The Federal Trade Commission is investigating tractor manufacturer John Deere over long standing allegations that Deere makes its farm equipment hard

The Feds Are Coming for John Deere Over the Right to Repair

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2024-10-18 17:00:07

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating tractor manufacturer John Deere over long standing allegations that Deere makes its farm equipment hard to repair. The investigation has been ongoing since 2021, and we know more about it now thanks to a court filing made public on Thursday.

A data analytics company called Hargrove & Associates Inc (HAI) who works for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), of which John Deere is a prominent member, filed a court brief in an attempt to quash the FTC’s investigation. The FTC wants HAI to turn over data submitted from AEM about sales, but HAI is saying that the FTC’s request is too broad and could hurt its business.

Court drama aside, HAI spelled out exactly what the FTC is looking for. “The stated purpose of the FTC’s [investigation] is ‘[t]o determine whether Deere & Company, or any other person, has engaged in or is engaging in unfair, deceptive, anticompetitive, collusive, coercive, predatory, exploitative, or exclusionary acts or practices in or affecting commerce related to the repair of agricultural equipment in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act,’” HAI said in the court records.

John Deere has been notorious for years for making its farm equipment hard to repair. Much like today’s cars, John Deere’s farm equipment comes with a lot of computers. When something simple in one of its tractors or threshers breaks, a farmer can’t just fix it themselves. Even if the farmer has the technical and mechanical know-how to make a simple repair, they often have to return to the manufacturer at great expense. Why? The on-board computers brick the machines until a certified Deere technician flips a switch.