Legislation has been introduced this week in the U.S. House that would require farm equipment manufacturers to provide farmers the information and data to repair their own equipment.
A new Agricultural Right to Repair Act has been introduced this week in Congress by Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA-03), along with Reps. Joe Neguse (D-CO-02), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-07), and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07).
The legislation defines what type of information Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are required to provide to make repair accessible. If the OEM does not have the digital or physical tools available, they are required to provide sufficient information to create the tools.
The bill also gives the Federal Trade Commission the ability to enforce these requirements and the ability to make a rule to assist in the implementation of these requirements.
Rob Larew, President of the National Farmers Union (NFU), says the Right to Repair Act is an important step in the fight to ensure farmers across the country have fair and affordable access to the parts, tools, and information they need to fix farm equipment.
“The introduction of the Agricultural Right to Repair Act is an important step in our fight to ensure farmers across the country have fair and affordable access to the parts, tools, and information they need to fix farm equipment,” says Larew. “NFU stands ready to push this bill forward.”
According to the NFU, Right to Repair could save farmers $4.2 billion every year.
