The FTC’s settlement with John Deere actually has teeth, unlike previous settlements that largely maintained the status quo.
So did a quick skim of the terms of the settlement; I see a loophole.
The repair tools need to be sold to independent repair facilities only after said tools are available to 50% of their repair shops.
If they develop 3+ “core platforms” (thinking in terms of cars, imagine an OBD-3 system with similar though not compatible A, B, and C variants) and then distribute regionally (e.g. all gear sold on east coast gets A variant, Midwest gets B variant, etc), then it wouldn’t be necessary for Deere repair shops to achieve 50% distribution of a specific scan tool.
I HIGHLY doubt they’d go to those lengths to side step this settlement and I doubt the courts would look favorably on that kind of maneuver…but if I was a corporate blood sucking lawyer type, I’d be looking at how feasible that’s be.
I have another comment in this thread, but their tractors have a single data port, and I’m pretty sure it’s been the same one for like 20+ years, and universal across all their equipment across the globe.
Its also not unique to Deere, it’s the same thing used on large Diesel semi-trucks, like Cummins engines.
Yeah, Idk shit about their tractors, the above was total speculation.
But it sounds like you’re take is that the rules of the settlement are pretty ironclad and it’d be difficult for Deere to try to skirt the settlement?
Not really… pretty sure I saw somewhere else saying this is only for 10 years, then it’s back to the same old shit.
The FTC’s settlement requires Deere—for the next 10 years and under the supervision of the FTC and plaintiff states—to provide farmers and independent repair providers with the same equipment repair resources, including applicable software capabilities, that it currently provides to authorized Deere dealers.
So supposedly this is standard time period that FTC stimulates during settlements. Its really moreso the FTC doesn’t want to commit to monitoring it for more than 10 years. The idea is that if in 2036 they’ve gotten to healthily competing spot, then they’ll loosen their monitoring grip; if not, then they’ll keep the grip.
That’s a lot more benefit of the doubt than I’m comfortable handing mega corps or the FTC, but I’m glad the farmers got at least that much.
I heard this from a source I’d call (at best) somewhat reliable, so if there’s evidence of similar-ish cases that hold for longer spans of time, I’d love to hear about it.
Sounds like there’s a big fat gaping hole in the market for like the farming equipment equivalent of framework laptops.
Copying and pasting my own comment from another thread 2 days ago, in case anyone is curious what the John Deere experience is:
I’m not aware of what the timeline for all this is, but I JUST had to deal with this today!
It’s gonna be a rollercoaster…
Our dealership/shop is very slow, and it sucks driving a tractor for like 20+ miles on the shoulder of a freeway with cars going 65+ mph. And when it comes to anything electronic on a Deere, they know the absolute bare minimum.
So we discovered a mobile mechanic who charges very reasonable rates, and is very good, professional, timely, and friendly.
He came out today for a new problem that’s caused by what he fixed just a few months ago, but this time it is electronic/digital, and he had his brand new kit that connects the tractors computer to his laptop. It was his 2nd-3rd time using it, and he admitted hes no good with computers at all, either.
We both sat there for hours trying to figure it out. And he said a dealer is supposed to help him, but he can’t find a dealer that knows how, nor will…
So soon, a friend of his who works at a Deere dealer and knows the previous gen tech, that was dealer only exclusive, is gonna meet at our place and teach him on our tractor, and hopefully I can tag along and learn as well.
The software was John Deere Pro Service, and it seems nicely made, but man it is not very intuitive.
Its going to be veryyyy interesting seeing who uses this. I’d imagine not many people who work on tractors whether their own, or for work, are very good with technology in general.
Adding: The USB LINK 3 is $1100 USD from John Deere, and it’s $195/year per tractor for software access, up to 25, after that you need a more $$ plan that’s like $5k.