LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- John Deere has touted its Operations Center PRO Service software as an upgrade in its diagnostic repair solution for farmers and independent repair shops in place of the full dealer software. But a right-to-repair advocate said the farmer version still falls short and may be causing more work for farms.

John Deere released PRO Service software and promised to make diagnostic tools more widely available.

Willie Cade, CEO of Graceful Solutions and a right-to-repair advocate based in Chicago, said that based on recent demonstrations looking at the two diagnostic tools, the farmer-facing tool PRO Service still has issues that need to be resolved.

"I believed PRO Service would be a genuine solution for farmers," he said.

"The more I examined it, the clearer it became that it is, in fact, a remarkably effective one, for just Deere and Company shareholders."

At the center of the right-to-repair movement in agricultural equipment is the push for farmers and independent repair shops to have the same tools to diagnose and repair equipment problems without always having to rely on John Deere dealerships.

As farmers and even the federal government sued John Deere on several antitrust claims, the company worked with agriculture groups and equipment companies to complete memorandums of understanding on repair issues.

On Feb. 27, 2026, Cade attended a demonstration in Edmond, Oklahoma, comparing the functionality of the Operations Center PRO Service and the Deere Dealer Service Center software.

The demonstration was held as part of a meeting on right-to-repair legislation in Oklahoma and hosted by P&K Equipment, a John Deere dealer. The meeting was attended by representatives from the American Farmers and Ranchers organization and others.

Prior to the demonstration comparing the two tools, Cade said, a P&K Equipment representative shared a brief video demonstrating the software's capabilities.

Though Deere and others have made representations that the PRO Service software provides customers with the same tools the dealer technicians use, Cade said the demonstration revealed something entirely different.

MISSING PIPS

Following the video, PRO Service was demonstrated live on a 2025 John Deere 6R 155 tractor with the tractor's details displayed in PRO Service.

"Notably, when the PIPs (product improvement programs) section was accessed for this tractor, it was empty," Cade said.

"I commented that this appeared unusual, as a tractor of that age and model would typically have applicable PIPs. The demonstration continued with additional features of the software being shown in the conference room."

The meeting then adjourned to an outdoor area, and Cade said he asked the dealer to then connect the dealer-only Service Center software to the same tractor.

"When the Service Center software was connected and the PIPs section was accessed for the same tractor," Cade said, "three PIPs were displayed that had not appeared in the PRO Service version of the software. I was unable to study the three PIPs, as the technician running the software effectively ended the demonstration."

Cade said the side-by-side comparison made it clear there are "significant differences" between the two software packages.

"The PIPs visible only through Service Center represent repair-relevant information that farmers and independent repair providers using PRO Service would not have access to," he said.

During the demonstration in Oklahoma, Cade said the dealer had a PRO Service license for the tractor they were accessing. They then switched to the dealer software without changing laptops, the connection or the tractor. He said the software was the only thing that changed.

ADDITIONAL VERIFICATION

Cade said the event in Oklahoma wasn't the first time he found disparities in the two software programs.

A friend of Cade's owns a John Deere 9460 tractor and purchased a PRO Service license for the machine.

"His license showed eight product improvement program items for that model," Cade said.

He then contacted several John Deere dealers who were listing used 9460 tractors for sale. Posing as a prospective buyer, he asked each of them for the PIP history associated with the 9460 model they were selling.

"When I compiled the results, I found 23 distinct PIPs for that model," Cade said.

"You may reasonably ask why this information asymmetry matters. PIPs document a known mechanical problem for which a fix exists. Withholding that information from equipment owners, even temporarily, can delay necessary repairs, sometimes after the warranty period has expired. In some cases, that warranty window is as short as one year. The practical effect is a cost shift from John Deere's warranty reserves directly to the equipment owner."

PIRG REPORT

The disparity between the information the Deere software provides on PIPs is nothing new.

In July 2023, consumer advocate group U.S. PIRG issued a report titled, "Service Obstructor: John Deere's Repair Software Prevents Farmers From Independently Fixing Their Own Tractors."

The PIRG report came out two years before Deere updated its Operations Center PRO Service.

However, Deere advertised that the 2025 update to the farmer-facing tool would provide PIN-specific machine information, including PIPs. The PIN is the product identification number, or a machine's full 17-character serial number.

Although both the farmer and dealer versions of the software use PINs, the dealer's version provides a way to access more restricted data than what generally is available to farmers.

PIRG conducted an evaluation of the Customer Service ADVISOR tool for farmers and independent repair shops in 2023, the available diagnostic tool prior to the 2025 update.

When Deere releases new products, the report said, unforeseen problems typically emerge. When dealers encounter problems they submit reports to Deere's Dealer Technical Assistance Center, where engineers develop solutions.

Any solutions are maintained in the system database. PIRG said in its report, however, that the database wasn't made available to farmers.

"Farmers can search for PIPs related to their product on John Deere's site," the report said.

"But the information provided to them is typically not enough to make a repair -- in many cases, it only includes a few words on the problem and whether or not it has been fixed, without any further information on how to fix it, what replacement parts are needed and the like."

John Deere did not respond to DTN's request for comment.

Read more on DTN:

"EPA: Repair Restrictions Not Warranted," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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