CHILTON, Wis., July 13, 2026 — The American Dairy Coalition (ADC) applauds the proposed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) right-to-repair settlement with Deere & Company that could save farmers millions in repair costs.

“This proposed settlement represents important progress toward reducing unnecessary repair costs and restoring farmers’ ability to maintain their equipment efficiently and affordably. Every dollar saved on repairs goes directly back into farm operations and family budgets,” said Laurie Fischer, American Dairy Coalition CEO.

Announced July 8 by the FTC and the attorneys general of Illinois, Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, the proposed agreement would require Deere to make repair software, diagnostic tools and technical resources available to farmers and independent repair providers as they are available to Deere dealerships.

The settlement is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

“When farmers have timely access to diagnostic tools and repair software, they gain more control over costs, reduce unnecessary downtime, and keep their operations moving during critical planting, harvesting, and forage seasons. That’s especially important for dairy farmers, where every hour matters,” Fischer said.

Longtime right-to-repair advocate Willie Cade of Graceful Solutions LLC grandson of a John Deere engineer and patent holder, has helped advance right-to-repair legislation in states including Nebraska and Iowa and advised attorneys involved in repair-access litigation. He called the proposed agreement meaningful progress while emphasizing that implementation will determine its success.

“After years of fighting for the right to repair, this order gives farmers real hope, but promises on paper must become tools in farmers’ hands, and we will be watching implementation every step of the way.” said Cade in a statement provided to ADC.

The proposed FTC settlement follows a separate private class-action settlement reached earlier this year while going further by placing many repair-access commitments under a court order requiring compliance reporting and oversight for the next 10 years.

If approved by the court, Deere would begin notifying customers and dealers within 30 days, with most repair resources becoming available immediately on fair and reasonable terms and additional capabilities rolling out through the end of 2026. Dealers also would be prohibited from discriminating against customers who repair their own equipment or use independent repair providers.

For American Dairy Coalition, the issue parallels ADC’s ongoing work on farmers’ control of the data their operations generate.

“As agriculture becomes increasingly digital, policies must keep pace to ensure farmers retain meaningful control over both the equipment they purchase and the operational data their farms generate,” Fischer said.

“The next generation of dairy farmers will run farms that are increasingly data-driven,” said Sherry Bunting, ADC Dairy Market Analysis & Policy Advisor. “Whether it’s repairing a tractor or remaining in the driver’s seat when it comes to how their farm data are collected, used, shared and monetized, young farmers deserve the same opportunity previous generations had — to maintain their equipment, manage their operations and control their businesses. As technology evolves, farmers must be able to retain control of their aggregated data and share in the value it generates beyond the farm. That’s essential to keeping family farms viable for generations to come.”

Earlier this year, ADC released results of a nationwide farmer survey showing overwhelming concern about non-voluntary data collection and the ownership and control of their operational data.

ADC will continue following the outcome and implementation of the proposed FTC / Deere settlement while advocating for policies that protect farmers’ ownership, access and control of both the equipment they purchase and rely upon and the valuable data they generate every day on their farms.