It’s time to restore farmers’ right to fix the equipment they own as they choose — but legislation to do just that is at risk in the Minnesota Legislature.

Right now, major farm equipment manufacturers refuse to make the software tools necessary to repair agricultural equipment fully available to farmers and independent mechanics, leaving farmers no choice but to take their broken equipment to a licensed dealership.

If passed, right to repair legislation would tackle this issue by requiring manufacturers, such as John Deere, to provide owners and independent repair businesses with fair access to service information and affordable replacement parts.

This will:

• Reverse the decline of small, local repair shops, and boost local economic activity in rural Minnesota, as farmers will be able to utilize local businesses in their community for needed repairs.
• Make repairs more affordable by bringing competition back into the repair market, which is particularly important for farmers who have tight or negative profit margins.
• Make repairs more accessible and timely by expanding repair options for farmers.
• Make our economy fairer by reducing consolidation and monopolization of the repair industry.
• Reflect the principle that equipment owners deserve the right to repair their own property as they choose.

Yet, corporate ag and its allies in the Minnesota Legislature are working hard to prevent the restoration of this right. In fact, earlier this legislative session, Senator Nick Frentz (DFL-Mankato) successfully added an amendment to the Senate’s right to repair bill (SF 1598) to exempt agricultural equipment. With a 34-33 DFL majority, we need Senator Frentz or at least one member of the Senate Republican Caucus to put farmers over corporate profits in order to win the right to repair for farmers and non-farmers alike.

Will you take just a few minutes to e-mail Senator Nick Frentz, Senator Matt Klein (Senate Commerce Committee Chair), Representative Zack Stephenson (House Commerce Committee Chair), and your own Senator?

TAKE ACTION NOW!

If you believe that farmers deserve to be able to fix their own equipment or bring broken equipment to an independent repair shop, just take a few minutes to send an e-mail to key legislators now!

Thank you to the Minnesota Farmers Union and the National Farmers Union for this action alert’s talking points! Learn more about the right to repair for agricultural equipment issue:

• Minnesota Farmers Union Letter
• National Farmers Union One-Pager
• Bill Summary from Non-Partisan Minnesota House Staff (House version does not exempt ag equipment.)