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

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.

John Deere, the agricultural equipment giant, is currently embroiled in a legal battle against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the states of Illinois and Minnesota. The company is accused of unfair practices that have increased repair costs for farmers and restricted their ability to perform timely repairs on vital machinery such as tractors.

The Federal Trade Commission has sued Deere & Company over a practice that it says hindered farmers from making repairs to their equipment themselves or using less expensive independent repair shops.