American farmers are getting squeezed from every direction these days.
Between rising costs for seed and fertilizer, they’re barely hanging on as it is.
But John Deere just got caught doing one thing to American farmers that will make your blood boil.
Big corporations are holding America’s farmers hostage
Virginia farmer John Boyd Jr. knows exactly what it’s like to get screwed by corporate America.
When one of his John Deere tractors throws a diagnostic code, the whole machine shuts down until a company technician shows up.
Not tomorrow. Not next week. Sometimes it takes weeks to get someone out there.
"I should not have to wait two weeks for a service technician to come out here and put a damn alternator on my tractor, which I have the skill set to do, and be put on a waiting list," Boyd told Fox Business.¹
These aren’t complicated repairs we’re talking about.
Most of the time, it’s basic maintenance that any farmer with half a brain could handle in an hour.
But John Deere has rigged the system so farmers can’t fix their own equipment without voiding the warranty or getting locked out by proprietary software.
"We really need the right to repair our own equipment and access to technology to do so," Boyd explained. "Money is tight for farmers . . . It would help cut through a lot of red tape."²
When a service call finally does happen, farmers get hit with bills as high as $1,000 – just to have some technician drive out and replace a part the farmer could’ve swapped himself.
Meanwhile, the crops are sitting in the field, rotting while they wait for permission to fix their own tractor.
The numbers tell the real story about this scam
Want to know how bad this racket really is?
Farmers are losing an estimated $3 billion every year just from tractor downtime.
That’s $3 billion in lost productivity because John Deere won’t let them turn a wrench on equipment they supposedly own.
On top of that, they’re getting gouged for another $1.2 billion in excess repair costs because they’re forced to use dealerships instead of fixing things themselves.³
Boyd raises the question every farmer is thinking: if you buy a piece of equipment but can’t fix it yourself, who really owns it – you or the manufacturer?
"We understand that it’s a business decision for them, but it’s also a business decision for us," Boyd said.⁴
The Federal Trade Commission finally woke up and filed a lawsuit against John Deere in January, accusing them of unfair practices that jack up repair costs while preventing farmers from making timely repairs.
But here’s what makes this even more infuriating.
John Deere’s "solution" is another money grab
After getting called out for screwing over farmers, did John Deere do the right thing and give them access to repair their own equipment?
Of course not.
They launched something called "Operations Center PRO Service" – which is basically a subscription service that starts at $195 per machine per year.
So now farmers have to pay John Deere an annual fee just for the privilege of maybe being able to fix their own tractors.
"The launch of Operations Center PRO Service is a significant milestone that adds to John Deere’s existing tools, and it reaffirms our longstanding commitment to empowering customers to choose how they repair their equipment," Denver Caldwell, the company’s vice president told Fox Business.⁵
Translation: we’ve figured out how to make even more money off farmers while pretending to help them.
Here’s what’s really happening.
John Deere has created a protection racket that would make the mob jealous.
They sell farmers equipment, then hold them hostage every time something breaks down.
The farmers can’t fix it themselves, can’t take it anywhere else, and can’t afford to wait weeks for a repair during planting or harvest season.
So they pay whatever John Deere demands.
This is about way more than tractors
You want to know what this really means for America?
We’re letting corporations control the people who feed this country.
These aren’t Wall Street speculators or tech bros we’re talking about – these are the farmers who grow the food on your dinner table.
And they’re getting crushed by a company that makes billions while small family farms go under.
"We need America’s farmers, and we need support, especially in the troubling times and the months that are going to come to pass," Boyd said.⁶
The Agricultural Right to Repair Act has been sitting in Congress since 2022, but apparently nobody in Washington, D.C. thinks it’s important enough to actually pass.
Meanwhile, farmers like Boyd are hemorrhaging money while John Deere executives count their profits.
Here’s the part that should make you furious – this isn’t just about fairness.
When farmers can’t get their equipment fixed quickly, food production suffers.
When family farms go under because they can’t afford to stay in business, we all pay higher prices at the grocery store.
And when American agriculture weakens, we become more dependent on foreign countries for our food supply.
All so John Deere can squeeze a few more dollars out of the people who feed America.
The farmers aren’t asking for handouts or special treatment.
They just want the right to fix equipment they bought with their own money.
What a concept – actually owning what you pay for.
¹ Sophia Compton, "American farmer demands right to repair own equipment amid soaring costs: ‘Money is tight’," Fox Business, September 6, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.