On February 12, 2024, Deere sent a notice to customers alerting them that the company had “recently discovered” that the following statement may be missing from their manuals: “[a] repair shop or person of the owner’s choosing may maintain, replace, or repair emission control devices and systems with original or equivalent replacement parts.”
This exclusion of language informing customers of their rights not only undercuts farmers’ ability to repair their equipment, but may also be illegal. The Clean Air Act, which governs emissions from all mobile sources of air pollution, including tractors and other farm equipment, directs the Environmental Protection Agency to require manufacturers to provide “any and all information needed to make use of the emission control diagnostics system . . . and such other information including instructions for making emission related diagnosis and repairs.” The law specifies that “no such information may be withheld . . . by the manufacturer to franchised dealers or other persons engaged in the repair, diagnosing, or servicing of motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines.”