John Deere agrees to let farmers repair own equipment

January 14, 2023 | 12:08 am

Updated January 13, 2023 | 11:33 pm

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U.S. farmers now have the right to repair their own John Deere equipment after the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation earlier this week. Previously, farmers either had to take their equipment to a John Deere dealer or wait for a technician to come out — meaning tractors were sometimes left stranded on roads or in fields for hours or days, even if it was a simple fix.

The agreement formalizes farmers’ access to diagnostic and repair codes, as well as manuals and product guides. It also ensures farmers will be able to purchase diagnostic tools directly from John Deere and receive assistance from the manufacturer when ordering parts and products.

In addition to the option to fix the equipment theirselves, the agreement also allows farmers to choose independent repair shops rather than having to go through John Deere. 

AFBF President Zippy Duvall said the MOU addresses a long-running issue for farmers when it comes to accessing tools and resources, but the agreement continues to protect John Deere’s intellectual property rights.

“A piece of equipment is a major investment,” Duvall said. “Farmers must have the freedom to choose where equipment is repaired, or to repair it themselves, to help control costs. The MOU commits John Deere to ensuring farmers and independent repair facilities have access to many of the tools and software needed to grow the food, fuel and fiber America’s families rely on.”

Local farmer Dustin Warren said the agreement is a big step in the right direction. He said a major issue was when a piece of equipment went down — especially in the middle of planting or harvesting — farmers had to go through John Deere for even the simplest of fixes.

“You’d have to call Deere for a technician,” Warren said. “Sometimes you might be able to get one pretty quick, and other times you might have to wait, so you’re shut down. But what they would run into is, it can be as simple as just a 5-minute fix, but it might take you 2 hours or 2 days to get the knowledge to say ‘hey, try this or try that.’ It’s a win for the farmers whenever you can work on your own stuff in your own shop at your convenience without having to call and bother the dealerships for every little thing.”

Warren said it’s especially important as equipment gets more technologically advanced.

“The bigger farmer that has the newest equipment probably faced it the worst, because every model year that passes, that equipment gets more complex,” he said. “A lot of repairs are done with a computer. You go to the repair shop and plug it in to see how to fix it. If you have the software, you can fix it yourself and be on to the next thing.”

David Gilmore, John Deere senior vice president for ag and turf sales and marketing, said the agreement “reaffirms the longstanding commitment Deere has made to ensure our customers have the diagnostic tools and information they need to make many repairs to their machines.”

The MOU states that John Deere commits to engaging with farmers and dealers to resolve issues when they arise and agrees to meet with AFBF at least twice per year to evaluate progress.

January 14, 2023 | 12:08 am

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