The Iowa House has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would give Iowans a clear right to repair their farm equipment. Republican Representative Derek Wulf of Hudson says software locks and corporate control are costing farmers time and money when tractors and combines break down, and they have to wait for a dealer’s technician to fix it.
The bill would require manufacturers to make parts, software and the tools to make repairs on farm equipment available to the owner of the implement at fair and reasonable terms or costs. In 2023, manufacturers signed an agreement with the American Farm Bureau to voluntarily provide information to farmers about how to repair tractors, combines and other farm equipment, but Wulf and others say that agreement isn’t working.
The bill also would ensure the data collected by a combine, for example, can’t be sold by the manufacturer to other businesses that might impose surveillance pricing. Representative J.D. Scholten, a Democrat from Sioux City, says with that data about the harvest, a company could figure out which farmers could afford to pay more for seeds or fertilizer.
Colorado was the first state to pass a “Right to Repair” law. Scholten says Iowa should become the second.
The bill passed the House on a 70-to-18 vote. It must pass the Senate before it could go to the governor. A manager of government affairs for John Deere says the company does not believe the legislation is needed because farmers already have all the tools and resources available to them right now to work on their own equipment.
