John Deere Settles FTC Right to Repair Case

The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from five states secured a right-to-repair settlement Wednesday with agriculture equipment giant Deere & Company , ending a lawsuit filed January 15, 2025, alleging Deere "unlawfully acquired and maintained monopoly power" by restricting repair access.

The settlement requires Deere—for the next 10 years and under the supervision of the FTC and plaintiff states—to provide farmers and independent repair providers with the same equipment repair resources, including applicable software capabilities, that it currently provides to authorized Deere dealers.

The agreement includes supervision of Deere by the FTC and the suing states: Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

What Farmers Get Under the Settlement

Under the terms of the stipulated order settling the lawsuit, Deere will be required to make available to farmers and independent repair providers, on fair and reasonable terms, repair resources equivalent to those Deere now makes available to Deere dealers including: reading, clearing and resetting electronic fault codes; reprogramming of electronic components (including "pairing" newly installed electronic parts with equipment); restarting a machine following an emissions-related shutdown (commonly referred to as "limp mode"); and viewing and searching technical manuals, troubleshooting solutions and other guidance and information useful for equipment diagnosis, maintenance, repair or upgrade.

Deere must make available to farmers and independent repair providers any future repair resources that are similar or reasonably necessary for repairs, once Deere makes them available to over 50 percent of its authorized dealer network in the United States. The company will also be subject to reporting and oversight requirements, and the initial decade-long agreement could be extended if it breaks the terms.

The settlement further requires Deere to instruct its authorized dealers not to retaliate against or discriminate against customers who choose independent repair services.

Why the FTC Sued

Deere makes the only software repair tools capable of performing all electronic repairs on Deere equipment. Deere, however, has previously made such tools available only to its authorized dealers, forcing farmers to rely on authorized dealers for many necessary repairs, according to the FTC and the states' lawsuit filed in January 2025.

The FTC argued that Deere's prior practices forced farmers to rely on authorized dealers for numerous repairs, driving up costs and causing service delays during critical planting and harvest seasons.

Farmers lose $4.2 billion every year due to repair restrictions from manufacturers, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

"Today's settlement enables farmers to do what they've done for generations—fix their own tractors and other farm equipment—without having to pay an authorized John Deere dealer to do it for them," said FTC Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera. "The settlement with Deere will help lower costs for American farmers."

John Deere's Second Settlement This Year

This marks the second right-to-repair settlement Deere has reached this year, following a separate $99 million class-action settlement with farmers in April.

Though the class-action compensated consumers, the FTC's settlement instead requires Deere to make its repair services available to equipment owners and independent shops.

Deere will also pay the states a combined total of $1 million to cover their legal expenses.

Denver Caldwell, vice president of aftermarket and customer support at John Deere, said in a statement: "This is good news for our customers and for the future of how Deere equipment is supported."

Deere had said the lawsuit was baseless, denied that its distribution of service tools was anticompetitive and argued that it could not monopolize services since it does not directly provide them.

Broader Right-to-Repair Push

The agreement marks a major victory for the burgeoning grassroots "right-to-repair" movement, which has targeted tech companies and machinery manufacturers alike over the increasing use of software locks to bar independent work.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson noted the historical weight of the decision, pointing out that American farmers played a central role in shaping early U.S. antitrust legislation. "So it is only right that this settlement protects those that Jefferson designated as the nation's most valuable and virtuous citizens," Ferguson said.

For years, prominent equipment manufacturers have interpreted the Clean Air Act's emission control anti-tampering provisions as preventing them from making essential repair tools available to all Americans. This has forced farmers to take their equipment exclusively to manufacturer-authorized dealers to be fixed, even though the repair could have been made in the field or at a nearby independent repair shop.

In February 2026, the EPA issued guidance clarifying manufacturers can no longer use the Clean Air Act to justify limiting access to repair tools or software, reaffirming the lawful right of American farmers and equipment owners to repair their farm equipment.

State Legislation Gains Momentum

In April 2023, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the first Right to Repair law for farm equipment. This legislation guaranteed farmers and independent mechanics access to the software and repair materials required to fix their tractors and other agricultural equipment.

Starting January 1, 2024, the act requires a manufacturer to provide parts, embedded software, firmware, tools, or documentation to independent repair providers and owners of the manufacturer's agricultural equipment.

The Iowa House passed a "right to repair" bill with bipartisan support in April 2026 that aims to ensure Iowa farmers can more easily repair their own agricultural equipment.

House File 2763, passed 70-18, would require manufacturers of agricultural equipment to make documentation, parts, software, firmware and tools related to repairing or maintaining equipment available to independent repair facilities and equipment owners at "fair and reasonable terms and costs."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's bill, the Freedom for Agriculture Repair and Maintenance, or FARM, Act, would require original farm equipment manufacturers to provide customers "fair and reasonable" access to documentation, parts and software needed to make their own repairs.

What Changed This Week

The FTC settlement represents structural reform that legally alters how John Deere must support its equipment through the middle of the next decade. Unlike the April class-action settlement that compensated farmers for past damages, this agreement mandates ongoing access to repair tools and software. The combination of federal enforcement, EPA regulatory clarity, and state legislation signals a fundamental shift in how agricultural equipment manufacturers must approach repair access.

What to Watch

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois must still approve the agreement before it takes effect.

A final court hearing is scheduled for October 29th for the separate class-action settlement. The settlement could become a blueprint for future right-to-repair enforcement in other industries, including automotive. Manufacturers may face increasing pressure to provide independent repair shops with broader access to diagnostic software and repair tools. Dealers should monitor future FTC actions as right-to-repair debates continue to evolve across transportation sectors.

Reporting based on coverage from FTC, AP News, Equipment World, Engadget, Hoosier Ag Today, AgWeb, Washington Post, July 8-9, 2026.