AZ farmers say John Deere's equipment monopoly is debilitating. Mayes is suing on their behalf

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, the Federal Trade Commission and other state attorneys general say John Deere’s repair methods are hurting local farmers and ranchers.

In a lawsuit filed in an Illinois federal court in February, the FTC and the states say the equipment company has made it impossible for owners to go anywhere but its dealers for repairs, by requiring “a software tool to diagnose and repair problems that relate to electronic functions.” The lawsuit asserts this tool is only made available to John Deere dealers.

This is one lawsuit amid a larger conversation about the right to repair that impacts consumers across different industries. Mayes compared fixing John Deere tractors to an iPhone or Mac laptop.

“If you’re a farmer and you own a John Deere tractor, because of the way the software is configured, you can’t go to anybody but John Deere,” she said in an interview with Cronkite News. “It’s not allowing them to go to somebody else, which would probably be cheaper for them.”

For some farmers, John Deere repair services aren’t the most convenient option. Dave Pawel operates Broken Horn D Ranch, a cattle ranch in Prescott, and has had to make repairs on his John Deere tractors.

In those instances, it’s a six-hour travel day.

“The John Deere dealer that is closest to us is not authorized to work on that big … of an agricultural tractor; they more deal with the construction equipment,” Pawel said. “In order for us to have our equipment worked on, we had to go … oh jeez … it’s three hours one way.”

Pawel needed repairs related to the diesel engines’ pollution control systems, something his ranch hasn’t been able to do due to a lack of computer technology.

“Even if we were able to access the software that was an issue with John Deere, we just didn’t have the capability, nor do we now,” he said.

Stotz Equipment has numerous locations in Arizona that offer repair services for John Deere equipment. In a written statement, director of communications Scott Martinez provided resources that farmers can use to facilitate their own repairs, including a John Deere self-repair website, repair solutions and customer service adviser sites.

“Today, consumers of the equipment we sell have greater access to resources, enabling them to make their repairs easier,” Martinez said. “As a dealer, we fully support our customers’ ability to repair their own equipment and make available all the resources the manufacturers we represent provide for customers to do so.”

But even with these resources, the software poses an issue for farmers and ranchers like Pawel. Convenience and costs are another factor. On top of a six-hour round-trip, a repair can cost $3,000 to $5,000.

While a tractor is in the shop, Pawel’s operation is “down” and “out of business,” he said.

Repairs usually take about a week. In one instance, he said, the John Deere dealer didn’t have the part he needed – an exhaust gas recirculation cooler – and the tractor sat for more than two months.

Those waiting periods can be debilitating for business, though Pawel still thinks John Deere has the best equipment.

“Everybody’s going to have some problems to a degree,” Pawel said. “It’s just going to break down. You know that. But when the tractors are running, you can’t beat ’em.”

John Augustine operates Desert Tree Farm, a farm and tree nursery in Phoenix. He agreed that John Deere repair services were “expensive, but it’s good.”

“One of the problems with tractors now is that the EPA has made them supposedly more ecologically friendly with catalytic converters and all this sort of stuff,” he said. “That makes it more expensive to repair also, which has nothing to do with John Deere.”

Augustine said John Deere parts and technicians are easily accessible to his farm, and he has a contract He also favors lower horsepower tractors that generally have simpler repairs.

Pawel said he would like to see a reversion to simpler models so if an auxiliary control or something else breaks, the tractor will still operate manually.

Mayes said her goal in joining the lawsuit is to protect consumers. She noted this is only part of a larger fight over the right to repair, a concept that could lower costs for consumers.

Though the lawsuit is still in its early stages, Mayes wants to hear the perspectives of farmers.

“We’d love to hear from Arizonans, any farmers who may have John Deere tractors,” Mayes said, directing anyone with a complaint to azag.gov. “If we win the lawsuit, (we’d) like to be able to try to get money back if we can win damages.”

For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.