John Deere equipment owners are about to gain a significant new freedom — the ability to repair their own machines without being forced to go through an authorized dealer.
The Federal Trade Commission, along with attorneys general from Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, announced a right-to-repair settlement Wednesday with agriculture equipment giant Deere & Co., the company widely known as John Deere. The agreement requires the Illinois-based manufacturer to give farmers and independent repair shops access to the tools they need to service their own equipment.
The company had faced years of complaints for keeping its repair software locked away from customers and independent mechanics, essentially forcing equipment owners to rely on Deere’s network of authorized dealers for repairs.
This is actually the second right-to-repair agreement Deere has struck in 2025. Back in April, the company reached a separate $99 million class-action settlement with farmers that compensated consumers financially. The new FTC settlement takes a different approach — rather than paying money to customers, it mandates that Deere open up its repair services to equipment owners and independent shops going forward.
The antitrust lawsuit was originally filed in January 2025, with the FTC and state attorneys general arguing that Deere had illegally blocked farmers and independent mechanics from repairing farm equipment, including tractors. The company also manufactures engines and equipment used in forestry, landscaping, and construction.
Under the court order filed in Illinois, Deere must now make its diagnostic and repair tools available not just to its own authorized dealer network, but to equipment owners and independent repair shops as well. The order also prohibits Deere dealers from taking any retaliatory action against customers or shops that choose to fix equipment on their own rather than paying for Deere’s services. The order still needs approval from Judge Iain D. Johnston.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes spoke out strongly in favor of the settlement. “For too long, Arizona farmers and independent mechanics have been at the mercy of Deere’s monopoly over repair tools, forced to wait — and pay — for authorized dealers just to fix broken tractors and other equipment,” Mayes said in a statement Wednesday.
As part of the agreement, Deere will pay a combined $1 million to the five participating states to cover antitrust enforcement costs. The company will also be subject to strict compliance monitoring for the next 10 years.
In the original complaint, the FTC alleged that while Deere provided a full version of its service software to authorized dealers, it withheld that complete tool from equipment owners and independent shops. Deere had previously denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit baseless and arguing that its distribution of service tools was not anticompetitive.
On Wednesday, Deere issued a statement expressing support for the outcome. Denver Caldwell, the company’s vice president of aftermarket and customer support, said, “This is good news for our customers and for the future of how Deere equipment is supported.”
The right-to-repair movement has gained momentum in recent years, particularly in the technology sector, where consumers have long complained that even minor fixes can only legally be performed by manufacturer-approved service providers.
