For years, John Deere has been at the center of the right-to-repair debate, and not in a good way. The company put software locks on equipment that only authorized dealers can disable, preventing farmers or an independent repair shop from diagnosing and fixing a machine. It can also remotely shut down machines at any time (like it demonstrated when Russians stole Ukrainian farm equipment last year). These limitations have led some fed-up farmers to hack their tractors, something this new agreement is supposed to remedy. The memorandum of understanding ensures that John Deere makes its software, tools, and documentation available to both farmers and independent repair shops. It also notes that owners and third-party technicians can’t compromise a machine’s safety features through modifications and assures that John Deere’s copyrighted software “is fully protected from illegal infringement,” likely through modifications made by hacking. Although this seems like a step in the right direction, it’s written in a way that could allow John Deere to skirt federal or state right-to-repair legislation. In the agreement, the AFBF says …