Certain John Deere customers have held a long-standing beef with the leading supplier of agricultural equipment.
Many farmers have complained about the company’s policy of requiring equipment repairs to take place in John Deere facilities using John Deere parts.
But it appears the maker of America’s top selling tractor brand has decided to budge.
The American Farm Bureau Federation recently announced an agreement with John Deere that grants farmers and ranchers the right to repair their own equipment.
The AFBF says it addresses the challenges farmers had faced “accessing tools and resources” while “protecting John Deere’s intellectual property rights and ensuring equipment safety.”
The agreement comes after increased pressure has been applied to John Deere, including a “Right to Repair” bill that was introduced in the Senate in 2022.
Because of this influential pressure, NPR cites skepticism from right-to-repair advocates, suggesting the deal lacks teeth and could be difficult to enforce.
They say some in the agricultural field believe it could be “a veiled attempt to stave off the passage of ‘right-to-repair’ legislation at the federal and state levels.”
