John Deere faces backlash over deeply unpopular practice that farmers hate

Regulators charged John Deere on Wednesday, alleging the tractor manufacturer defrauded farmers.

They say the 187-year-old company – the leading manufacturer of agricultural equipment – ​​is driving up repair costs by forcing farmers to rely on its authorized dealer network.

It is the latest scandal to hit John Deere in the past year. For most of 2024, the country has been under fire for job cuts in the Midwest — while manufacturing moves to Mexico.

And in July, John Deere made a huge about-face with its DEI practices — including a Pride event for toddlers — after a backlash from farmers.

Wednesday’s lawsuit by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission alleges that John Deere unlawfully increased its profits by requiring farmers to use its network of authorized dealers for repairs.

This makes it difficult for farmers to employ independent technicians or carry out repairs themselves.

The only software that enables repairs of all Deere equipment is produced by the company and makes it available only to its dealer network, the FTC said.

As a result, Deere has maintained a 100 percent market share, allowing it to raise prices.

Deere did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the FTC’s actions.

“Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating to farmers, who depend on affordable and timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn a living,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in the news release.

The lawsuit would result in Deere making its repair tools available to equipment owners and independent repair shops, the release said.

The agency’s investigation into Deere was made public in October. Illinois and Minnesota joined the agency as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. A copy of the complaint was not immediately available.

In July, John Deere reversed its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies despite opposition and a damaging boycott from farmers and conservatives.

The company said in a statement that it would drop “socially motivated messaging” and “diversity quotas and pronoun identification” and move away from “cultural awareness parades.”

The $61 billion-a-year company had come under fire for its sponsorship of a Pride event for children as young as three and other DEI efforts, even as it closed factories and laid off American workers.

“Our customers’ trust in us is of the utmost importance to everyone at John Deere,” the company wrote on X at the time.

“It is our firm intention to earn it every day and in every way possible.”

Meanwhile, angry farmers have threatened to stop buying John Deere tractors due to job losses in the US as production moves to Mexico.

The 187-year-old company – the leading manufacturer of agricultural equipment – ​​said in October it would lay off more workers.

The layoffs in Iowa and Illinois bring the total to about 2,100 by 2024.

At the same time, Deere is moving more of its tractor and farm equipment production to Mexico.

“I will never buy a John Deere tractor or any other product from them again,” one farmer wrote today Reddit.

Another added: ‘John Deere is loyal to the shareholders, NOT the employees or even the customers. Anything they say otherwise is propaganda.”

Another – referring to rival Massey-Ferguson and its red tractors – wrote: ‘Looks like there will be a lot of color changes over the next few years. I predict a lot more red in the fields.’

John Deere is the market leader in the US by some margin. It means that fields across the country are largely plowed and harvested by machines, adorned with the distinctive green and yellow.

The company also sells heavy duty gardening equipment.

The 2,100 layoffs will take place at several locations in Iowa – Ankeny, Dubuque, Ottumwa, Urbandale, Waterloo – plus Davenport and East Moline in Illinois, as well as a research center in Urbandale.

In many cases, the production for which these American workers were responsible is moved to new locations in Mexico.

But the company insists the layoffs have nothing to do with the move of production to Mexico.

Instead, bosses attributed the job losses to a drop in demand for tractors and other farm equipment, which was the result of falling crop prices and farmers cutting spending.

Relocation of production to Mexico has attracted the attention of politicians.

Donald Trump said in September that he will impose a 200 percent tariff on John Deere’s U.S. imports if the company goes ahead with plans to move production to Mexico.