FTC, states reach settlement with John Deere over alleged unfair repair restrictions
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said the 10-year settlement will let farmers “fix their own tractors” without being forced to go through authorized John Deere dealers, giving equipment owners and independent repair shops access to key software tools that the agency said will help “lower costs for American farmers.”
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attorneys general from five states announced a settlement July 8 with Deere & Company that will give farmers and independent repair shops access to the same repair tools and software used by John Deere’s authorized dealers.
The agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, resolves a January 2025 antitrust lawsuit accusing Deere of blocking farmers and independent mechanics from fully repairing tractors and other farm equipment on their own.
The FTC’s complaint alleged that, for decades, Deere unlawfully made repairs harder by limiting access to the software and diagnostic tools needed to fix modern tractors. Those tools allow users to clear error codes, reprogram electronic components, or restart machines after certain shutdowns. According to the suit, Deere’s practices left farmers with higher costs and longer waits during important planting and harvest seasons.
“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 in a press release.
The suit was initially filed by the FTC along with Illinois and Minnesota; Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin later joined.
Under the 10-year settlement, Deere must give equipment owners and independent repair shops access, on fair and reasonable terms, to key repair functions that had largely been available only through authorized dealers. The company will pay the states a combined $1 million to cover enforcement costs and faces ongoing FTC and state oversight.
Deere must also give farmers and independent repair shops access to similar repair tools it provides to dealers in the future and instruct its dealers not to discriminate against customers who use independent repair options.
Guarnera said in the release that the settlement will “help lower costs for American farmers” and vowed the FTC would “continue fighting against anticompetitive restrictions on American consumers’ right to repair.”
