Association Ready to Represent Members’ Interests on Right-to-Repair

Lawmakers in at least five states have introduced or are studying legislation that would enshrine some form of “right-to-repair,” meaning manufacturers will have to sell replacement parts to independent repair shops and consumers and will also have to make their diagnostic and service manuals public.

Bills have been introduced in Nebraska, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, and Kansas. Additionally, a farm equipment repair bill has been introduced in Wyoming that closely mirrors the legislation in the other states that targets tractors and other farm equipment.

Proponents claim these bills wouldn’t just affect independent repair companies. Repair parts and diagnostic manuals would also be made available to consumers, making it much easier to repair your own equipment.

The legislative action has earned the attention of several equipment dealer associations for years. Andrew Goodman, President/CEO of the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association, wrote a commentary last summer on the legislation, specifically in Nebraska and D.C., saying the “ramifications of this legislation for both the manufacturer and dealer are enormous.” A portion of Goodman’s views were published in our June 23, 2016 Shortliner. See it at FarmEquip.org/Goodman. (Member Login)

The Western Equipment Dealers Association developed a position paper regarding the initiatives, expressing their concern that legislative efforts will harm farmer customers in the long term. In the paper, WEDA President Scott Eisenhauer said the legislation “creates safety, warranty, and environmental concerns that will have lasting effects to manufacturers and dealers, and it will impair a dealer’s ability to serve the needs of the customer as they strive for efficiencies.” 

The paper went on to say that manufacturers have the right to protect their investment in intellectual property that propels innovation in the agricultural industry. It also said “well-established copyright protections should not be abandoned to allow unnecessary access to embedded code that harbors proprietary information of the manufacturer.”

Eisenhauer observed that as “equipment has become more technologically advanced to make farmers and ranchers more competitive in a global economy, challenges to maintaining and servicing that equipment have grown as well. Equipment dealers across the country invest millions of dollars in personnel, training, and tools every year to ensure they have the ability to serve their customers.”

The Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association knows the importance of this issue to our members and the shortline industry. We will track these legislative proposals and prepare to represent members’ interests.