Today, Farm Action released the following statement in response to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) lawsuit against John Deere, alleging that the company is illegally driving up costs by forcing farmers to only repair their equipment at authorized dealers.
Farm Action issued the following statement, which can be attributed to Joe Maxwell, Farm Action’s Chief Strategy Officer:
“We applaud the FTC for this bold action to bring justice to farmers who have been stripped of their right to repair their own equipment, robbing them of time and money as a result. By withholding software information to diagnose and repair equipment, manufacturers are forcing farmers to often face long wait times and sometimes drive hundreds of miles to find an authorized dealer — jeopardizing hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential yields.”
Farm Action has led a nationwide Right to Repair campaign demanding that farmers are given the right to repair their own equipment.
Media Contact: Emma Nicolas, enicolas@farmaction.us, 202-450-0094
