Tractors tend a cotton farm in Marana on April 22, 2020.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is suing Deere & Company (John Deere), accusing the agricultural equipment manufacturer of unlawfully monopolizing the market.
“Arizona farmers deserve the right to repair their own equipment without being held hostage by a corporate monopoly,” Mayes said in a statement. “John Deere’s unlawful restrictions not only drive up the costs but also create unnecessary delays that hurt Arizona’s farmers.”
Mayes joins the Federal Trade Commission and four other state attorneys generals from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, in a lawsuit filed last week, arguing that Deere has restricted farmers and independent repair providers from repairing Deere equipment.
“In recent decades Deere has increasingly computerized its agricultural equipment, with numerous functions being performed, monitored, and/or regulated by computerized components referred to as ‘electronic control units’,” according to the lawsuit. “As a result, repair of Deere equipment is no longer purely mechanical; such repair now commonly requires interacting with onboard equipment software to diagnose a problem and/or to calibrate and reprogram any affected ECUs contained in the equipment or replacement parts.”
The company uses a software tool called, “Service ADVISOR™” to diagnose and repair electronic problems that’s only available to authorized Deere dealers, forcing farmers to rely on them for repairs rather than being able to fix them themselves.
Richie Taylor, spokesperson for Mayes’ office, said the company is also accused of engaging in unfair methods of competition.
“Right-to-repair issues are across a variety of industries,” Taylor said. “You can look at cell phones, other computer equipment, many manufacturers now use such specialized and intricate software that they can only be the ones who repair it or a group of independent, authorized dealers.”
Taylor noted that this goes against the fundamental freedom of consumers being able to fix a product that they purchase or using a dealer of their choice.
Deere has a dominant share of large tractor and combine sales in the United States, through their authorized dealers.
The lawsuit alleges that Deere’s actions violate the Arizona Uniform State Antitrust Act and seeks to immediately stop its unlawful business practices.
Taylor explains that this creates a monopoly that drives up prices in the repair industry.
“It’s important to stand up and ensure that people have the right to repair the equipment that they’ve bought and purchased in an affordable way,” Taylor said.
Mayes office said that the case will move forward in the courts.
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