An agreement by John Deere may finally give farmers a greater hand in repairing the company's products.
Like many parts of modern life, tractors have gone high-tech, often running on advanced computer systems.or nearly impossible for farmers and independent repair shops to diagnose and fix problems with the equipment.Become a KPBS sponsor
But some in the agricultural field worry that the latest agreement doesn't go far enough and is a veiled attempt to stave off the passage of"right-to-repair" legislation at the federal and state levels. The deal comes after years of pressure from farmers and right-to-repair advocates urging John Deere to make it easier to identify and repair problems with its popular yellow and green tractors and farm equipment., farmers and independent repair shops will be able to buy access to John Deere's software, manuals, and other information need to service their equipment.
Sam Kieffer, the American Farm Bureau Federation's vice president of public policy, told NPR that the group preferred to reach a private agreement with the company. Under the agreement, John Deere can also protect its trade secrets and bar users from overriding safety features in its equipment.Kevin O'Reilly, the right-to-repair campaign director at the Public Interest Research Group, said the memorandum of understanding appeared to be a step forward but noted that Deere and other manufacturers"If this document, if this MOU, completely comes through on what it's stated to do, then this would be a win for farmers," O'Reilly told NPR.
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