
Why is the FTC suing John Deere?
The Federal Trade Commission, along with the attorney generals of Illinois and Minnesota, are suing Deere for restricting repair. Here's what you need to know.

On January 15, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is suing John Deere, alleging unfair repair practices. According to the FTC, John Deere made “the only fully functional software repair tool capable of performing all repairs” and then limited that tool to authorized dealerships. The Commission asserts Deere’s actions violate both Section 2 of the Sherman Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act. Both the Illinois and Minnesota attorneys general joined the suit.
For the FTC, this is the culmination of years of investigation. For PIRG and other advocates, it caps nearly a decade of working on behalf of American farmers. For John Deere & Co., this is the most recent, and most significant, legal threat, on top of a class action lawsuit claiming the company unlawfully restricts practices around repair.
Why have farmers been calling for Right to Repair?
Farming is difficult work and a lot of factors can make or break a growing season. With tight seasonal windows for planting and harvesting, the weather can change everything. This makes “durable, reliable, and easily repairable agricultural equipment critical to American farmers’ ability to profitably produce their crops,” according to the FTC. Anything less could undermine farmers’ livelihood.
For generations, farmers have leveraged their mechanical know-how, downtime in off-seasons and networks of handy neighbors to maintain and repair their equipment. When a tractor or combine can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, it is essential that these machines not only work, but also can be maintained easily for many years.
Routine maintenance has changed in recent decades as manufacturers have added onboard computers and increased software dependency of the equipment.
This digitization allows for advanced sensors, GPS tracking (accurate to an inch) and precision planting and harvesting tools which increase farmers’ productivity and make their work easier. However, equipment repairs are no longer strictly physical. The computers may spit out error codes, onboard software can fail and many replacements also require specific computer recalibration procedures to complete the repair. Without the right tools, especially the software tools, repairs can be difficult or even impossible, leaving farmers — especially those in remote areas far from dealerships — without working products for far longer.
Right to Repair reforms aim to ensure that farmers and local independent mechanics can access all the same parts, information and tools — including software tools — that dealers use.
Of 74 farmers across 14 states surveyed by U.S. PIRG Education Fund and National Farmers Union in 2022, 95% supported Right to Repair.
What repairs can’t farmers do?
Increased software use has changed the nature of repairs from largely physical to mostly computer-related; this change is at the heart of the FTC complaint. As of right now, only authorized John Deere dealerships are allowed to access the full version of its Service ADVISOR software tool, which helps review and parse error codes, reset equipment after repairs, and install software on new components. When Deere equipment has an issue which requires access to Service ADVISOR to diagnose or complete a repair, farmers might not have any way to fix the problems with their own farm equipment. At times, the only recourse is to go to the authorized repair centers, where they may be charged high prices for often simple fixes.
To its credit, over the years, John Deere has increased the number of repairs farmers and independent mechanics can accomplish. Deere has released an alternative form of Service ADVISOR, called Customer Service ADVISOR that farmers and independent repair mechanics can purchase on an annual subscription basis.
However, this software tool costs thousands of dollars a year and still has a documented variety of issues and restrictions ranging from missing diagnostic information to a complete inability to install firmware to allow new components to communicate with the main computer. The result is that even the most tech-savvy farmer or mechanic cannot make certain complete repairs to their own vehicles because the accessible tools are insufficient.
Why is the FTC getting involved?
The FTC complaint alleges that “because farmers and [independent mechanics] cannot always know, at the time of equipment malfunction, whether repair will ultimately require dealer involvement, and because farmers sometimes prefer to have all repairs performed by one provider in one trip, Deere’s repair restrictions steer additional (non-restricted) repair business away from self-repair and [independent mechanics] and into Deere’s dealer network.“ It can cost hundreds of dollars to haul a heavy piece of equipment to a repair center, and means the equipment is out of service until it returns — no farmer wants the expense or downtime of hauling equipment to multiple locations. If certain repairs are impossible for anyone but the dealer, that gives the dealership an advantage on all repair business.
Everyone relies on technology, but very few of us have our livelihood dependent on a specific device in the way farmers rely on their equipment. If a tractor fails within a critical planting window, it could ruin the entire season. Therefore, authorized repair shops that are “the only game in town” when it comes to getting equipment back up and running have a lot of market power and not much constraint on what they can charge.
The FTC hopes to remove these repair restrictions – giving the full suite of tools to farmers and mechanics so that all repairs are possible outside of a dealership. This would allow farmers to make their own repairs, or to choose whatever mechanic they feel can work quickly, effectively and at the best price point. In short, this would give farmers the ability to do what they want with their equipment. And shouldn’t we all be able to do what we want with what we own?
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Authors
Will Sherwood
Campaign for the Right to Repair, Associate, PIRG
Will is an advocate and researcher for the national Right to Repair campaign and provides support for PIRG’s New Economy campaigns. Will lives just outside of Boston where he gardens, reads and is often found experimenting with wild new recipes in the kitchen.