In its statement, the DOJ argued that because of Deere’s practices, when tractors break, “repair markets function poorly, agriculture suffers. Crops waste. Land lies fallow.” It expressed concern that “repair restrictions can drive independent repair shops out of business by raising their costs or denying them key inputs, which, in turn, leaves consumers with fewer choices.”
“Deere seems to be more focused on stifling shareholder concerns than addressing them,” Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich said in a statement. “Spending time and energy on an SEC challenge could be put to better use by making their products better serve their customers.”
Deere’s tractors are so notoriously difficult to repair that farmers have learned basic hacking techniques to keep them running. The used tractor market has also exploded, with tractors built free of on-board computers commanding incredible prices at auction. As a result, the much feared government regulation has finally come. States across the country are looking to pass their own right to repair bills and President Biden has signed an executive order aimed at creating right-to-repair legislation.
