The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against agricultural equipment giant Deere & Company, alleging it holds a monopoly on repair services.

Incoming Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson blasted Democratic commissioners for suing Deere & Co. while regulators were in negotiations with the company to address farmers' complaints.

Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating for farmers, who rely on affordable and timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn their income,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a suit against John Deere, accusing it of “unfair” practices that force farmers to pay higher-than-average repair costs. The federal organization, along with attorneys general for Illinois and Minnesota,

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday sued farm equipment maker Deere , alleging it illegally drives up repair costs by forcing farmers to rely on its authorized dealer network.

The lawsuit comes after years of the equipment manufacturer locking farmers out of making basic repairs to their equipment.

The suit alleges that Deere tried to increase the cost of repairing its equipment while also forcing customers to rely on Deere-approved dealers to make the repairs.

John Deere is facing a new federal antitrust lawsuit over its equipment repair practices as of Wednesday, this one filed by an arm of the federal government itself. The Federal Trade Commission, joined by the attorneys general of Illinois and Minnesota,