John Deere reached a settlement in an anti-trust suit with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and five states that ensures farmers and ranchers have the right to repair their own John Deere farm machinery.
In separate news releases issued Wednesday, July 8, the FTC and the Moline-based equipment manufacturer announced the settlement and a 10-year agreement. Under it, Deere is required to provide farmers and independent repair providers with the equipment repair services – including software capabilities – that it now provides to its authorized equipment dealers.
The settlement resolves the joint lawsuit filed by the FTC and the five state plantiffs:Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The suit, filed in January 2025, alleged John Deere’s repair practices were unfair and driving up equipment repair costs and restricting farmers’ ability to quickly seek repairs on critical equipment especially during planting and harvest.
“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,” FTC Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera said. “The settlement with Deere will help lower costs for American farmers. The FTC will continue fighting against anticompetitive restrictions on American consumers’ right to repair.”
The FTC and plaintiff states will have oversight for the next 10 years to ensure compliance by Deere, which will be subject to strict reporting.
“This is good news for our customers and for the future of how Deere equipment is supported,” Denver Caldwell, John Deere’s vice president of aftermarket and customer support, said in the company’s statement. “Producers and equipment operators demand flexible and world class capabilities enabling the maintenance and repair of their machines; we are and will continue to deliver on that expectation.”
Expanded customer access
According to Deere, the agreement reinforces the manufacturer’s continued innovation toward more flexible repair options and increases access and transparency for customers. It also formalizes Deere’s ongoing commitment to expanding access to diagnostic and repair tools to help equipment owners and independent service providers maintain and repair equipment.
Additionally, Deere’s formal statement said the agreement allows the FTC and states to verify Deere is meeting the commitment now and into the future.
The agreement and related oversight will span 10 years and can be extended if Deere violates the terms.
In its original complaint, the FTC alleged that Deere unlawfully acquired and maintained monopoly power in markets for dealers, forcing farmers to rely on authorized dealers for many necessary repairs. It said the company’s software repair tools capable of performing all electronic repairs on Deere equipment previously were made available only to authorized Deere dealers. The 2025 lawsuit also alleged Deere makes the only software tools capable of making electronic repairs on its machinery.
Agreement terms
The FTC voted 2-0 to issue the proposed stipulated order, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Under the stipulated order, which settles the lawsuit, FTC said Deere’s requirements include:
- 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. Those tools include: Reading, clearing and resetting electronic fault codes; reprogramming of electronic components; restarting a machine following an emissions-related shutdown; and viewing and searching technical manuals, troubleshooting solutions and other information useful for equipment diagnosis, maintenance, repair or upgrade.
- Make available to farmers and independent repair providers any future repair resources that are similar … once Deere makes them available to more than 50% of its authorized U.S. dealer network.
“We’ve said from the beginning that our focus is on helping customers keep their machines running when and how they need them,” Mr. Caldwell said in John Deere’s release. “This agreement bolsters that commitment, and we’re confident it will make a real difference for the people who depend on our equipment every day.”
He added: “We share the Administration’s and the states’ desire to put farmers first while preserving Deere’s ability to support American agricultural productivity, equipment safety and innovation.”
FTC statement
Also on Wednesday, FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson – joined by Commissioner Mark R. Meador – separately issued a statement discussing the need for competition for the repair of Deere farm equipment.
Excerpts from that statement include:
“Effectively, we alleged that Deere made our nation’s farmers more dependent on Deere’s authorized dealers for necessary repairs to their Deere machinery, which compelled farmers to spend more, and wait longer, than they would have otherwise…
“So what has the Commission secured for our farmers? First and foremost, by the end of this year Deere must provide to farmers and independent repair providers (IRP) the same repair resources, including applicable software capabilities, that it currently provides to Deere dealers… The settlement also requires Deere to instruct its authorized dealers both to promote the availability of repair resources, and not to discriminate or retaliate against any farmers or IRPs who purchase or use these resources rather than using dealer repair services.”
“The settlement seeks to ensure that farmers will no longer have to pay increasingly exorbitant costs and endure service delays for necessary repairs to their Deere machinery.”
