{"id":26855,"date":"2017-06-06T04:00:29","date_gmt":"2017-06-06T09:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=26855"},"modified":"2023-01-10T09:34:12","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T17:34:12","slug":"in-the-fight-over-the-right-to-repair-tractors-farmers-face-an-uphill-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2017\/06\/06\/in-the-fight-over-the-right-to-repair-tractors-farmers-face-an-uphill-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Farmers Face Uphill Battle in Right to Repair Tractors"},"content":{"rendered":"

January 10, 2023 update:<\/strong> John Deere this week announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation to allow independent mechanics<\/a> access to tools and software documentation to repair their equipment. In exchange, the Farm Bureau agreed to not advocate for any state or federal right-to-repair legislation\u2014a caveat that has advocacy groups like PIRG calling for continued efforts to pass right-to-repair laws<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This article was produced by MapLight<\/a> in partnership with Civil Eats.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Tom Schwarz was growing up on his family\u2019s 2,500-acre Nebraska produce farm and their International tractor broke down, fixing it was pretty simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou bought a new part,\u201d said Schwarz, 58. \u201cOr, you bought a used part. You replaced what was broken, and you moved on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, repairs are much more complicated. Recently, a component in the guidance system on Schwarz\u2019s John Deere 7230 tractor<\/a>, which he uses to plant his crops, broke. Since the Moline, Illinois-based company no longer supports his tractor\u2019s system, Schwarz is looking at a $3,000 bill for a used electrical part. He would like to just get his current component repaired, but manufacturers won\u2019t provide independent shops with the guides or technology that would allow them to fix it, and Deere\u2014one of the few tractor manufacturers with an authorized repair shop in south-central Nebraska\u2014won\u2019t repair older parts if it no longer supports them.<\/p>\n

Schwarz is far from alone. Once capable of fixing their mechanical workhorses in a barn or under the shade of a tree, many of the nation\u2019s 3.2 million farmers are now faced with tractors that can only be fixed by a manufacturer\u2014a situation that benefits manufacturers\u2019 bottom lines but puts added burdens on often-struggling farmers. But Schwarz and other farmers are fighting back. They\u2019re pushing \u201cright-to-repair\u201d legislation, which would require manufacturers to provide the same information and parts to farmers or independent repair shops as they do for the manufacturers\u2019 repair shops.<\/p>\n

This year, right-to-repair bills have been introduced in 11 state legislatures, including Kansas<\/a>, Minnesota<\/a>, New York<\/a>, Tennessee<\/a>, Massachusetts<\/a>, Wyoming<\/a>, Illinois<\/a>, Iowa<\/a>, Missouri<\/a>, North Carolina<\/a>,<\/u> and Nebraska<\/a>. Supporters of the bill are at a distinct monetary disadvantage, though, and policy victories frequently are won by the side that spends the most. A MapLight analysis of state lobbying reports found proponents of right-to-repair legislation have been outspent by a 28-to-1 margin. Companies opposed to the legislation spent more than $2.6 million in New York, Massachusetts, and Nebraska. Meanwhile, the coalition that wants farmers to be able to fix their own tractors has spent $93,620.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never doubted that it was going to be difficult, in a David-vs.-Goliath kind of way, to go up against some of the most iconic brands in the world,\u201d said Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association<\/a>, a\u00a0New Jersey-based coalition that works to promote right-to-repair legislation.<\/p>\n

The Case Against Right-to-Repair<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nebraska isn\u2019t short of farmers like Schwarz who want to be able to repair their own equipment. This year, the Nebraska Farm Bureau approved a resolution<\/a> expressing support for a right-to-repair bill.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, equipment makers\u2014including Deere, which controls as much as 60 percent of the tractor market in the U.S. and Canada\u2014are opposed to the legislation. In a letter<\/a> laying out its position, Deere argued that current regulations are necessary to maintain product safety and compliance with emissions standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllowing untrained individuals to modify equipment software can endanger operators, bystanders, dealers, mechanics, customers, and others,\u201d said Ken Golden, a Deere spokesman. He added that customers, dealers, and manufacturers \u201cshould work together on the issue rather than invite government regulation that could add costs with no associated value.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden confirmed Deere has lobbied on right-to-repair legislation, but declined to say in which states or how much the company spent. However, records show Deere has retained lobbyists in New York and reported spending $42,000 while lobbying on a 2015 right-to-repair bill in Massachusetts without reporting a position on the bill.<\/p>\n

Deere and other equipment dealers have strong incentives to fight right-to-repair legislation. If farmers are forced to visit authorized dealers, it provides increased business for the manufacturers, and allows them to set the price for parts. Additionally, having only authorized shops able to repair machines means farmers are more likely to buy equipment from manufacturers with authorized shops nearby\u2014which in most areas are the bigger companies such as Deere or Case IH.<\/p>\n

Beyond Agriculture<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right-to-repair legislation has attracted more than just tractor manufacturers\u2019 attention, though. If a right-to-repair bill were to pass, it could also affect people ranging from heavy equipment operators to mobile-phone users. Caterpillar, the world\u2019s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, has spent $38,700 while lobbying on right-to-repair legislation in New York. The Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association spent $38,000 while lobbying against a 2015 right-to-repair bill. And corporate heavyweights including Apple, Verizon, and the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) oppose the legislation.<\/p>\n

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative dark-money<\/a> organization<\/a> that proposes model legislation for the states, has also declared<\/a> its opposition to right-to-repair bills. The council, whose funders include billionaire libertarian brothers Charles and David Koch, describes right-to-repair legislation as \u201cgovernment mandates on innovators\u201d that would force them to hand over proprietary information. Both e-commerce trade association NetChoice and telecom giant AT&T, which are opposed to right-to-repair legislation, are also on ALEC\u2019s private enterprise board.<\/p>\n

Nebraska, the nation\u2019s fourth-largest<\/a> agricultural economy, emerged in 2015 as a key battleground for legislative efforts to give farmers like Schwarz the ability to repair their own tractors. Telecom companies and trade associations that lobbied against the bill, including Verizon and CTIA, as well as manufacturing companies such as the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association, spent more than $78,000 combined. The lone supporter, the Nebraska Farmers Union, spent $4,400.<\/p>\n

Senstor Bob Krist, an Omaha Republican who sits on the legislature\u2019s agriculture committee, said he had mixed feelings about the bill. \u201cWhen you\u2019re charging $4,500 for a software update for a GPS, I think you\u2019re out of line,\u201d Krist said. He didn\u2019t have to balance his reservations about the bill in a vote on the 2015 measure, though; a series of procedural maneuvers in the state legislature doomed the bill, and it died in committee.<\/p>\n

Outside of farm country, right-to-repair laws are also hotly contested. When Massachusetts considered right-to-repair legislation in 2015, opponents included medical companies such as Boston Scientific Corporation and Johnson and Johnson, automotive organizations like the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, and technology companies including Apple. Opponents of the bill spent $1.27 million. Its lone supporter, The Repair Association, spent $31,500.<\/p>\n

New York also considered right-to-repair legislation in 2015. Opponents spent $1.3 million lobbying in the state, while the coalition that supported the failed bill spent more than $57,000.<\/p>\n

Senator Phil Boyle, a Long Island Republican, said he sponsored the legislation after hearing complaints from repair shops in his district, who felt their growth was being stifled by manufacturers.<\/p>\n

Future Outlook <\/strong><\/p>\n

If history is any guide, right-to-repair advocates may look to bypass legislatures in favor of direct voter initiatives. A 2012 Massachusetts ballot measure to give diagnostic and repair information<\/a> to car owners and repair shops passed<\/a> with 86 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the way forward is a state is going to pass [right-to-repair legislation], or we\u2019re going to do a ballot initiative,\u201d The Repair Association\u2019s Gordon-Byrne said. \u201cBut is it going to be next year or is it going to be in 10 years? That, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Tom Schwarz, the Nebraska farmer, is saving his money so he can afford a new guidance component for his $120,000 tractor. Since Schwarz is an organic farmer who can\u2019t use herbicides, the machine\u2019s guidance system ensures that stray weeds can be removed without damaging his crops. In the meantime, he\u2019s resigned to buying a $3,000 second-hand part from Deere\u2014the only source for the component.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to have to buy another receiver,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the second receiver I\u2019ve bought\u2014and every time I do this, it\u2019s thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have no other option,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to go to John Deere for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Editor’s note: Visit MapLight.org<\/a> to read more about the methodology for the data in this article.]<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

January 10, 2023 update: John Deere this week announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation to allow independent mechanics access to tools and software documentation to repair their equipment. 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