Deere & Co. and the US Federal Trade Commission have agreed to settle a joint lawsuit brought against Deere by the FTC and five states alleging that Deere unlawfully limited the ability of farmers and independent repair providers to perform repairs on Deere farm equipment.
Under the settlement, the tractor maker agreed to provide farmers and independent repair shops with the same equipment repair resources, including software, that it currently provides to authorized Deere dealers, the FTC said in a news release. The requirement lasts for 10 years, and compliance will be monitored by the FTC and the plaintiff states, including Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
“Today’s settlement allows farmers to do what they’ve done for generations: fix their own tractors and other farm equipment, without having to pay an authorized John Deere dealer to do it for them,” FTC Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera said Wednesday. “The settlement with Deere will help reduce costs for American farmers. The FTC will continue to fight anticompetitive restrictions on American consumers’ right to redress.”
According to the FTC, Deere manufactures the only software repair tools that can perform all electronic repairs on Deere equipment. However, the company has historically only allowed its authorized dealers to use these tools, “requiring farmers to rely on authorized dealers for many necessary repairs,” the FTC said.
As a result, “Deere unlawfully acquired and maintained monopoly power in the markets for Deere farm equipment repair services,” the agency said. This practice allegedly caused service delays and increased repair costs for farmers.
Repair services that Deere must provide to farmers and independent repair shops include reading, clearing and resetting electronic fault codes; reprogramming of electronic components; restarting a machine after an emissions-related shutdown; and consult and search technical manuals and other information.
The Moline, Illinois-based company will also have to make available to farmers and independent repair providers any future repair resources given to more than 50% of its authorized dealers. In addition, the company must notify its authorized distributors that they mention that these resources are available, and must make this information available to the public.
The agreement “is good news for our customers and for the future of how Deere equipment is supported,” Denver Caldwell, Deere’s vice president of aftersales and customer support, said in a statement. “Producers and equipment operators demand world-class, flexible capabilities to service and repair their machines; we are and will continue to deliver on that expectation.”
Deere has faced a number of “right to repair” lawsuits in recent years. These demands arise from consumers’ desire to repair their own products, from mobile phones to tractors, rather than having to rely on authorized dealers or the original manufacturer.
The new laws have tried to solve this problem. However, right-to-repair advocates say there is more work to be done as products become more technologically advanced and difficult for consumers and independent repair shops to work on.
In April, Deere agreed to pay $99 million as part of a settlement to settle a federal class-action lawsuit alleging it conspired to monopolize its repair services market. The deal applies to people who have paid authorized dealers to repair their big equipment purchased from Deere on or after January 10, 2018.
