John Deere owners can finally fix their own machines. The US Federal Trade Commission and five states have reached a settlement with the tractor giant that forces it to share the software and tools needed for repairs, the Associated Press reported. It is the largest right-to-repair win in the US so far.
The fight was never about wrenches. Modern tractors are computers. As Deere built electronic control units into its machines, a broken part often could not be fixed without a software tool that only Deere held. A farmer with decades of mechanical skill could be locked out of their own harvest.
What the settlement does
The order is blunt. Deere must give farmers and independent shops the same diagnostic and repair tools it gives its authorised dealers. It cannot let dealers retaliate against people who fix their own gear. The deal brings ten years of oversight, and Deere pays $1m to the five states. It does not admit wrongdoing.
The FTC and the attorneys general of Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin filed the case in January 2025. They argued that Deere’s grip on the full repair tool was a monopoly. It steered work into Deere’s dealer network and let the company charge a premium. “The settlement will help lower costs for American farmers,” said the FTC’s Daniel Guarnera. It is Deere’s second repair climbdown this year, after a $99m class action in April.
