By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor
Farmers and ranchers should have the right to repair their own equipment without having to go through dealerships or manufacturers, according to U.S. President Joe Biden.
In a wide-sweeping executive order, he directed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to draft rules limiting farm equipment manufacturers’ ability to prevent owners from repairing their own equipment or using independent repair shops. Also included were directives to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding livestock markets and expanding meat processing capacity.
“Consolidation in the agricultural industry is making it too hard for small family farms to survive. Farmers are squeezed between concentrated market power in the agricultural input industries—seed, fertilizer, feed and equipment suppliers—and concentrated market power in the channels for selling agricultural products,” Biden wrote in the executive order. “As a result, farmers’ share of the value of their agricultural products has decreased, and poultry farmers, hog farmers, cattle ranchers and other agricultural workers struggle to retain autonomy and to make sustainable returns.”
Currently, some tractor manufacturers, including John Deere, AGCO Corp. and CNH Industrial, prevent third-party repairs through proprietary repair tools and software.
Farmers, agricultural organizations and 32 state governments have argued for years that increasing technology in farm equipment also enabled manufacturers to restrict an owner’s ability to repair their own equipment.
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) both support the right to repair.
“Farmers increasingly rely on the latest technology as they grow healthy, affordable food. Business purchases—from robotic milkers to high-tech combines—require a substantial investment, and when those tools break down farmers need to get back up and running quickly,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a statement. “Limiting who can work on a piece of machinery drives up costs and increases down-time. Ensuring farmers have the ability to perform cost-effective repairs on their own equipment will keep America’s farms running and financially sustainable.”
In response to the White House’s announcement, major manufacturers and industry representation groups such as the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the Equipment Dealers Association (EDA) said they already allow owners to repair their equipment and provide information to support those owners. These groups contend those supporting right-to-repair legislation are seeking to bypass government-mandated safety and environmental devices and systems to modify performance of the machines beyond safe operating limits.
“With respect to a farmer’s ‘right to repair,’ equipment manufacturers support a farmer’s right to repair his or her own equipment,” Stephanie See, AEM director of State Government Relations, said in a statement. “Our industry provides diagnostic guides, service manuals and other tools and information for repairs and maintenance. We are proud of the work our industry does to protect our planet and safeguard our customers’ well-being and will never compromise on safety and environmental protections.”
In 2018, AEM and EDA created a statement of principles promising manuals, product guides, product service trainings, on-board diagnostics, fleet management information, electronic field diagnostic service tools and training to use them would be available to end users for purchase or lease through authorized dealers at “fair and reasonable terms.”
A statement released by EDA President and CEO Kim Rominger said most dealers already support their customers’ right to repair. He noted executive orders are not legislation but are directives from the president to a federal agency, which is subject to a rule-making process.
Although several elements of the executive order were given a set period to be implemented, Biden left it up to the FTC to develop a timeline for developing any new regulations regarding “unfair anticompetitive restrictions on third-party repair or self-repair of items.”