Posted on 01/15/2025 2:45:43 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
An FTC lawsuit accuses the agriculture machinery giant of illegal repair restrictions that allegedly inflate costs and deny farmers timely equipment fixes.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with attorneys general from Illinois and Minnesota, filed a lawsuit against John Deere manufacturer Deere and Company on Wednesday, Jan. 15, charging the agriculture machinery giant with engaging in practices that allegedly force farmers to rely on its authorized dealers for critical equipment repairs.
According to the FTC’s complaint, these alleged tactics have inflated costs for American farmers and deprived them of the ability to quickly fix the tractors and combines they depend on for planting and harvesting.
The lawsuit alleged that Deere holds monopoly power in certain repair services for its own agricultural equipment, partly due to its exclusive control over a fully functional software repair tool called “Service ADVISOR.”
The FTC alleged that Deere limits distribution of this tool to authorized dealers only, preventing farmers and independent repair shops from making the same range of repairs that official dealers can perform.
An alternative version of the software—Customer Service ADVISOR—is said to be incapable of offering the same level of functionality, creating what the Commission describes as an unlawful chokehold on essential farm equipment repairs.
“Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating for farmers, who rely on affordable and timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn their income,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan in a statement announcing the suit. “The FTC’s action today seeks to ensure that farmers across America are free to repair their own equipment or use repair shops of their choice—lowering costs, preventing ruinous delays, and promoting fair competition for independent repair shops.”
(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...
I think Kenmore (Sears product) did this for years.
Maybe the plaintiffs are right, but if so then why among all the farm states only Minnesotta and Illinois AGs got involved, or is this just a “blue state” and Biden-FTC complaint???
yeah, but think of the Maytag service guy that never had anything to do
Back in the day a John Deere “A” had a small green tool box incorporated into its frame...
it’s about John Wayne, Johnny Cash, and John Deere...
Way out Here.
(great song)
Josh Thompson,
I believe
I have one of those. It’s got a hand clutch and petcocks to reduce compression for starting.
For once I agree with Biden’s people. It’s sickening to read reports of farmers, when it’s time to harvest, but they have a small problem - often something they can fix on their own* or have a nearby mechanic fix. Instead they’re told to WAIT A WEEK for “The Man” to show up. Sickening, and this federal crackdown all could have been avoided by Deere not being such assholes.
*note to millennials and younger people: Back in the day, people often learned to fix things themself. We even were taught which end of a screwdriver to hold.
"As God as my witness I thought washers could fly."
Aunt Bea, call the man in Mt. Pilot.
But, Andy...
Call the man!
Well, this was the place that fired a secretary for making a Xerox copy of her bare bottom.
I often hear Jay Leno bemoan that in the old days (for example), you'd replace the clutch where as now, the whole engine and drive train are replaced. As Jay says "No one fixes things these days!!"
Us kids learned how to fix machinery at an early age.
IT IS NOT “ALLEGED”.
A farmer cannot even change a SPARK PLUG-—ONLY A JD TECH CAN DO THAT.
I was raised on a dairy farm in Wisconsin.
We did most of the maintenance on our equipment.
A few John Deer tractors near us. We had a Minneapolis Moline Model M & an even OLDER RUMLEY-—that had steel wheels with NO rubber tires...Paddles on wheels.
Current JD rules==I Would NEVEr buy any JD equipment-—NOT even a mower.
If you didn’t fix, you didn’t drive.
I remember that incident in Moline; around that time, I was in a class with a guy whose dad worked in the same office as the gal attached to that bare bottom.
Back in those days, Deere & Co. could still come across like they were a family friend, and brand loyalty was pretty deeply intrenched on most farms. These days, tearing Deere corporate a new one when equipment goes down is not uncommon on farms where grandpa thought Deere could do no wrong.
The idea is to make it cheaper just to buy a new one.
Back in the day, if you didn’t change your own oil, you were a wuss.
Well, this was the place that fired a secretary for making a Xerox copy of her bare bottom.
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