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.

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 Federal Trade Commission is accusing Deere & Co. of unfairly monopolizing the farm-equipment repair market.

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

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,

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.

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,