“Farmers shouldn’t have to go to a dealership to have repairs made to their farm equipment,” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said. “This settlement will mean that farmers have more options in many circumstances in which repairs are needed to their John Deere equipment.”

The company is currently the only place that has the software repair tools to perform electronic repairs on the equipment, the lawsuit claimed, which forced farmers to rely on only authorized dealers to make repairs and giving the company and its dealers monopoly power.

The settlement agreement means that Deere will provide the same resources to farmers and independent dealers under the same terms it provides the same to Deere authorized dealers.

The same applies to any new resources created over the next 10 years.

The settlement came in U.S. District Court in Illinois.

Wisconsin lawmakers had proposed right to repair legislation similar to a Colorado law that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

“I have long supported farmers’ right to repair their own equipment, including authoring legislation to end these predatory practices against Wisconsin’s family farmers,” Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff, D-Onalaska, said in a statement. “This settlement puts our nation’s farmers first, allowing them to save money by repairing their own equipment or choosing the mechanic they trust.”

John Deere said that it agreed with the settlement and believes that it will help customers.

“We’ve said from the beginning that our focus is on helping customers keep their machines running when and how they need them,” Denver Caldwell, John Deere vice president of aftermarket and customer support, said in a statement. “This agreement bolsters that commitment, and we’re confident it will make a real difference for the people who depend on our equipment every day. We share the Administration’s and the states’ desire to put farmers first while preserving Deere’s ability to support American agricultural productivity, equipment safety and innovation.”

Originally published on thecentersquare.com , part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange .

Settlement (litigation)

Agricultural Machinery

Federal Trade Commission

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,

racist or sexually-oriented language.

PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.

Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another

person will not be tolerated.

Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone

Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism

that is degrading to another person.

Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on

each comment to let us know of abusive posts.

Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness

accounts, the history behind an article.

Watch this discussion.

Stop watching this discussion.

Driver seriously injured in Babbitt rollover crash

Mesabi Metallics rolls out Patriot Pellet

Former Rock Ridge dean faces local criminal sexual conduct charges

North American Iron project gains financing

Eveleth working on replacing the Big Stick

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Latest Special Section