Blog By: RYAN STUART
A farmer once told me that if it cannot be fixed with a pair of pliers, bailing wire, and a crescent wrench then it’s not fixable. While that statement was not entirely true, the message was that as a farmer you must be resourceful and innovative with what you have at any given moment. For generations, when a farmer’s equipment breaks down, they have found a way to either repair or patch their equipment themselves to get the job done.[i] This was a realistic option with tractors from the 70’s and 80’s as they were tough, reliable, and easy to fix.[ii]
The increase of sensors and software on modern farming equipment has allowed manufacturers like John Deere to control the repair process by locking the onboard computer and preventing public access to the tools needed to unlock it.[iii] In response to pressure from farmers and right-to-repair advocates, John Deere, and the American Farm Bureau Federation entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in January of 2023.[iv]
Memorandum of Understanding and Past Promises
The MOU promises that John Deere will provide farmers and independent mechanics the ability to purchase access to John Deere’s software, manuals, and other information required to service their equipment.[v] The MOU appears to be a step in the right direction, but farmers and right-to-repair advocates still have doubts that they will be provided the access they need to repair their equipment.[vi] One reason for the skepticism is that John Deere and other manufacturers have made similar promises in the past with no significant change in access.[vii]
An example of this is the 2018 “Statement of Principles” which vowed to provide the tools, software, and diagnostics to the public starting in January 2021.[viii] The promise in 2018 was at least partially in response to the increase in right-to-repair legislation being introduced in states around the country.[ix] John Deere, the manufacturers, and the dealers were explicit that their intention with the 2018 promise was to prevent the right-to-repair bills from proceeding as this promise made them “unnecessary”.[x]
The 2023 MOU appears to be another attempt to prevent the progression of right-to-repair legislation at the state and federal levels.[xi] A key criticism of the MOU is that it lacks any enforcement mechanism or legal recourse if John Deere doesn’t follow through on their commitments.[xii] It also provides that the manufacturer can walk away from the agreement for any reason with only 30 days’ notice.[xiii] What is most concerning is that the MOU states that the American Farm Bureau Foundation “agrees to encourage state Farm Bureau organizations to recognize the commitments made in this MOU and refrain from introducing, promoting, or supporting federal or state Right-to-Repair legislation that imposes obligations beyond the commitments in this MOU.”[xiv] Walter Schweitzer, a third-generation farmer in Montana wants more than just “pinky promises” from manufacturers, he believes that right-to-repair legislation is the only way to ensure farmers and independent mechanics will have the needed access to comprehensive repair materials.[xv]
Why Farmers Need Right-to-Repair Legislation
While the recent MOU appears to be a step in the right direction, it is not a sufficient solution to the right-to-repair movement in the farming and agriculture industry, and 95 percent of farmers are in support of right-to-repair legislation.[xvi] The right-to-repair legislation that has been suggested would not be just another empty promise, it would ensure that the individual owner would have the ability to access the tools needed to repair their own equipment.[xvii] The four main parts of the model legislation that has been suggested are “(1) mandating disclosure of information that will allow repairs; (2) mandating the availability of parts and tools to facilitate repairs; (3) mandating disclosure of information to allow security protections to be reset; and (4) forbidding contracting around such provisions in terms between authorized repair providers and the original equipment manufacturers.”[xviii]
Modern equipment comes with modern technology.[xix] This technology provides amazing conveniences and incredible comfort to the farmer of 2023.[xx] The technology, features, and amenities provide efficiency and comfort never before seen in the history of farming, but when every aspect of technology has a sensor that can put your equipment in “limp mode,” it becomes a half-a-million-dollar “paperweight” that you cannot repair yourself.[xxi]
Farmers in 2023 still “pride themselves in being able to come up with ingenious and creative solutions to the problems that come along with their profession” as they have since the beginning of farming.[xxii] The progression of technology in the farming equipment industry should not prevent an individual mechanic or farmer from repairing their own equipment on their own property.
[i] Kevin O'Reilly, Deere in the Headlights, U.S. Pirg, 5 (Feb. 2021), https://uspirg.org/sites/pirg/files/rel 1423DeereInTheHeadlights/WEB_USP_Deere-in-the-Headlights_V3.pdf [https://perma.cc/9BFH-J7S9].
[ii] Jeff Peek, Why Midwest Farmers Are Ditching Newfangled Tractors for Old-School Rigs, Hagerty Media (Jan. 9, 2020), https://www.hagerty.com/media/buying-and-selling/why-midwest-farmers-ditch-newfangled-tractors-for-old-school-rigs/ [https://perma.cc/2ELG-969E].
[iii] Jason Koebler & Matthew Gault, John Deere Promised Farmers It Would Make Tractors Easy to Repair. It Lied, Vice (Feb. 18, 2021, 1:17 PM), https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7m8mx/john-deere-promised-farmers-it-would-make-tractors-easy-to-repair-it-lied [https://perma.cc/DNB5-8URD].
[iv] Joe Hernandez, John Deere Vows to Open Up Its Tractor Tech, but Right-To-Repair Backers Have Doubts, NPR (Jan. 10, 2023, 5:00 AM), https://www.npr.org/2023/01/10/1147934682/john-deere-right-to-repair-farmers-tractors [https://perma.cc/6LY4-NAR2].
[v] Id.
[vi] Id.
[vii] Koebler & Gault, supra note iii.
[viii] Id.
[ix] Id.
[x] Id.
[xi] Hernandez, supra note iv.
[xii] Kevin O'Reilly, Another Tractor Repair MOU Changes Nothing, PIRG (Mar. 9, 2023), https://pirg.org/articles/another-tractor-repair-mou-changes-nothing/ [https://perma.cc/9G6E-3ZGD].
[xiii] Id.
[xiv] Lauren Goode, Right-To-Repair Advocates Question John Deere’s New Promises, Wired (Jan. 18, 2023), https://www.wired.com/story/right-to-repair-advocates-question-john-deeres-new-promises/ [https://perma.cc/9UKW-WW25].
[xv] O'Reilly, supra note xii.
[xvi] Kevin O'Reilly, Why Farmers Need Right to Repair, PIRG (Feb. 1, 2022), https://pirg.org/edfund/resources/why-farmers-need-right-to-repair-2/ [https://perma.cc/Y9HA-AW2M].
[xvii] Leah Chan Grinvald & Ofer Tur-Sinai, Intellectual Property Law and the Right to Repair, 88 Fordham L. Rev. 63, 77 (2019).
[xviii] Id.
[xix] O'Reilly, supra note i.
[xx] Id.
[xxi] Hernandez, supra note iii.
[xxii] O'Reilly, supra note i.