Deere Showcases Digital Tool for Repairing Equipment

John Deere leaders say a new digital tool for diagnosing machine problems and reprogramming software shows the company’s commitment to farmers servicing their own equipment.

At an event in Mattoon, Illinois, John Deere employees touted the company’s new Operations Center PRO service, which they said will allow farmers to better connect with their equipment to fix errors. Denver Caldwell, Deere’s vice president of aftermarket and customer support, told reporters that the tool is an example of the company’s “long-term commitment to not only right to repair, but giving our customers the tool to have repair wherever they want it, however they want it, in a world-class way.”

 “We don’t care if they want to do it themselves,” Caldwell said of customer repairs. “They deserve world class repair. If they want to do this work through a local service provider, they deserve world-class repair. If they want to do it through a professionally trained dealer organization, we have that as well.”

Caldwell said Customer Service ADVISOR — the predecessor program to Operation Center PRO — “is still delivering value” to John Deere customers but has not necessarily kept up with all of the technological advancements in newer equipment models. He said the new service will allow farmers to install equipment software updates by clicking a button, while also providing access to a technical manuals library.

Customers can access multiple license types. One that gives access to the tool for an individual machine by using a personal identification number starts at $195 annually. The second allows them to work on an entire fleet of machines and costs $4,995 annually. Other license options exist for ag and turf, construction forestry, and golf, turf and utility vehicles as well.

Deere first unveiled the new service in late July. The system comes as the company faces lawsuits from the Federal Trade Commission and several farmers that accuse it of unlawfully limiting farmers’ ability to repair their own equipment. In its suit, the FTC took issue with some aspects of Customer Service ADVISOR, claiming the version provided to customers featured more limited capabilities than the one available to dealers, which it alleged gave the company a monopoly over the repair service.

Willie Cade, a right-to-repair advocate and Nebraska Farmers Union member, previously told Agri-Pulse in an email that he “welcomes any step toward improving equipment owner access to repair tools,” but criticized the decision to charge customers for the system. Cade also said he was concerned that support for independent mechanics is “conditional and limited” and “mediated through Deere’s digital ecosystem — effectively extending Deere’s gatekeeping power over every repair transaction, both now and in the future.”

This article was originally published by Agri-Pulse. Agri-Pulse is a trusted source in Washington, D.C., with the largest editorial team focused on food and farm policy coverage.