John Deere owners will get the right to repair equipment under FTC settlement
The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with John Deere that finally guarantees farmers the legal right to repair their own tractors, combines and other agricultural machinery. The agreement ends the company’s practice of embedding software locks that block independent maintenance and forces owners to rely exclusively on authorized dealers.
Under the decree, John Deere must provide owners and third‑party repair shops with the same diagnostic software, service manuals and firmware updates that its dealer network receives, and it is barred from using digital rights‑management tools that prevent modifications. “We are pleased that farmers will finally be able to fix their own equipment,” said an FTC spokesperson. The settlement also obligates the company to make its repair documentation publicly available and to submit to quarterly audits for the next five years. “Farmers have been fighting for years to keep their machines running without dealer interference,” said a spokesperson for the American Farm Bureau. The agreement resolves a 2023 FTC lawsuit that alleged anti‑competitive repair restrictions and marks a major win for the right‑to‑repair movement.