Deere, Farm Bureau sign deal to let farmers fix equipment on their own, discourage legislative action on the issue

A John Deere fully autonomous tractor at last year’s Consumer Electronics
Show (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon, Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

Deere & Co. and the nation's leading farm lobby have struck a compromise in the battle between farm-equipment manufacturers and farmers. "Deere signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation that the group said ensures farmers can repair their own farm equipment or take it to independent repair shops," reports Patience Haggin of The Wall Street Journal. "The agreement addresses a debate that has grown in recent years, as the farm industry has implemented high-tech equipment like software and sensors in machinery like tractors and harvesters aimed at boosting harvests and speeding planting."

While the understanding appears to address demands from both sides, it discourages further legislative action: "The agreement creates a mechanism to address farmers’ concerns and give them access to resources needed to repair their own equipment," Haggin writes. "It seeks to address the so-called “right-to-repair” issue through the private sector. . . . and discourages the federation’s state organizations from introducing, promoting or supporting such legislation. . . . The federation said the agreement could serve as a model and that it had begun talks with other manufacturers."

Kevin O’Reilly, Right to Repair campaign director at the Public Interest Research Group, a progressive advocacy organization, said the agreement could be difficult to enforce. He told Haggins that lawmakers "should continue pushing right-to-repair legislation until every farmer in every state with every brand of equipment can fix every problem with every tractor."

The conflict has been a circle of frustration for both sides: "Some farmer organizations and consumer advocacy groups have accused Deere and other manufacturers of using proprietary software on their equipment to restrict repair work to the manufacturers’ own dealers. . . . It has increased their costs by forcing them to call in technicians from dealerships for repairs they could handle themselves, if the equipment companies would give them greater access to the software," Haggin writes. "Deere has said it provides tools and repair manuals enabling private repairs, but has pushed back against what it says are attempts by farmers to modify software that controls machinery operations."