John Deere World Headquarters in Moline, Illinois, USA. File Photo
Tractor maker John Deere has agreed to give its US customers the right to fix their own equipment. Previously, farmers were only allowed to use authorized parts and service facilities instead of cheaper independent repair options. Consumer groups have been calling for years for companies to allow their customers to fix everything from smartphones to tractors. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and Deere & Co. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Sunday (January 8, 2023).
"It addresses a long-running issue for farmers and ranchers
when it comes to accessing tools, information, and resources, while protecting
John Deere's intellectual property rights and ensuring equipment safety,"
AFBF President Zippy Duvall said.
Under the agreement, equipment owners and independent technicians
will not be allowed to "divulge trade secrets" or "override
safety features or emissions controls or to adjust Agricultural Equipment power
levels."
The firm looks forward to working with the AFBF and
"our customers in the months and years ahead to ensure farmers continue to
have the tools and resources to diagnose, maintain and repair their
equipment," Dave Gilmore, a senior vice president at Deere & Co. said.
Farmers are part of a grassroots right-to-repair movement
that has been putting pressure on manufacturers to allow customers and
independent repair shops to fix their devices.
In 2022, Apple launched a "self-service repair"
scheme giving customers the ability to replace their own batteries, screens, and
cameras of recent iPhones.
The UK and European Union have policies enforcing
manufacturers to make spare parts available to customers and independent
companies for some electronics.
"Consumers have long been complaining that products not
only tend to break down faster than they used to, but that repairing them is
often too costly, difficult to arrange for lack of spare parts, and sometimes
impossible," according to the European Parliamentary Research Service.
Some US states like New York and Massachusetts and has
passed similar measures. President Biden signed an executive order in 2021
calling on the Federal Trade Commission to draw up a countrywide policy
allowing customers to repair their own products, particularly in the technology
and agriculture sectors.
Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere is an
American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment,
forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions,
gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment. The company also
provides financial services and other related activities.
Deere & Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol DE. The company's slogan is "Nothing Runs Like a
Deere", and its logo is a leaping deer, with the words 'JOHN DEERE' under
it. Various logos incorporating a leaping deer have been used by the company
for over 155 years. Deere & Company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois.
Deere & Company ranked No. 84 in the 2022 Fortune 500
list of the largest United States corporations. Their different tractor series
include the D series, E series, Speciality Tractors, Super Heavy Duty Tractors, and
JDLink.
Source:
Online/GFMM
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