The increased presence of software in agricultural equipment has allowed manufacturers such as John Deere to take control of the repair process at the expense of the equipment owner. The creation of software locks and keys required to authorize repair severely limits farmers and independent repair shops’ ability to fix broken farm equipment themselves.
A true solution would give farmers unrestricted access to the same tools that the dealers have. These are not tools that will allow farmers to override safety or emissions controls, nor will the tools lead to encroachments on intellectual property. They will, however, provide farmers with what they need to diagnose, calibrate, authorize and perform repairs. All of this should be provided at a fair and reasonable price.
Manufacturers should make these tools available to farmers. If they fail to do so, legislators should enact policies such as Right to Repair reforms to make sure that farmers can fix their own equipment.