FTC sues John Deere over right to repair, Montana lawmakers weigh in
Like a winter squall, expert witness Ron Harmon of Havre, Montana, blew into the state legislature in Montana this week to present some cold hard facts on a turbulent issue.
The issue is the right to repair a farm tractor, something that has not only the attention of Montana legislators but also the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Things are not as they should be, says Harmon, a dealer who works on all makes and models of tractors from his shop in Big Sky country.
“The crux of the problem is this,” Harmon says. “If they (manufacturers) would allow, like every other industry, access to independent mechanics and users to fix their equipment without having to have a dealer tech come fix it. That would begin to solve the problem.” According to testimony, technicians who work on the equipment are forced into buying new software on a regular basis, and often equipment owners (farmers/ranchers) can get the parts to fix the tractor, but in order to reprogram the equipment to accept the new part, a need a John Deere dealer is needed.
The FTC’s law suit, filed in January, alleges that John Deere needs to do more to help its customers help themselves and accuses the tractor manufacturer of unfair practices and worse.
A supporter of the suit is North Dakota’s Mark Watne, president of the state’s farmer’s union.
Says Watne: “This is a good thing to happen. The good news is that we are going to get a ruling of some kind out of a regulatory body that says what it says … We can quit the speculation and the farmer can then make choices on what they want to buy.” Details of the suit can be read at ftc.gov, the FTC’s web page. Filed on January 15, the suit states that Deere’s “use of unfair practices … have driven up equipment repair costs for farmers while also depriving farmers of the ability to make timely repairs on critical farming equipment, including tractors.”
It all comes down to software and farmers and ranchers living in a high tech world while still working the same ground and crops.
“Life on the farm is getting to be very high tech,” Watne says. “Because of technological advances, we are in a certain atmosphere where having control of software and hardware is quite valuable.”States are taking notice.
South Dakota recently filed its own right to repair bill, but pulled the bill this week, says Representative Marty Overweg.
“The bill wasn’t ready. We’ll come back to it again next year,” Overweg says, adding that the bill needs to be “reworded.”
Montana, on the other hand, is just getting started.
Harmon was one of multiple witnesses who testified in the Feb. 13 hearing as lawmakers considered HB390.
Drafted by the state’s farmer’s union, the bill was being evaluated as industry professionals testified for and against the legislation.
Montana Farmer’s Union President Marty Schweitzer says that the hearing lasted more than two hours. An advocate for the bill, Schweitzer says manufacturers spoke out against it.
“We keep hearing over and over from the manufacturers that none of this is necessary because they are already doing these things,” Schweitzer says. “You would think, if they are already doing these things then they wouldn’t be against the bill if that is the case.”
Schweitzer, who has hay ground in or around Geyser, MT, will attest to personal experience with John Deere equipment, new and old. He says the weak point is in customer support.
Schweitzer remembers a haying season in which he went a full month without his newer tractor and finished out the season with old equipment. Another time, the baler would not communicate with the tractor. Neither time, Schweitzer says, was he happy with his options.
Schweitzer likes the newer tech, just not the current practices available for repairs. “I’m not against this new technology at all. It’s good stuff. I just want the opportunity to fix it myself or send it to my guy down the road and not be held hostage.”The status quo, he says, is due to be overhauled. “It really is in violation of fair markets and it’s scary stuff.”
Harmon says three manufacturers are engaged in unethical trade practices in order to help their profit margins. Harmon names the three manufacturers as Deere, Case IH-New Holland, and Fendt, formerly known as AGCO.
Harmon himself is the manufacturer of the Big Bud tractor and can be understood to be in competition with the bigger names but also to understand the industry from the inside out. He continues to work on all brands of tractors as he can from Havre.
Watne likes the FTC suit for his state and for the national organization as a whole, applauding the FTC for their diligence and thoroughness.
“The FTC, they talked to a good many farmers and ranchers over the course of preparing the suit. They worked hard at gathering data on what is was like to experience these sorts of challenges with the software and the tractors and the kinds of delays that were created.”
Everyday obstacles, Watne says, are qualified technicians who are available when needed; getting parts; affording parts and repairs; and simply enjoying what you paid for.
Even a tractor under warranty might present a problem for the owner of the tractor.
“This is even a problem in a warranty scenario. There are simply not enough parts and not enough qualified repair people available to work on your equipment while it’s under warranty.”
Watne puts things this way: Farmers who run green tractors have a right to repair their own equipment and to avoid a John Deere repair center while they’re at it.
“John Deere doesn’t want you to have that ability,” Watne says.
Software issues are so debilitating that it can mean many different things. The tractor won’t start, or it will start but you can’t do the work it’s designed to do because any implement that you use won’t operate properly if that equipment even operates at all.
Bigger than any brand of tractor, the conversation about the power of ownership over software and hardware is likely to be ongoing because of the times we live in, Watne says.”All of it is software, affecting both the tractor itself as well as any implement you are pulling behind the tractor,” he says.
Are company’s like Deere just trying to keep up with the times themselves or are they taking consumers for a ride? Watne says it’s a little of both.
“I can appreciate that maybe they (John Deere) don’t quite now how to right fit the repair model in real time. I’m not going to take that away from John Deere. But I think there is also some profiting from the ownership of software going on.”
As evidence that manufacturers don’t always have their customers at heart, Watne observes that the pool of mechanics close to home has been dwindling over the years.
“Even qualified mechanics have been moved further and further away from the farm. There are simply not enough qualified repair people to work on equipment. If that is the case, then John Deere needs to come out and state what sort of corrective actions they are going to take.”
It is possible that the FTC lawsuit applies the necessary pressure to reveal such actions, Watne says.
Media relations at John Deere could not be reached for comment at press time, but a complete statement from the company can be read in a news release dated the day of the suit. The statement, which opposes the law suit and says the suit misrepresents the fact, says “This lawsuit, filed on the eve of a change in Administration, ignores the Company’s long-standing commitment to customer self-repair and the consistent progress and innovation we have made over time, including the launch of Equipment Mobile in 2023 and the previously announced launch of new capabilities for John Deere Operations Center™ later this year. The complaint is based on flagrant misrepresentations of the facts and fatally flawed legal theories, and it punishes innovation and procompetitive product design. John Deere will vigorously defend itself against this baseless lawsuit.”
When it comes to servicing modern tractors and not doing a very good job of it, Deere is not the only offender, Watne says.”Other manufacturers are dong this. This isn’t about picking on green equipment. This is much more than that.”
That’s been the experience of one rancher in northern Wyoming, Gary Gillette.
Gillette is an International man, through and through.
Gillette grew up alongside homesteaders in the area and currently maintains a small cow herd on 370 acres that is half dryland and half farm ground. Gillette is the kind of neighbor anyone would want: Ready to pitch in when needed and able to work on all kinds of things, tractors included.
Gillette, who also does custom work, from haying to managing livestock, says he has two International tractors on his spread, and that the ’75 International 1066 is more reliable than the 2013 International MXM 176, and besides he can work on the older model.
A producer can locate someone to work on the tractor and just when they think they have the problem solved, they learn there is more to the story.
“All this stuff’s alright when it’s fine, but the simplest thing can happen and then you find out that it has to be reprogrammed, even if it’s already been fixed.”
Most producers, Gillette says, can ill afford to sit around themselves, let alone have costly equipment doing the same thing.
“What good does this couple of hundred thousands of dollars tractor – what good is it to you if you can’t use it?”
Downed equipment may even need to be moved, which presents another obstacle.
“They want you to bring it in, but how are you going to bring it in if it isn’t running?”
“You need to be putting hay up when the weather is good. You can’t be waiting four or five days on a part,” he says.
“If someone was to invent a new tractor that had all of the good qualities of the older stuff but also had air conditioning, heat, and ran quiet, why they’d be a millionaire. I’ve heard many other people say the same thing.”
Whatever the future holds, Harmon remains available to testify before legislators and to answer questions from farmers and the general public.
Says Harmon: “I am passionate about this topic. If this is left unchecked we will see way fewer family farms and more corporate entities.”
The issue of fair business practice involves more than just farmers, Harmon says.
“This is so basic. This is our food industry … it’s a primary industry that affects us all.”
