U.S. farmers secure $99 million settlement fund in right-to-repair court battle against John Deere

Deere agreed to supply U.S. farmers with the tools required to
 make their own repairs. (Photo by R. Fath, Unsplash)

U.S. farmers fighting for the right to repair their own tractors secured a class-action suit victory against John Deere. Reuters reports, "U.S. agriculture equipment maker Deere agreed to pay $99 million into a settlement fund for ‌farms and farmers that are part of a class action over costs and access to repairs."

Since 2017, Deere has put up a bulwark of defenses to prevent sharing repair access and knowledge with U.S. farmers who wanted to fix their tractors themselves rather than wait for a Deere-authorized repair tech to make it to their farm. Reuters reports, "The settlement fund covers eligible plaintiffs who paid Deere’s authorized ​dealers for repairs to large agricultural equipment from January 2018."

The right-to-repair suits from farmers are only part of a bigger tug-of-war between companies that produce technology-based products, such as cell phones and computers, and American consumers. Reuters reports, "Regulators and plaintiffs argue that some ​manufacturers limit competition by controlling access to repair tools and ⁠software."

Within Deere's settlement, the company gave a 10-year commitment to supplying "farmers with the 'tools ​required for the maintenance, diagnosis, and repair' of large agricultural equipment, ​including tractors, combines, and sugarcane harvesters," Reuters reports.

Although this week's settlement ends some of Deere's litigation headaches, the company still faces "a separate lawsuit brought by the Federal ​Trade Commission," Reuters reports. "A ​U.S. judge ruled ⁠in 2025 that Deere must face that lawsuit, which accused the company of forcing farmers to ​use its authorized dealer network and driving up their ​costs for ⁠parts and repairs."