US farmers win right to repair John Deere equipment- PublishedTractor maker John Deere has agreed to give its US customers the right to fix 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, equipment owners and independent technicians will not be allowed to "divulge trade secrets" or "override safety features or emissions controls or to adjust Agricultural Equipment power levels."The firm looks forward to working with the AFBF and "our customers in the months and years ahead to ensure farmers continue to have the tools and resources to diagnose, maintain and repair their equipment," Dave Gilmore, a senior vice president at Deere & Co. said."Consumers have long been complaining that products not only tend to break down faster than they used to, but that repairing them is often too costly, difficult to arrange for lack of spare parts, and sometimes impossible," according to the European Parliamentary Research Service."