Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — 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 them.
The bill would require manufacturers to make parts, software, and the tools needed to make repairs on farm equipment available to the owner at fair and reasonable terms or costs.
In 2023, manufacturers signed an agreement with the American Farm Bureau to voluntarily provide repair information to farmers, but Wulf and others say that agreement isn’t working.
The bill also would ensure that data collected by farm equipment, such as yield information from a combine, cannot be sold by the manufacturer to other businesses that might use it for surveillance pricing.
Representative J.D. Scholten, a Democrat from Sioux City, says that with access to harvest data, a company could determine which farmers might be able to pay more for seed 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, according to the company, farmers already have the tools and resources they need to work on their own equipment.
KIWA Staff Photo
