Minnesota, Illinois sue Deere over ‘right-to-repair’ restrictions

The states of Minnesota and Illinois, along with the Federal Trade Commission, have filed a lawsuit against John Deere, challenging the company’s restrictions on farmers’ ability to repair their own equipment.

The 37-page lawsuit filed today alleges that, for decades, Deere’s practices have limited the ability of farmers and independent repair providers to repair Deere equipment, forcing farmers to instead rely on Deere’s network of authorized dealers for necessary repairs. The document says that this unfair steering 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, the complaint alleges.

“Minnesota farmers proudly feed and supply people across the world, and our farmers deserve better than what they’re getting from Deere,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. “Deere has made it virtually impossible for farmers themselves or independent repair shops to fully repair Deere equipment, which forces farmers to rely on authorized Deere dealers, which can be more expensive, slower, and for some a long distance away from farms. I’m filing this lawsuit against Deere to end their unlawful repair monopoly and make it easier for Minnesota farmers to afford their lives.”

The company, a staple in agriculture since the 1800s with its iconic tractors and farm machinery, has recently found itself under antitrust scrutiny in rural America, largely tied to the ongoing “right-to-repair” movement.

Durable, reliable, and easily repairable agricultural equipment is critical to American farmers. Yet many feel that Deere, which maintains a dominant market share position across the large agricultural equipment market in the U.S., has made it difficult for farmers to repair their own equipment or turn to local, independent repair providers.

“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 authorized dealers, forcing farmers to solely rely on more expensive authorized dealers for critical repairs,” Ellison wrote.

According to the complaint, by creating these restrictions, Deere has unlawfully acquired and maintained monopoly power in the market for certain repair services for Deere agricultural equipment.

“With the price of farming equipment continuing to rise, farmers should have increased flexibility to repair and maintain their equipment and not be forced to utilize expensive authorized dealers,” said Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. “I will continue to advocate for increased marketplace competition and stand for the rights of Illinois consumers.”

Historically, farmers have built up the know-how to keep costs down by either repairing their own equipment or relying on local, independent shops, which have offered various advantages over authorized Deere dealers, including lower costs, better reliability, closer to the farmers, and faster repair times.

Yet with the increasing computerization of Deere’s equipment over the past few decades, farmers must now rely on Deere’s interactive software tool called Service ADVISOR, which Deere makes available exclusively to its authorized dealers, the complaint states.

John Deere has long defended its technology as proprietary, restricting access to its software and requiring repairs to use Deere-certified parts and technicians. This has left farmers frustrated, especially when equipment breaks down during critical times like spring planting, forcing them to endure delays of hours or even days waiting for authorized repairs.

In 2023, Colorado broke ground as the first state to pass “right-to-repair” legislation, mandating that equipment manufacturers grant owners and independent repair businesses the ability to fix their machines. Minnesota passed a similar law that same year but excluded agricultural equipment manufacturers from its scope.

Later that year, a high-ranking U.S. Department of Justice official visited a farm near Cannon Falls, Minnesota, addressing antitrust issues, including the challenges farmers face in repairing the machinery they own.

Although Customer Service ADVISOR is available as a repair tool, it lacks the same capabilities as the tools provided to authorized Deere dealers. Deere has failed to release the information needed to create a fully functioning generic repair tool for independent shops like manufacturers in the car and trucking industries have done.

Among other remedies, Ellison asks the court to order that Deere make its fully functional Service ADVISOR repair tool available to independent repair providers and owners of Deere large tractors and combines, along with any other repair resources that are available to authorized dealers.

Earlier this week, Deere announced updates to support customers’ ability to maintain and repair equipment, claiming that its latest expansion will offer a more user-friendly, centralized platform for self-repair.