‘Right to repair’ farm equipment pushed in 11 states; makers cite intellectual-property and environmental issues

A combine harvests grain in northeastern Colorado.
(Photo by Danny Wood via Associated Press)

A big thunderstorm blows through, and your electricity goes out. You wait. You can't fix the electricity on your own and some waiting is expected, but do you want to wait three days? Five days? Should the wait cost you thousands of dollars?

That's the bind many American farmers face when their equipment needs repairs, reports Jesse Bedayn of The Associated Press. Bedayn introduces Colorado farmer Danny Wood as an example: "Wood scrambles to plant and harvest proso millet, dryland corn and winter wheat in short, seasonal windows. . . until his high-tech Steiger 370 tractor conks out. . . . The tractor’s manufacturer doesn’t allow Wood to make certain fixes himself, and last spring his fertilizing operations were stalled for three days before the servicer arrived to add a few lines of missing computer code for $950. . . . [this common plight] has pushed lawmakers in Colorado and 10 other states to introduce bills that would force manufacturers to provide the tools, software, parts and manuals needed for farmers to do their own repairs — thereby avoiding steep labor costs and delays that imperil profits." Wood told Bedayn, “That’s where they have us over the barrel, it’s more like we are renting it than buying it." Wood spent $300,000 purchase his used tractor.

"Right to repair" laws have gained traction, "In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission pledged to beef up its right to repair enforcement at the direction of President Joe Biden," Bedayn writes. "And just last year, Rep. Brianna Titone sponsored and passed Colorado’s first right to repair law, empowering people who use wheelchairs with the tools and information to fix them."

But there is the other side: "Manufacturers argue that changing the current practice with this type of legislation would force companies to expose trade secrets. They also say it would make it easier for farmers to tinker with the software and illegally crank up the horsepower and bypass the emissions controller — risking operators’ safety and the environment," Bedayn reports. "Similar arguments around intellectual property have been leveled against the broader campaign called ‘right to repair,’ which has picked up steam across the country."

Bedayn notes, "Rep. Richard Holtorf, the Republican who represents Wood’s district and is a farmer himself, said he’s being pulled between his constituents and the dealerships in his district covering the largely rural northeast corner of the state. He voted against the measure because he believes it will financially impact local dealerships in rural areas and could jeopardize trade secrets. Holtorf told Bedayn, "I do sympathize with my farmers. I don’t think it’s the role of government to be forcing the sale of intellectual property.”

"The bill’s proponents acknowledged that the legislation could make it easier for operators to modify horsepower and emissions controls," Bedayn reports. "But argued that farmers are already able to tinker with their machines and doing so would remain illegal."