repair resources available to authorised dealers.