John Deere dealerships lobby against right to repair: Difference between revisions

← Older edit

VisualWikitext

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The issue at hand for farmers is the difficulty to repair their own farming equipment. Farmers could not do much to diagnose the problem with their tractor, as they did not have access to the diagnostic software themselves — only a John Deere dealer, not an independent mechanic nor the farmer.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/26/1000400896/standoff-between-farmers-and-tractor-makers-intensifies-over-repair-issues|publisher=NPR News|title=Standoff Between Farmers And Tractor Makers Intensifies Over Repair Issues|date=26 May 2021|author=Uri Berliner|format=radio transcript|language=en}}</ref>
+{{IncidentCargo
+|Company=John Deere
+|StartDate=2020
+|EndDate=
+|Status=Active
+|ProductLine=
+|Product=
+|ArticleType=Product
+|Type=Lobbying, Ownership, Repairability
+|Description=
+}}
+The issue at hand for farmers is the difficulty to repair their own farming equipment. They can't do much to diagnose the problem with their tractor, as only a John Deere dealer has access to the diagnostic software.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author=Uri Berliner |date=26 May 2021 |title=Standoff Between Farmers And Tractor Makers Intensifies Over Repair Issues |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/26/1000400896/standoff-between-farmers-and-tractor-makers-intensifies-over-repair-issues |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251109181327/https://www.npr.org/2021/05/26/1000400896/standoff-between-farmers-and-tractor-makers-intensifies-over-repair-issues |archive-date=9 Nov 2025 |publisher=NPR News |language=en |format=radio transcript}}</ref> Tractors and combines have gotten more computerized, which makes it difficult, or nearly impossible, to diagnose without access to this software.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Alina Selyukh |date=15 January 2025 |title=John Deere faces U.S. lawsuit over farmers' ability to repair tractors |url=https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2025-01-15/john-deere-faces-u-s-lawsuit-over-farmers-ability-to-repair-tractors |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250708172911/https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2025-01-15/john-deere-faces-u-s-lawsuit-over-farmers-ability-to-repair-tractors |archive-date=8 Jul 2025 |publisher=Maine Public and NPR |language=en |format=article}}</ref> This effectively excludes mechanics and farmers from doing an independent repair.<ref name=":0" />
-The personal story of farmer Schweitzer<ref name=":0" /> highlights two more themes, besides not being able to do the repair themselves. The repair through the dealer takes a long time, a month for the repair in his case, and had high costs, nearly $5,000 to replace a fuel sensor in his case, which he says a local independent mechanic would have charged only a small fraction of that. It is not an option to wait this long, "Unfair repair restrictions can mean farmers face unnecessary delays during tight planting and harvest windows. For some, these delays can mean that months of hard work and much-needed income vanish, devastating their business."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/deere-lina-khan-statement-final.pdf|date=15 Jan 2025|title=Statement of Chair Lina M. Khan In the Matter of Deere & Company Commission File No. 2110191|publisher=Federal Trade Commission (FTC)|language=en|author=Lina M. Khan}}</ref>
+The personal story of farmer Schweitzer in 2021 highlights two more themes regarding repairability, besides not being able to do the repair themselves. The repair through the dealer takes a long time, a month for the repair in his case, and had high costs in his case: nearly $5,000 to replace a fuel sensor. He says a local independent mechanic would have charged only a small fraction of that.<ref name=":0" /> Furthermore, it is not an option to wait this long, because "Unfair repair restrictions can mean farmers face unnecessary delays during tight planting and harvest windows. For some, these delays can mean that months of hard work and much-needed income vanish, devastating their business" according to the the [[Federal Trade Commission|FTC]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/deere-lina-khan-statement-final.pdf|date=15 Jan 2025|title=Statement of Chair Lina M. Khan In the Matter of Deere & Company Commission File No. 2110191|publisher=Federal Trade Commission (FTC)|language=en|author=Lina M. Khan |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260111225534/https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/deere-lina-khan-statement-final.pdf |archive-date=11 Jan 2026}}</ref>
-Tractors and combines have gotten more computerized, which makes it difficult, or nearly impossible, for to diagnose without access to this software.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mainepublic.org/npr-news/2025-01-15/john-deere-faces-u-s-lawsuit-over-farmers-ability-to-repair-tractors|title=John Deere faces U.S. lawsuit over farmers' ability to repair tractors|author=Alina Selyukh|date=15 January 2025|language=en|format=article|publisher=Maine Public and NPR}}</ref>
 ==Maine==
-States have tried legislating against these practices by strengthening the right to repair. In 2020, the following bill was considered in Maine, LD 1977 SP 679,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://legiscan.com/ME/bill/LD1977/2019|title=ME LD 1977 SP 679: An Act To Ensure a Consumer's Right To Repair Certain Electronic Products|language=en|publisher=Maine Senate}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38O1zEuLOMM|title=John Deere dealerships are lobbying against right to repair. Farmers, please help me out here.|date=27 Jan 2020|publisher=YouTube|format=video|language=en|author=Louis Rossmann}}</ref> which summarizes:<blockquote>This bill establishes a consumer's right to repair electronic devices, excluding motor
+States have tried legislating against these practices by strengthening the right to repair. In 2020, the following bill was considered in Maine, LD 1977 SP 679,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://legiscan.com/ME/bill/LD1977/2019|title=ME LD 1977 SP 679: An Act To Ensure a Consumer's Right To Repair Certain Electronic Products|language=en|publisher=Maine Senate |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250825164430/https://legiscan.com/ME/bill/LD1977/2019 |archive-date=25 Aug 2025}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38O1zEuLOMM|title=John Deere dealerships are lobbying against right to repair. Farmers, please help me out here.|date=27 Jan 2020|publisher=YouTube|format=video|language=en|author=Louis Rossmann |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=38O1zEuLOMM |archive-date=23 Feb 2026}}</ref> which summarizes:<blockquote>This bill establishes a consumer's right to repair electronic devices, excluding motor
 vehicles. It requires manufacturers of electronic equipment to make available the
@@ Line 20: / Line 29: @@
 fair and reasonable terms. The bill provides that a violation constitutes an unfair trade
-practice.</blockquote>The dealers are lobbying against this bill,<ref name=":1" /> and state a number of reasons. They question the definition of a motor vehicle, and regarding the legislation if it should apply to motor vehicles due to what they call safety concerns. One of dealers argues that right to repair is a touchy subject, as "a lot of us dealers sit back, and say we really almost don't want in essence people possibly working on our equipment."<ref name=":1" /> The bill died upon conclusion of the 129th Legislature, Nov 16, 2020.
+practice.</blockquote>The dealers are lobbying against this bill,<ref name=":1" /> and state a number of reasons. They question the definition of a motor vehicle, and regarding the legislation if it should apply to motor vehicles due to what they call safety concerns. One of the dealers argues that right to repair is a touchy subject, as "a lot of us dealers sit back, and say we really almost don't want in essence people possibly working on our equipment."<ref name=":1" /> The bill died upon conclusion of the 129th Legislature, Nov 16, 2020.
-At the same time, the delegates of the Nebraska Farm Bureau supported right to repair near unanimously (176-1) on a voice note to formally endorse the right to repair. The delegates represent 58,000 member families that want to have the right to repair of the products they own, and set strong standards for any legislation or agreement with equipment manufacturers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pirg.org/articles/nebraska-farmers-vote-overwhelmingly-for-right-to-repair/|title=Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair|date=11 December 2019|publisher=PIRG|language=en|format=article}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Nebraska Farm Bureau supports right to repair 176-1|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkrHjvjhCQ8|publisher=YouTube|format=video|language=en|date=18 Dec 2019|author=Louis Rossmann}}</ref>
+At the same time, the delegates of the Nebraska Farm Bureau supported right to repair near unanimously (176-1) on a voice note to formally endorse the right to repair. The delegates represent 58,000 member families that want to have the right to repair of the products they own, and set strong standards for any legislation or agreement with equipment manufacturers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pirg.org/articles/nebraska-farmers-vote-overwhelmingly-for-right-to-repair/|title=Nebraska farmers vote overwhelmingly for Right to Repair|date=11 December 2019|publisher=PIRG|language=en|format=article |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250823001606/https://pirg.org/articles/nebraska-farmers-vote-overwhelmingly-for-right-to-repair/ |archive-date=23 Aug 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Nebraska Farm Bureau supports right to repair 176-1|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkrHjvjhCQ8|publisher=YouTube|format=video|language=en|date=18 Dec 2019|author=Louis Rossmann |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=QkrHjvjhCQ8 |archive-date=23 Feb 2026}}</ref>
 The dealer reacts to the point of farmers wanting the right to repair by the following points: