If you eat food, you’re already in this story.
John Deere is still trying to kill the Right to Repair, but Iowa farmers are pushing hard to retake their rights. On February 18, the Iowa House Agriculture Committee advanced a fix, HSB 751, by an 18-5 vote. That’s a big margin, and it puts the bill on a very real path forward in one of the country’s largest agricultural producers, a state that accounts for about a fifth of US agricultural receipts.
Right to Repair has passed for agriculture in Colorado and electronics in eight states, and so far this year, 55 Right to Repair bills are running the course through 20 state legislatures. Iowa might be first past the post, with an agricultural bill that’s sorely needed.
Why Do We Need Agricultural Right to Repair?
Why should you care if you don’t own a tractor? Because when a combine goes down in the middle of harvest, it means fewer acres cut before the rain hits. It means grain that doesn’t get hauled on time. We like to imagine the food supply as a smooth conveyor belt. In reality it’s tight timing, thin margins, and a lot of heavy machinery that increasingly runs on proprietary software.
A modern combine can be mechanically fine and still be effectively broken, because the owner can’t access the diagnostic tools and software needed to complete the repair. The part might be sitting right there, but the “key” to make it work lives behind a dealer login. Agricultural Right to Repair aims to hand the keys back to farmers so they can get food back on our tables.
Colorado was the first state to put that principle into law. In 2023 it passed the first-ever agricultural Right to Repair bill in the US. The law requires manufacturers like Deere to provide access to the same kinds of manuals, diagnostic tools, software, and parts that dealers use, on fair terms.
And yet, even after Colorado, Deere has fought the spirit of Right to Repair. They concede a little, keep the high-leverage stuff gated, and call it a solution. Our advocacy partners at PIRG have covered the full play-by-play. Deere keeps promising “full repair access” and then kicking the can down the road. In order to hold their feet to the fire, we need to pass repair laws in more places.
Farmers Just Want to Be Able to Fix Their $500k Machines
Why is this an increasing problem? Software has created a specific gap in farmers’ abilities.
... continue reading