Scott Potmesil, a fourth-generation farmer who raises cattle in Sandhills, Nebraska, recently bought a John Deere tractor that is over 25 years old. He said he purposely went looking for the older device in 2020 because he believed it would be easier to repair than newer models, which can often be fixed only by authorized dealerships.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in an interview that he has heard from many farmers who reported that difficulties repairing equipment hurt their businesses. “After May 10 here, if I don’t plant my soybeans, I’m losing yield,” said Jared Wilson, who took over his family’s farm near Butler, Missouri, in 2017 and struggled to fix his John Deere tractor after it broke down. “If you have two days of lost productivity and then it rains, you don’t get back in the field for two weeks. A few of those per season really adds up.
The issue has also captured the attention of local lawmakers, who have introduced legislation that would give consumers the right to repair in dozens of states over the last few years. In July, President Joe Biden signed an executive order pushing the Federal Trade Commission to come up with new rules to limit cumbersome repair restrictions.
“This technology is supposed to make farmers’ lives easier, but in fact, many farmers are saying forget the technology, give me something I can fix,” O’Reilly said. “That’s a clear sign that there’s something wrong with the system.”
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