Update: Michigan advances Farm Right to Repair bill

On Wednesday, Oct. 25, the Michigan House Committee on Agriculture advanced HB 4673, a Right to Repair measure for farm equipment. 

Modern farm equipment often requires special software tools to complete repairs, tools available to technicians at the dealership, but not to the farmer or independent repair shops. The result is a backlog of repairs at dealerships, high-priced repairs and costly downtime for farmers. Some manufacturers claim that they make sufficient repair tools available, but a U.S. PIRG Education Fund report found that one sample “customer” repair tool had critical features redacted or removed, such that someone seeking a repair would still need to call the dealership, even after paying thousands of dollars for these repair tools. 

We will continue to monitor and support the effort to expand Right to Repair protections to Michigan farmers.