'Right to repair' case seen as tip of iceberg for North Dakota farmer fairness
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Farmers in North Dakota and the rest of the country are monitoring an evolving legal case against a giant equipment manufacturer and they said repair restrictions are not the only service headaches farmers encounter.
The Federal Trade Commission last week sued John Deere, accusing the company of an unfairly dominant market share. It said farmers have to rely on Deere's network of authorized dealers for necessary repairs, driving up costs and creating scheduling delays.
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Mark Watne, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union, said he hopes the case brings out the facts in securing a resolution. He added the need for flexibility covers other ground, too.
"Items such as technology fees, and items such as, 'Well, you can only use this chemical with this seed, and it's got to be this brand,'" Watne outline. "Those things start to play out that we think are concerning."
He pointed out another area is transportation, where farmers might encounter vastly different price structures in getting their commodities shipped out, depending on the railway competition in various parts of the country. John Deere called the lawsuit "meritless," and said it plans to offer self-repair capabilities as farmers work with emerging technologies on tractors.
Watne acknowledged depending on the administration in the White House, they will see either aggressive or more lax approaches in confronting repair issues. He sees a long-standing pattern of laws being underutilized.
"There's really rules in place that have been there for 50 years or more that, through a number of administrations, haven't necessarily been enforced," Watne emphasized.
He admitted some of the progress seen in the Biden administration faces an uncertain future in the second term of President-elect Donald Trump, as some Trump appointees might prioritize certain fairness issues but could pass on other concerns voiced by smaller, independent farmers. Trump's selected appointee for FTC Chairman has been a vocal critic of the John Deere lawsuit.
