Soon, farmers could have easier access to the tools and software needed to repair their tractors. A recent Iowa House committee vote advancing a right-to-repair bill could bring changes benefiting thousands of farmers in the US’ second-largest agricultural state, supporters say.
Following an 18-5 vote in favor of the bill in the Iowa House Agriculture Committee last week, electronics repair outfit iFixit said “we think it’s got a good chance of passing,” while specifically calling out John Deere as one company that’s trying to kill these kinds of bills.
The right-to-repair movement in the US has gained traction in recent years, particularly among farmers, who often operate on tight margins and rely heavily on complex, software-driven equipment.
Equipment manufacturers like John Deere have long limited access to proprietary diagnostic software, tools, and documentation, which critics say forces many farmers to rely on authorized dealers for certain repairs. That can increase costs and downtime compared to fixing equipment on site, since independent mechanics and owners often lack the same access to service materials and embedded software.
The main issue is that independent repair shops rarely have access to the tools needed for diagnosing issues with manufacturers’ proprietary software, and bills like Iowa’s HSB 751 aim to remove this kind of red tape.
When farmers have to send their equipment away for repair, it results in downtime, loss of productivity, and therefore vital revenue.
Only Colorado has passed right-to-repair legislation specifically for farming equipment, while other states have passed similar bills for electronic devices and powered wheelchairs. Several bills across the US currently in the works, including Iowa’s, aim to achieve the same outcomes.
For Iowan farmers, such a change could have a significant positive impact on their operations.
The state is the second biggest agricultural producer in the US. Per the most recent census data [PDF], Iowa has nearly 87,000 farms, responsible for 7.5 percent of the country’s farming output, and around 83 percent of its total land is dedicated to farming. Only California beats this, with its farmers responsible for 11.9 percent of the country’s production.
The non-profit Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) previously said that broad right-to-repair legislation could save US farmers $4.2 billion per year.
Responding to the progress in Iowa, iFixit said: “This bill has a good chance of making it all the way through. That’s fantastic. If you buy a half-million-dollar machine, you should not need corporate permission to keep it running. Deere has made ‘permission’ part of the product.
“Iowa farmers are trying to unbundle that. And in 2026, it looks like Deere’s usual tactics are running into a problem: they’re not working like they used to.”
John Deere’s alleged foul play
Back in 2023, John Deere signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation, agreeing to provide independent repair shops with the tools they need to repair equipment.
All the company asked for in exchange was for the AFBF not to introduce or support right-to-repair legislation that went beyond the spirit of the MOU.
However, in October 2024, US Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to John May, CEO at John Deere, claiming that the company effectively reneged on the deal, providing repair shops with “impaired tools and inadequate disclosures,” as PIRG put it.
As The Register reported at the time, the sense from the letter was that John Deere signed the MOU seemingly as a way to kill attempts to introduce right-to-repair laws and continue the status quo.
Senator Warren also suggested that John Deere might be violating the Clean Air Act by restricting the repair of emissions systems.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is aware of the issue, and recently stated that the right to affordable repairs is imperative for US farming communities to thrive.
A February response to John Deere’s letter, sent to the EPA in June 2025, confirmed that temporary overrides of proprietary emission control systems are allowed under the Clean Air Act.
“EPA is proud to set the record straight and protect farmers. For far too long, manufacturers have wrongly used the Clean Air Act to monopolize the repair markets, hurting our farmers,” said Lee Zeldin, administrator at the EPA.
“Common sense is following the law as it is written, and that is what the Trump EPA is committed to doing. By protecting every American’s right to repair, we’re not just fixing devices, we’re securing a stronger, more independent future for our country.”
The Register contacted John Deere for a response and will update this article if we hear back. ®
