"Farmers just want to get their machine going again." Rep. Brianna Titone (D)
Last month, John Deere and the American Farm Bureau Federation signed a "memorandum of understanding" the ensures farmers and ranchers the right to repair their own farm equipment.
At this time, the software, tools and manuals for equipment is not available to the owners or repair shops, even with hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in ownership of these machines. Farmers have to wait sometimes days for an authorized technician to make the repair.
Because of the warranty on farm machinery, it has cost farmers loss of work days and loss of ideal planting and harvesting conditions.
Bills are being introduced in Colorado and ten other states that would force manufacturers to provide the tools, software, parts and manuals needed for farmers to do their own repairs.
Manufacturers argue this will expose trade secrets and allow illegal tampering among other arguments.
For more on this story: 11 states consider 'right to repair' for farming equipment | Morning Ag Clips
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