John Deere has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, and five states on how the company restricts repair of the equipment it sells.
The settlement requires Deere – for the next 10 years and under the supervision of the FTC and the five 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 settlement resolves the FTC and states’ lawsuit against Deere, which alleged that Deere used unlawful practices to limit the ability of farmers and independent repair providers to perform repairs on Deere farm equipment.
“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,” Daniel Guarnera, FTC bureau of competition director, said in a statement. “The settlement with Deere will help lower costs for American farmers.”
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.
By withholding these repair capabilities, the lawsuit alleged Deere unlawfully acquired and maintained monopoly power in markets for repair services for Deere farm equipment. Deere’s practices led to service delays and higher costs for farmers, the lawsuit alleged.
Under the terms of the settlement, 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.
- Viewing and searching technical manuals, troubleshooting solutions, and other guidance and information useful for equipment diagnosis, maintenance, repair or upgrade.
- 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 more than 50 percent of its authorized dealer network in the United States.
- Instruct its authorized dealers to promote the availability of these repair resources and support their use, and not to discriminate or retaliate against any farmers or independent repair providers who purchase or use such resources rather than dealer repair services.
- Provide notice to the public, to Deere’s farmer and independent repair provider customers and to its authorized dealers information about the stipulated order and the availability of Deere’s repair resources.
Deere will also be subject to reporting and oversight requirements to ensure its compliance with the settlement. The term of the order is 10 years and may be extended if Deere violates its terms.
“We should be able to fix our own stuff,” Nathan Proctor, senior right to repair campaign director for U.S. PIRG, a public interest research group. “This settlement from the FTC gives farmers more and better options to repair their equipment. It is a win for farmers and all of us who want a more fixable world.”
Proctor said the agreement between Deere and the FTC is much better than the deal secured in a similar class action lawsuit. For example, it protects independent mechanics from anti-competitive practices in the repair marketplace.
Deere settled a class action lawsuit in April 2026 filed against the company for restricting customers’ ability to repair their equipment. It agreed to pay $99 million to a fund to reimburse farmers for a portion of the harm caused by its repair restrictions.
