Only one state, Colorado, has passed legislation that allows farmers to repair farm machinery themselves. Michigan hopes to soon be another in the battle for the right to repair their own equipment.
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
At the start of the year, a law in Colorado went into effect that allows farmers to repair their own equipment. Now Michigan is considering a similar proposal. Modern-day tractors and combines are basically like computers on wheels, and for years, there’s been a battle between farmers and manufacturers over who should have access to the information needed to repair them. Equipment manufacturers have made some concessions in order to avoid new laws. Some farmers say that’s not enough. Michigan Public’s Lester Graham reports.
LESTER GRAHAM, BYLINE: About an hour south of Detroit, Mark Metz and his father farm 1,800 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat. He says a computer error showed up on his dashboard in his tractor. With no access to information about the tractor software, he had no choice but to ask the dealership to send someone out to look at it.
MARK METZ: We deal with a dealer that’s a little over an hour away. And, of course, you’re paying for their road time. So I mean, we pay a good two to 2 1/2 hours of just road time just to get them here.
GRAHAM: The dealership’s guy found it was just a wire that had come unplugged. He plugged it in. The initial bill for that repair was $800. Metz says, had it been his truck, he could have taken it to a nearby auto parts store.
METZ: Usually for free, you know, they’ll bring out a computer and plug it in, like, oh, yeah, yeah, you need this, you know, no big deal. Well, for us, there is no option for a third party, let alone ourselves, to plug into the computer system of the tractor and just say, you know, hey, it’s just something simple.
GRAHAM: That’s why Metz submitted testimony to the Michigan House agriculture committee supporting right-to-repair farm…
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