US Regulators Open Public Inquiry Into Farm Equipment Market Practices
12 October 2026, Washington, D.C.: The US Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Agriculture launched a joint public inquiry on October 7 into possible anticompetitive conduct among agricultural equipment manufacturers, triggering a sharp sell-off in the shares of the world’s largest tractor and machinery makers. Deere & Co. fell as much as 5.7 percent intraday, AGCO Corp dropped 8.4 percent, CNH Industrial fell 7.3 percent, and Caterpillar slid 6.4 percent, according to Bloomberg-sourced reporting carried by Insurance Journal and DTN/Progressive Farmer.
The two agencies are seeking input from farmers, independent repair shops, and current and former employees of equipment companies. USDA said it had received a “growing number of complaints” from farmers who say they face barriers to buying equipment and getting it serviced. The FTC described the move as part of its ongoing effort to preserve competition in agriculture.
What investigators are asking about
The request for information focuses heavily on dealer networks. Regulators want to know how equipment makers assign sales territories to dealers, whether farmers face restrictions on buying from dealers outside their assigned territory, whether they face restrictions on getting service from an out-of-territory dealer, and whether dealers coordinate with each other on pricing, territory, or customer access. Commenters are asked to submit firsthand accounts or documented cases of restrictions, penalties, or retaliation, and to describe how these practices affect prices, market entry, innovation, and rural economic resilience. The public comment window runs through December 7, 2026, with submissions taken through regulations.gov, and confidential submissions accepted separately by the FTC’s Office of the Secretary.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on social media that farmers frequently raise repair restrictions with her directly, and that what she called “misguided restrictions” cost farmers money and lost labour time, particularly during harvest. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said farmers should not face artificial service barriers or retaliation for repairing their own equipment or shopping around for a better price. Both officials’ comments were reported by DTN’s Todd Neeley on the day the inquiry was announced.
Part of a wider pattern
This is not an isolated move. In July 2026, the FTC and five US states, Illinois, Arizona, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, settled a lawsuit against Deere that had alleged the company unlawfully restricted independent repair providers’ access to its software diagnostic tools. In a statement posted to the FTC’s own site, Chairman Ferguson said the settlement, which runs with ten years of compliance reporting, “restores competition by ensuring that farmers enjoy the right to repair their own equipment,” while requiring Deere to provide repair resources on terms the agency calls fair and reasonable.
The equipment inquiry also follows a broader antitrust push into farm input markets. In September 2025, USDA and the Department of Justice signed a memorandum of understanding to scrutinise competitive conditions across agriculture, a move that initially hit fertiliser and seed company shares, including Nutrien, CF Industries, Mosaic and Corteva. DTN’s coverage of the equipment inquiry noted that the FTC’s separate look at the fertiliser market is continuing in parallel.
The timing matters commercially. High interest rates and several years of weak crop prices have already pushed farmers to delay new equipment purchases, hurting manufacturers’ sales, Deere’s included. A regulatory cloud over dealer practices adds a further headwind for an industry already navigating softer demand.
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