Letter to the Editor - Thanks to Tempel on vote for right to repair

To the editor:

I’d like to thank state Sen. Russ Tempel for his vote on SB 273, which would have given farmers the right to repair and diagnose their own farm equipment.

The largest equipment manufacturers brought in their most expensive and high-powered lobbyists to kill a bill that advanced 10-1 in a bipartisan fashion out of the Senate ag committee. This bill would have put farm equipment on a path similar to automobiles, large trucks, boats, you name it, wherein a local mechanic or repair shop can diagnose and repair a vehicle with an industry-standard set of diagnostic tools. The large manufacturers, of course, have a vested interest in keeping their monopoly on parts and service.

To be clear, our local dealers play a part in the system but aren’t really part of the problem; I’ve gotten very good repair service from all of them. This is a problem much higher up the food chain. In the face of this pressure campaign, Sen. Tempel stood his ground and took the vote he thought best-served his constituents. Montana Farmer’s Union and the Montana Grain Growers association were both in support of this legislation as well.

It’s a subject we’ve not heard the last of, and will become even more critical as equipment continues to become more advanced.

If you happen to see state Sen. Tempel, please thank him for voting on behalf of Montana’s family farmers. If your senator didn’t, or if your ag organization didn’t support this bill, you should ask them “why not?”

Montana Farmers Union Board Member Jeff Bangs

Inverness