Right-to-repair revolution: Farmers challenge John Deere's control over equipment repair

Apr 25, 2025 at 04:23 PM CST
Spring is planting season for Missouri farmer Jared Wilson. It’s his only opportunity during the year to get his corn and soybeans sown and sprayed. Not getting it right would affect his yield. But every year, he says, he struggles to get his John Deere equipment to do the job. Broken down combines, tractors and harvesters have cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix. “Time absolutely means money in this business,” Wilson said. “When you have machines that are failing at those critical times of the year — when you have that one shot to get things right — it can severely impact your bottom line.”

Apr 25, 2025 at 04:23 PM CST

Spring is planting season for Missouri farmer Jared Wilson. It’s his only opportunity during the year to get his corn and soybeans sown and sprayed. Not getting it right would affect his yield. But every year, he says, he struggles to get his John Deere equipment to do the job. Broken down combines, tractors and harvesters have cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix.

“Time absolutely means money in this business,” Wilson said. “When you have machines that are failing at those critical times of the year — when you have that one shot to get things right — it can severely impact your bottom line.”