FTC probing Deere & Co. over farm Equipment Repair policies

The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating tractor giant Deere & Co. over whether its agricultural equipment repair practices violate antitrust or consumer protection laws.

The existence of the FTC’s investigation into Deere was made public Thursday in a filing by a data processing company that is a third party in the case.

The FTC sent an information request in August to the third party saying it was investigating whether Deere engaged in “unfair, deceptive, anticompetitive, collusive, coercive, predatory, exploitative or exclusionary acts or practices” that related to “the repair of agricultural equipment.”

Hargrove & Associates Inc. processes data on behalf of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, a trade association for construction and agriculture equipment manufacturers. The FTC sought information from Hargrove in August as part of the probe, and the company filed a petition seeking to limit the data it must provide the agency. Neither Hargrove nor AEM are targets in the probe, the company said in its filing.

Deere shares extended an earlier decline to fall as much as 3.1% on Thursday, their biggest drop since August.

The company is the biggest provider of large tractors in the US, according to the Public Interest Research Group.

Deere is “cooperating with the FTC,” the company said in a statement. “At this time, we cannot comment any further while an investigation is ongoing.”

The FTC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FTC has targeted companies that adopt overly restrictive repair policies, in 2022 reaching settlements with Harley-Davidson Inc. and Westinghouse Outdoor Power Equipment over illegal terms in their warranty agreements related to repairs.

In July 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order supporting the right to repair and efforts to make it easier and cheaper for people to repair their own items. In response, companies including Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. have loosened their repair policies. In January 2023, Deere also entered into an agreement with American Farm Bureau Federation that promised it would provide farmers and independent repair shops with the diagnostic tools and information to make their own repairs to equipment.

In July, FTC Chair Lina Khan said at a public appearance in Colorado the FTC was scrutinizing illegal repair restrictions after hearing complaints from farmers, without naming any companies.

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Deere last week, saying the company was undermining its “right-to-repair” agreements.

— By Leah Nylen (Bloomberg)