Editor’s Note: This communication below was emailed on July 9, 2026, by the Pioneer Equipment Dealers Association to its member companies. It is reshared via Farm Equipment and Ag Equipment Intelligence here with permission from the association. Pioneer EDA is the trade association for 350 equipment dealers across the states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
With State: FARGO, N.D. — July 9, 2026. The Federal Trade Commission, along with five states, secured a settlement in an antitrust lawsuit against John Deere. The settlement resolves FTC and states’ lawsuit alleging Deere unfairly restricted the ability of farmers and independent technicians to repair John Deere farm equipment. The FTC’s 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 settlement resolves the FTC and states’ joint lawsuit against Deere, which alleged that Deere used unlawful practices to limit the ability of farmers and independent repair providers to perform repairs on Deere farm equipment.
“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,” said FTC Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera. “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.”
Deere makes the only software repair tools capable of performing all electronic repairs on Deere equipment. The FTC alleged that Deere has previously made such tools available only to its authorized dealers, forcing farmers to rely on authorized dealers for many necessary repairs. The complaint alleged Deere unlawfully acquired and maintained monopoly power in markets for repair services for Deere farm equipment which led to service delays and higher costs for farmers.
Under the terms of the stipulated order settling the lawsuit, Deere will be required to 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.
“Fair and Reasonable Terms” shall be assessed based on the following factors: (1) the net cost (accounting for any discounts, rebates, or other incentive programs) to a Deere Dealer, for similar items obtained from Deere; (2) the cost to Deere of preparing, maintaining, and distributing the item; (3) the price charged by other manufacturers of agricultural equipment for similar items; (4) the ability of Owners and IRPs to afford the item; (5) the means by which the item is distributed; (6) the extent to which the item is used, which includes the number of users, and frequency, duration, and volume of use; and (7) inflation.
The specific repair resources that must be provided to farmers and independent repair providers include:
- access to Deere’s Customer Contact Center for support with respect to diagnostic and repair software issues, advice on applicable materials in technical manuals, and direction to potentially applicable DTAC Solutions, and to report potential defects in design and manufacturing;
- viewing and searching of DTAC Solutions;
- replacement of engines;
- secure authentication of software tool user credentials and confirmation of user authorization to access PIN-specific equipment details;
- viewing of operator and technical manuals;
- viewing of diagnostic trouble codes (“DTCs”) and related diagnostic information;
- clearing and refreshing of DTCs and related diagnostic information;
- performance of interactive tests to confirm diagnosis or repair success, including aftertreatment NOx sensor tests;
- disabling and resetting any electronic lock, immobilizer, or security-related function to permit equipment diagnosis, maintenance, or repair;
- calibration of all equipment settings consistent with factory specifications;
- viewing of live and stored equipment readings and data points;
- fluid sampling;
- replacement of existing and future electronic control units (“ECUs” or “controllers”);
- programming, reprogramming, and reinstallation of Embedded Software, including with respect to existing and future ECUs;
- updating of Modular Telematics Gateway (“MTG”), display, and Combine Grain Quality Monitor;
- wireless updating of Embedded Software on MTG-enabled equipment;
- updating of Embedded Software via an Electronic Data Link (“EDL”);
- viewing and searching (including any AI-enhanced search functions) of operator and technical manuals, diagrams, schematics or other guidance or information useful for equipment diagnosis, maintenance, repair, or upgrade;
- set up of customized maintenance plans for equipment;
- viewing of equipment’s GPS location on a map;
- notice and viewing of open recalls and product improvement programs for equipment, including both mandatory PIPs and those designated as “fix as fail”;
- viewing and management of equipment fleet;
- viewing of PIN-specific information about factory configurations and components;
- viewing of equipment-specific warranty and extended warranty coverage information;
- near real time receipt of Deere Machine Health Insights™ for equipment;
- performance of Emissions Inducement Overrides in connection with repair following an engine final inducement; and
- performance of reprogramming and diagnostics in offline mode.
Furthermore, John Deere must:
- Make available to farmers and independent repair providers any future repair resources that are similar or reasonably necessary for repairs, once Deere makes them available to over 50 percent of its authorized dealer network in the United States;
- Instruct its authorized dealers to promote the availability of these repair resources and support their use, and not to discriminate or retaliate against any farmers or independent repair providers who purchase or use such resources rather than dealer repair services; and
- Provide notice to the public, to Deere’s farmer and independent repair provider customers and to its authorized dealers information about the stipulated order and the availability of Deere’s repair resources.
Deere will also be subject to strict reporting and oversight requirements to ensure its compliance with the stipulated order. The term of the order is 10 years and may be extended if Deere violates its terms.
The Commission vote to issue the proposed stipulated order was 2-0. The order was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Joining the proposed order are the FTC’s co-plaintiffs, the states of Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson issued a statement joined by Commissioner Mark R. Meador.
NOTE: Stipulated orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.
For questions or comments about this communication to Pioneer Equipment Dealer Association members, contact office@pioneereda.com
More from Farm Equipment and Ag Equipment Intelligence … For curated content and ongoing coverage of “Right-to-Repair Impact on Dealers, Deere, Other OEMs,” click here.
