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John Deere relents on right to repair, with a catch

The company has long been targeted for its strict policies on repairing equipment. (Radosław Drożdżewski via Wikimedia Commons.)

The American Farm Bureau Federation and John Deere announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will allow farmers to repair their own equipment. 

For years John Deere restricted certain maintenance and repair work farmers could do on their equipment, instead pushing farmers to use licensed repair shops. Now, the company is allowing independent repair shops and farmers to purchase the software, manuals and diagnostic equipment necessary to service equipment. 

Randy Kron, president of the Indiana Farm Bureau, said the move will help to make repairs cheaper and more accessible than ever before. 

“Competition is always good,” he said. “So now instead of having one place to go, you can have access to some independence. And that probably makes the prices a little better.” 

Read more: High egg prices driven by expensive input costs

Most importantly, opening repairs to anyone with the right tools should save farmers’ time. During harvest season, authorized repair shops would routinely get backed up with maintenance queues leading to longer turnaround times on projects. 

“In farming terms when you're planting or you're harvesting, you know a week is not acceptable,” Kron said. “You can't sit still and not be running equipment.” 

Kron is also hopeful that other companies will take note and follow John Deere’s lead. 

“They're going to continue to discuss it with other manufacturers,” he said. “And I'm cautiously optimistic that we're going to have a few more down the road here since we got the first one.” 

But there is a catch; deeper in the agreement lies language allowing John Deere to pull out should farmers or farm bureaus start lobbying for proper right to repair laws. 

From Section III of the MOU 

“AFBF 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. In the event any state or federal legislation or regulation relating to issues covered by this MOU and/or "Right to Repair" is enacted, each of AFBF and Manufacturer reserve the right, upon fifteen (15) days written notice, to withdraw from this MOU.” 

Essentially, John Deere wants to give consumers what they want without the long arm of the law forcing them to do any more than the current plan. 

John Deere and the farm bureau federation will meet semi-annually to evaluate the MOU and suggest updates.

Read more: USDA Conservation Stewardship Program announces app deadline

Want to contact your legislators about an issue that matters to you? Find out how to contact your senators and member of Congress here.

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