Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is suing iconic tractor manufacturer John Deere over farmers’ rights to repair their own machines. Citing the frustration of farmers who are forced to rely on authorized dealers to fix broken-down tractors,

John Deere’s “unfair” practices raised repair costs for farmers and kept them from being able to make repairs on tractors and other equipment they own, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges in a new lawsuit.

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

Deere & Co. unfairly forces farmers to visit authorized dealers to repair their equipment, resulting in higher prices than if they could fix it themselves or get help from independent shops, the Federal Trade Commission claims in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday with the attorneys general of Illinois and Minnesota.

The Federal Trade Commission sued Deere, alleging the tractor maker limits farmers’ ability to repair their own equipment, giving Deere an illegal monopoly on repair services. The FTC’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Chicago federal court,

The Federal Trade Commission has sued the tractor manufacturer John Deere. The organization alleges “unfair” practices, high repair costs and an inability for regular consumers to repair devices on their own.

The sign outside a John Deere dealer is seen in Denver May 14, 2015. A weak global agriculture sector weighed heavily on quarterly results posted by Deere & Co on May 22, 2015, but earnings still topped expectations,

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has prepared a lawsuit against Deere & Co alleging the company's agricultural equipment repair practices violate competition laws, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday,

The US Federal Trade Commission has prepared a lawsuit against tractor giant Deere & Co. alleging the company’s agricultural equipment repair practices violate competition laws, according to people familiar with the matter.