John Deere is accused of squeezing farmers by making them wait longer and charging them more for tractor repairs.
Deere controls 53 percent of the U.S. market for large tractors and 60 percent of the U.S. market for farm combines.
Tractors stall during harvest and farmers and local mechanics cannot work on them because John Deere delays repairs. They won’t let farmers use their software.
Not all farmers can financially justify using a $600,000 combine. Economy of scale dictates which farmers can afford to pay huge money for such farm equipment.
For example, Carolina Fresh Farms is a family farm in South Carolina that has over 1,500 acres of land.
The average farm size in South Carolina is 201 acres, and the state has over 4.5 million acres of farmland.
Understandably, farmers are stressed when, during harvest, they are forced to wait a month to get their tractor into the shop. In one case, a farmer reports that the parts were $150 and the labor cost $200, but the bill was over $5,000. What was the problem? According to the upset farmer, it was a faulty sensor, and it took little time to diagnose and repair.
Apple invented its software. If you install anything on a Harley Davidson, wheelchair, computer, smartphone, or automobile, you violate the warranty, making it void.
Thus Deere argues that farmers don’t own their tractors; they are simply licensed to use equipment still owned by Deere.
How does Deere justify that practice? Software, they say, does not apply to the first sale doctrine. You no longer buy even very expensive items like farm combines, cars, and trucks; you are only licensed to use it. Amazon, for example, puts all kinds of restrictions on how consumers can use their products without violating its warranty. Lawyers call this legal trickery: digital rights management or DRM.
For example, if you buy a digital book, you cannot lend the book to friends. We may have to get used to the legal jargon of this new twisted legal logic. Nowadays, we are only licensed to operate certain machines.
On the other hand, consumers argue that the gadgets are part of that equipment. Unwary consumers thought they legally bought that tractor lock, stock, and barrel.
GM has the same shrewd business model. Auto repair shops are expressly prohibited from repairing their equipment.
Lawyers for consumers accuse manufacturers of monopolizing the repair market. BMW has propriety software. They don’t sell to independent mechanics, but they do license it to them.
Sadly, mechanics are not permitted to simply reset the engine light after working on a vehicle. Only the dealer can do it. Thus, automakers pass on $3 billion in costs to independent auto repair shops. Guess who pays that bill?
Beware because if you crash your car and need a new fender, Ford can charge whatever they want to charge.
Consumers have reported long delays in getting their electric wheelchairs repaired. Some have had to wait a year in bed waiting for repairs. In such cases, consumers and mechanics have no phone support.
Human cost
Farmers and rangers have the highest suicide rate in the nation. According to the National Rural Health Association, farmers commit suicide at 3.5 times the rate of the general public. Shenanigans like these unnecessarily add to their already difficult job of farming, aggravating a stressful industry.
Antitrust laws
There is a class action lawsuit against John Deere from farmers alleging the company has violated antitrust laws and made it difficult for farmers to repair their equipment:
Claims
The lawsuit alleges that John Deere has:
Tied the purchase of expensive machines to the purchase of repair services
Prevented independent repairs
Conspired with dealerships to control where and how machines are maintained and repaired
Made it difficult for farmers to access software and repair tools
Caused minor damage to equipment to trigger a damage response that shut down the equipment
Judge's ruling
A judge ruled that Deere must face the lawsuits, rejecting Deere's attempt to dismiss them.
Ongoing issues
The farmers are requesting structured data from Deere's EQUIP system, but Deere has been intentionally delaying the release of information.
Other actions
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is also probing Deere over its repair policies.
Memorandum of understanding
Deere signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) to strengthen farmers' rights to repair. However, the National Farmers Union criticized the agreement, saying it "falls short of real repair protections".
John Deere is protective of its intellectual property and does not want the knowledge of how its equipment operates to be made public.
Justice says they support the farmers.
Limited progress
Legal action has resulted in some companies softening their stance on these matters, including Weber, Westinghouse, and Harley Davidson.
Also, ice cream machines can now be repaired.
While waiting for the courts to rule, some consumers jailbreak machines. All these actions endeavor to push manufacturers to make their equipment easier to use and repair.
Some consumers have asked, “Am I a slave to your operation?”
The fight is dirty. Big Tech threatens not to sell its products to Washington.
In 2012, Massachusetts passed the first sale bill, trying to make it a state law. Subsequent lobbying has found loopholes in the bill. Big Tech now shares no proprietary data wirelessly. Car manufacturers spent $25,000,000 to defeat the bill.
Cars are smartphones on wheels. Smart cars also gather much data about consumers without their permission. Genetic information and sexual activity are now routinely harvested from unwitting consumers and sold to data brokers. Sadly, however, the end customers who buy this data often make mistakes that cause data breaches, further putting consumers in jeopardy.
For example, when motorists often brake too hard, this data is also sold to data brokers who sell it, in turn, to insurance companies, who jack up your rates on jerky motorists.
Tractors send farming information that ends up in the hands of powerful people on Wall Street. Now, key investors will know which crops will be ready for the market, when, and how much.
Again Massachusetts passed a bill to outlaw such practices, but carmakers blocked it.
Frustrated state lawmakers lament the patchwork system of deterrence because it is ineffective, limited, and damaging. They see that comprehensive federal laws are needed to solve the problem. But who can fight big money?
One creative farmer bought an older, low-tech John Deere tractor and repaired it with his local mechanic for $90. The tractor only needed a sensor replaced. The repair took a day.
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