The Federal Trade Commission is accusing Deere & Co. of unfairly monopolizing the farm-equipment repair market.

The lawsuit comes after years of the equipment manufacturer locking farmers out of making basic repairs to their equipment.

Minnesota farmers who've long pushed for the right to independently repair their own agricultural equipment are celebrating a lawsuit filed against John Deere, in which the company is accused of instituting illegal repair policies that drive up costs for farmers.

The Federal Trade Commission and two states accuse Deere of costing farmers time and money by unfairly limiting software access and forcing the use of only authorized dealers.

The suit alleges that Deere tried to increase the cost of repairing its equipment while also forcing customers to rely on Deere-approved dealers to make the repairs.

The sign outside a John Deere dealer is seen in Denver May 14, 2015. A weak global agriculture sector weighed heavily on quarterly results posted by Deere & Co on May 22, 2015, but earnings still topped expectations,

The Federal Trade Commission has sued the tractor manufacturer John Deere. The organization alleges “unfair” practices, high repair costs and an inability for regular consumers to repair devices on their own.

The lawsuit against the maker of John Deere tractors represents a final push in the Biden administration’s broader efforts to make repairs less costly for consumers.

The Federal Trade Commission sued Deere, alleging the tractor maker limits farmers’ ability to repair their own equipment, giving Deere an illegal monopoly on repair services. The FTC’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Chicago federal court,

Illegal repair restrictions can be devastating for farmers, who rely on affordable and timely repairs to harvest their crops and earn their income,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said