John Deere Reaps What They Sow
The recent news that the FTC and AGs from two farm states (IL and MN) have filed litigation against John Deere is a terrific step forward for Right to Repair laws already in effect or underway. Even the dissenting letters offered by two FTC commissioners support the Right to Repair but don’t like the timing of the filing, which is so close to a new administration in the White House. We understand the partisanship concerns, but there is no real excuse for a delay. John Deere has been dodging Right to Repair compliance for a decade in anticipation of actual enforcement being delayed or removed altogether. The FTC just laid down a marker that repair monopolies will be disbanded.
Our organization, the Digital Right to Repair Coalition (aka repair.org) has been in the middle of this fight since our founding in 2013. We have worked tirelessly with legislators from both sides of the aisle to make sure that we can all fix our stuff. It’s our small “r” right to control the property we buy. We’ve shepherded agriculture Right to Repair bills alongside general consumer electronics Right to Repair bills in 48 states (so far) and in multiple U.S. territories. Not to mention the work we’ve done in support of global repair initiatives in the EU, Canada, and Australia.
Over the years, Deere has made multiple promises to forestall legislation which they have not kept. When pressured by legislation filed in Nebraska, New York, Wyoming and Minnesota, Deere attempted to placate farmers by announcing back in 2018 that they would allow independent repair by 2021. That didn’t happen. As a result, farm groups, including the Farm Bureau in NY, Texas, Michigan, and Georgia along with the Farmers Union, Wheat Growers, Potato Growers, and other interest groups made sure that Right to Repair bills covering AG were filed across at least 30 states starting in 2022.
The next set of promises were made to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) in January of 2023 in exchange for their agreement not to support Right to Repair legislation. We don’t know why AFBF did this – but we do know that as a consequence agricultural right to repair bills were shut down everywhere except in Colorado. The right to repair law in Colorado ultimately passed and took effect January 1, 2024.
Farmers remain stuck with whatever limited repairs John Deere permits at costs that only they control. There is still no competition for repair of farm equipment. Interoperability between vendors is constrained. Independent service providers cannot provision software tools. Physical parts sales are monopolized. Financing is monopolized. Given the level of dissatisfaction we hear about from legislators – right to repair bills are going to continue to move in 2025 and it will not matter if AFBF stays on the sidelines and implicitly works against their constituents.