MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin farmers will soon have greater access to the tools needed to repair their own John Deere equipment under a settlement announced Wednesday by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and four other states.
The agreement resolves an antitrust lawsuit alleging Deere & Company unfairly restricted repairs by limiting access to proprietary software and diagnostic tools needed to service its farm equipment.
Under the settlement, Deere must provide farmers and independent repair shops with the same repair resources, including software capabilities, that it currently makes available to its authorized dealerships. The agreement will remain in effect for 10 years and will be overseen by the FTC and the participating states.
Attorney General Josh Kaul said the settlement will give farmers more options when equipment breaks down.
“Farmers shouldn’t have to go to a dealership to have repairs made to their farm equipment. This settlement will mean that farmers have more options in many circumstances in which repairs are needed to their John Deere equipment,” said Kaul in a statement.
The lawsuit, filed in January 2025, alleged Deere maintained a monopoly over repairs by withholding software capable of performing electronic diagnostics and repairs. State and federal regulators argued the practice led to higher costs and longer repair delays for farmers.
As part of the settlement, Deere must provide access to diagnostic tools, electronic fault code resets, software updates, technical manuals, troubleshooting information and future repair technologies made available to its dealer network. The company is also prohibited from retaliating against farmers or independent repair businesses that use those resources instead of dealership repair services.
The settlement was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Wisconsin joined the FTC and the attorneys general of Illinois, Arizona, Michigan and Minnesota in the settlement.
