Major farm equipment dealer John Deere has agreed to a “right to repair” that Colorado farm and consumer advocates were key in launching, settling with the federal government and five states to give access to diagnostics and fixes for crucial agricultural equipment.
Colorado in 2023 became the first state to pass a law guaranteeing right to repair, and now industry leader John Deere has acknowledged that right should exist across the country, said Tyler Garrett, chief executive of the trade group Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.
The farmers union and CoPIRG, consumer advocacy nonprofit Colorado Public Interest Research Group, helped lead the fight in the legislature.
“We should be able to fix our own stuff,” said U.S. PIRG Right to Repair Campaign senior director Nathan Proctor. “This settlement from the Federal Trade Commission 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.”
The FTC said in announcing the deal in its antitrust case, “The settlement requires Deere—for the next 10 years and under the supervision of the FTC and plaintiff 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 deal also requires Deer to pay the five states $1 million for legal costs and for consumer protection enforcement.
Right to repair in farming is similar to consumer and trade movements in other fields, from wheelchair repairs to consumer electronics, with advocacy groups claiming corporations keep expensive, illegal monopolies by locking off software or key repair tools and techniques.
“The settlement with Deere will help lower costs for American farmers,” an FTC official said.
The nationwide settlement stemmed from a 2025 antitrust case originally brought by the FTC and five states in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The state co-plaintiffs were Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
When the Colorado right to repair bill was passed in 2023, the Associated Press reported that manufacturers and dealerships voiced opposition that providing tools and information to farmers would allow equipment owners to illegally boost horsepower and bypass emissions controls. They said that could endanger equipment operators and harm the environment.
Opponents also worried that compelling companies to share more detailed information necessary for repairs could expose proprietary information, the AP reported.
“When farmers can’t access the proprietary software tools or critical information that are required to diagnose or complete repairs, it means they have to wait for an authorized technician before they can finish their work,” Proctor said. “The weather doesn’t wait on a dealership’s schedule — a delay could mean the loss of your harvest.”
The Associated Press also noted Deere had settled a $99 million class-action case with farmers earlier this year. The FTC case is considered significant because it goes beyond individual compensation and orders Deere to let independent repair shops and farmers carry out fixes previously restricted by the company.