More than a dozen states have introduced bills to establish right-to-repair agricultural equipment legislation in the first two months of 2025.
The bills come on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of several state attorneys general against John Deere & Co. for unfair manufacturer repair policies, which they say have for decades hindered competition, inflated farmers’ repair costs and degraded farmers’ ability to obtain timely repairs.
“By making this tool available only to Deere dealers, Deere forces farmers to turn to Deere dealers for critical repairs rather than complete the repairs themselves or choose an IRP (an independent repair provider) that may be cheaper, closer, faster, or more trusted,” the lawsuit says.
Attorneys general from Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona joined the lawsuit in early February. Lawmakers from Michigan and Arizona have not introduced right-to-repair bills for the 2025 legislative session as of the date of publishing, but Michigan had a bill that failed in committee last year.
Bills would require agricultural equipment manufacturers to make documentation, data, embedded software, firmware, parts, or tools that are intended for use with agricultural equipment available to equipment owners and independent service providers, at a fair cost and under fair terms.
Colorado became the first state to enact a right-to-repair law for farmers in 2023. The law went into effect Jan. 1, 2024.
Advocates for the bills say that manufacturers lock farmers into arrangements that unfairly increase repair costs, creating a monopoly on repairs that leads to downtime and stifles competition from independent repair shops.
Bills being considered generally do not require manufacturers to provide documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware, or tools that would divulge a trade secret. Bills also exempt manufacturers and equipment dealers from liability stemming from an owner’s or independent repair provider’s improper repair.
In January, Deere announced that the company would provide additional repair access to equipment owners and independent repair technicians.
Alaska is the latest state to file right-to-repair legislation related to ag equipment. It was introduced on Feb. 26.
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