Keith Ellison sues John Deere over farmers’ access to tractor repairs

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is suing iconic tractor maker John Deere over farmers’ rights to repair their own machines.

Citing the frustration of farmers who are forced to rely on licensed dealers to repair their broken tractors, Ellison joined the Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois Attorney General in accusing Deere & Co. of anticompetitive practices Wednesday before a federal court in Chicago.

“Deere has made it virtually impossible for farmers themselves or independent repair shops to fully repair Deere equipment,” Ellison said in a statement. “I am filing this lawsuit against Deere to end its illegal repair monopoly and make it easier for Minnesota farmers to provide for themselves.”

In a statement released Wednesday evening, John Deere said the lawsuit was based on “fatally flawed legal theories.”

“This lawsuit, filed on the eve of a change in (presidential) administration, ignores the company’s long-standing commitment to customer self-healing and the constant progress and innovation we have made over time,” the company wrote.

The Moline, Ill.-based company, which since the 1800s has built tractors and farm machinery as common as red barns in rural farming, has been at the center of a cloud of antitrust scrutiny in the agricultural campaigns in recent years for what has often been the case. was called the “right to repair” campaign.

The company has previously defended its technology as proprietary, preventing independent technicians from accessing software or requiring Deere parts for repairs. Farmers often lament that their tractors stall in the fields during spring planting and they have to wait hours or even days for an authorized technician to reach the farmer to repair it.

In 2023, Colorado passed the first “right to repair” legislation, requiring equipment manufacturers to allow owners or independent repair companies to repair the manufacturers’ machines. Minnesota passed a similar measure that year, but notably exempted agricultural equipment manufacturers from the law’s scope.