Jared Wilson, Voices for Right to Repair

During planting season, I’m working around the clock—sometimes 22 hours a day—to get seed in the ground. There is a finite window. Any seed we don’t plant in that window means less crop come harvest. So when my tractor breaks down, I need to be able to fix it ASAP. But John Deere won’t let me access the repair software I need to fix it. Independent mechanics are in the same boat. And so I have to wait a week, two weeks, sometimes more than a month for the dealer to make a repair I could have done myself if I had the right tools. That’s just not right.

Jared with his S690 combine in Butler, Missouri. Repair restrictions prevent him from making many repairs on his machine.Photo by Jared Wilson

I want to emphasize just how much consolidation is affecting this. Even if they had this repair monopoly, but there was some segmentation, it would provide some incentive for these dealerships to do a better job. And the fact that they have consolidated so much means that they absolutely don’t have to at all, because you just have no other choice. It’s not practical to take your 20-ton machine and move it 300 miles to go get work done. The logistics of that just don’t work.

I’m pushing for Right to Repair to break through the manufacturers’ restrictions and consolidation so that farmers like me can fix their own equipment.