MOLINE, Illinois, June 1, 2026, 03:09 CDT
Deere & Co.’s $99 million right-to-repair settlement with farmers cleared a key hurdle, as a federal judge gave it preliminary approval and set up a final hearing for October. The judge also certified a proposed class covering people and businesses who bought Deere large farm equipment repairs from Deere or authorized dealers from Jan. 10, 2018, through the preliminary approval date.
The case is more important now as the court has moved past settlement talks and farmers are being asked to decide whether to file claims, object, or opt out before final approval. Right to repair means equipment owners and independent shops can get the software, manuals, and diagnostic tools to fix machines, rather than having to go through the manufacturer’s dealer network. Reuters
The dispute is hitting as planting and harvest timing gets tight. Today’s tractors, combines, and sprayers use electronic controls. A software lockout or an error code can sideline a machine just when a weather break gives farmers only a small shot to get in the field.
Attorney Austin Peiffer of Ag & Business Legal Strategies in Hiawatha, Iowa, told Brownfield Ag News that farmers need the right to repair and said federal courts would back that right. Peiffer said the settlement would give payments to farmers who used authorized Deere dealers for repairs and might open up access to repair tools for up to 10 years. Brownfield Ag News
Peiffer told the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network the settlement lets farmers choose and said the antitrust class action targeted conduct limiting competition. Southern Farm Network quoted Peiffer on the smaller class possibly meaning “a lot bigger dollars per class member” than in some consumer cases, though actual payouts will be determined later by the court process. Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network Southern Farm Network
Deere denies any wrongdoing. Denver Caldwell, vice president for aftermarket and customer support, said in an April statement that Deere is “equally committed to providing customers and other service providers with access to repair resources.” Deere said the settlement will resolve the multidistrict litigation now pending in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. PR Newswire
Deere’s proposed settlement goes beyond a cash payment. The company has agreed to provide repair resources like digital maintenance, diagnosis and repair tools for 10 years for major farming machines—tractors, combines and sugarcane harvesters, Reuters said, citing court filings. Reuters
The settlement doesn’t cover everything. According to DTN, payouts relate to possible overcharges on repair labor from authorized Deere dealers, but do not include downtime, lost time, parts markups, crop loss, or other damages. Farmers can object until Sept. 14. The court scheduled a fairness hearing for Oct. 29. DTNPF
Deere isn’t the only one feeling the strain. AGCO, CNH Industrial and Kubota have also signed repair-access deals with the American Farm Bureau Federation, which put them in the bigger right-to-repair fight. AGCO said in 2023 those deals, including Deere’s, touch around 70% of the farm equipment sold in the U.S. AGCO Newsroom
Deere’s private settlement still leaves a risk that the legal fight isn’t over. The FTC and attorneys general in Illinois and Minnesota sued Deere in 2025, saying it blocked farmers and independent shops from fixing Deere equipment and pushed repairs to its own dealers. The FTC also asked for access to Deere’s Service ADVISOR system and other dealer-only repair tools. Federal Trade Commission
Farmers are now asking if the software access will work on their equipment in the field, not just show up in a settlement file. If final approval goes through, that would move money into the claims process and start a 10-year repair-access window. But fights over what the tools can actually do, how much they cost, and how tied farmers stay to dealers probably won’t be settled by October.
