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US Farmers Finally Win The Right to Repair Their Own Equipment

It’s hard to imagine that farmers did not have the right to repair their own tractors. Just like Apple had a policy that only Apple was permitted to repair iPhones, the same was true for John Deere tractors. John Deere wanted to keep all repair profits in house.

John Deere, after much push back and farmer grassroots organizing, has finally agreed to give its US customers the right to fix their own equipment.


Farmers were previously required to use only authorized parts and service facilities rather than self repair or independent repair facilities.

Deere & Company is one of the world’s largest makers of farming equipment and tractors. Farmers for years have been calling on the company for the right to self-repair.

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and Deere & Company recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will finally allow farmers the right to repair their own equipment.


“It addresses a long-running issue for farmers and ranchers when it comes to accessing tools, information and resources, while protecting John Deere’s intellectual property rights and ensuring equipment safety,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said.

Under the agreement, owners of farm equipment and technicians will be allowed to repair John Deere equipment so long as they do not “divulge trade secrets” or “override safety features or emissions controls or to adjust Agricultural Equipment power levels.”


The right-to-repair movement has been gaining more wins in recent history. Companies making products that frequently break down and require repairs, encourage consumers to buy new products instead of making repairs which require red tape and keep all profits driving to the original company that made the product. If customers have the right to repair their own machines they can have long lasting machines that don’t just populate landfills after they malfunction.

In 2022, after customers put increasing pressure on Apple, the company finally allowed customers the right to replace their own batteries, screens and cameras in iPhones.

Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash