Farm equipment has been increasingly computerized since the late ‘80s. Today nearly the entire piece of machinery, be it a tractor, or combine, has sensors or other electronic equipment installed. Modern John Deere tractors and combines have proprietary software that is becoming pretty draconian. You might need an authorized agent to swing by and connect to the equipment with diagnostic software to repair it. The down-time can be quite costly, not to mention the technician’s $150 an hour labor bill. It’s not just John Deere, I’ve heard reports just like this with Caterpillar tractors as well.
The problem is the proprietary diagnostic equipment and software companies like John Deere keep close to the vest. It really hobbles a farmer’s ability to repair his own equipment. To date there are no laws requiring companies to allow customers to work on, or modify their own equipment. To be clear, if you own it, you can modify it or even repair it. But don’t expect the manufacturer to sell you diagnostic equipment or software to help. This has led many farmers to start pirating the software. In stark contrast, a farmer can find parts for antiquated tractors easily. Older equipment can be repaired in a hurry if something goes wrong at a bad time of year.
The new technology is being used to create a repair monopoly that customers can’t opt out of. It’s so wide-spread that, legislation is being brought forword across the country to combat it. Unfortunately, the legislation hasn’t gotten enough traction.
Nebraska introduced a bill, LB67 on Jan. 5, 2017, The Fair Repair Act. It would have required manufactureres to provide owners and independent repair businesses with fair access to service information and reasonably priced replacement parts. When the bill came up in April 2018, large tech. companies Apple and Microsoft sent company representatives. They were clearly concerned that, allowing average people to repair their property might set a precedent. One that might eventually affect their respective businesses. The bill was indefinitely postponed.
Similarly in Kansas the bill HB 2122 was introduced to the house on Jan. 23, 2017. It was refered to the committee on federal and state affairs on the same day. In May 2018, the bill died in committee. It’s not clear whether it will be picked back up for a vote anytime soon.
So what do you think? Do manufacturers and dealers have the right keep repair equipment and software from their customers? When your tractor breaks, should the manufacturer be the only ones who can fix it, at the price they feel is fair? Or do you think that once you buy the product, you own it, and should have the right to repair it if it breaks?
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