Farmers Union: lawmakers tabling right to repair bills 'leaves producers stuck'

On nearly straight party-line votes, House and Senate committees in the Legislature — three days before transmittal from one house to the other, when bills not been passed generally are dead — tabled two bills that would have given Montana agricultural producers — and independent repair shops — the right to repair their equipment.

Right to repair has become a major issue in the nation in a number of areas, with farm and ranch groups especially pushing for the ability to do their own work on equipment.

A release from Montana Farmers Union said that when lawmakers tabled Tuesday the two bills related to right to repair agricultural equipment, they missed an opportunity to lead the nation. Instead, they continue to deny farmers and ranchers the right to repair their own equipment.

“I think it’s very unfortunate that the ag committees missed the major point. This should not be a partisan issue,” Ron Harmon, who owns Big Equipment in Havre and is building new Big Bud tractors that are fully repairable without a manufacturer, said in the release.

A hallmark of the legendary Big Buds built in Havre was their ease of repair.

American Farm Bureau Federation announced in January that it had reached a memorandum of understanding with John Deere on right to repair, but some, including MFU, have questioned what that memorandum really means.

Shortly after the announcement, MFU President Walter Schweitzer wrote an editorial saying the memorandum actually only gives the right to diagnose, not repair, and appeared to only be a tool to try to kill legislation allowing right to repair, which is what he said happened in California with a previous John Deere memorandum of understanding on right to repair.

Schweitzer added in his editorial that John Deere never honored its memorandum of understanding on right to repair with the California Farm Bureau.

The issue has received attention across the nation, with 10 other states also considering right to repair bills.

See related story online, https://www.havredailynews.com/story/2023/02/15/local/11-states-consider-right-to-repair-for-farming-equipment/541359.html .

The same issue is being pushed on a variety of other items as well as ag equipment, from automobiles to electronic equipment. Maine election officials announced last month that a referendum to ensure independent car repair shops can access diagnostic systems built into modern cars had made the ballot for this fall’s election.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who still works his family’s farm west of Big Sandy, also has pushed the issue. He introduced a bill in 2022 requiring manufacturers to make it easier for ag producers to repair their own equipment.

Montana Farmers Union said in its release Tuesday that it supported both HB 475 and SB 347, the bills tabled, because of grassroots member-written policy that demands farmers and ranchers be given the right to fully repair their equipment, and Schweitzer called the committee actions disappointing.

“Myself, farmers, ranchers and other right to repair advocates made compelling arguments, but they fell on deaf ears. We need more legislators who understand agriculture and will support their farming neighbors,” Schweitzer said.

Both the bills were about fair access to the software and tools necessary for farmers, ranchers and independent repair providers to fully repair equipment, the release said.

Three main manufacturers — two of them foreign owned — produce the majority of farm equipment sold in the U.S., the Farmers Union release said. Manufacturers largely deny access to the necessary diagnostic and software tools for producers and independent repair technicians to troubleshoot and fully repair equipment.

If equipment owners replace a part, they must still pay a manufacturer-approved technician to program the part for equipment to return to full functionality. 

Both HB 475, sponsored by Rep. Tom France, D-Missoula, and SB 347, sponsored by Sen. Willis Curdy, D-Missoula, would have changed that, but both were tabled on party-line votes in their respective ag committees. By tabling the bills, the ag committees’ members effectively killed the bills by removing them from further consideration during the Legislative Session before the transmittal deadline.

In the House Agriculture Committee, Republican representatives Marty Malone of Pray, Julie Dooling of Townsend, Fred Anderson of Great Falls, Paul Green of Hardin, Kenneth Walsh of Twin Bridges, Brad Barker of Roberts, Casey Knudsen of Malta, Braxton Mitchell of Columbia Falls, Greg Kmetz of Miles City, Zack Wirth of Wolf Creek and Josh Kassmier of Fort Benton voted to table, with Democratic representatives Dave Fern of Whitefish, Marvin Weatherwax of Browning, Katie Sullivan of Missoula, Melissa Romano of Helena, Frank Smith of Poplar, Bob Carter of Missoula and Republican James Bergstrom of Buffalo voting against the move. Rep. Tony Brockman, R-Kalispell, was absent.

Knudsen said this morning that he was supporting private companies’ work and ideas.

“To put it simply, I don’t believe private companies should be making money off of another private company’s work and intellectual property under mandate from the government,” Knudsen said in an email response to a Havre Daily News query. 

He had not responded by print deadline to an emailed followup question about the impact on ag producers doing repairs.

Kassmier had not responded by printing deadline to an email asking about his vote to table.

In the Senate Agriculture Committee, only Democratic senators Ellie Boldman of Missoula, Susan Webber of Browning, Shane Morigeau of Missoula and Shannon O’Brien of Missoula voted against tabling the bill. Republican senators Mike Lang of Malta, Bruce Gillespie of Ethridge, Dan Bartel of Lewistown, Dennis Lenz of Billings, Wendy McKamey of Great Falls, Daniel Salomon of Ronan and Jeff Welborn of Dillon voted to table the bill.

Lang had not responded by printing deadline to an email asking about his vote to table.

“I appreciate that my own Republican representative James Bergstrom stood firm in representing what his constituents wanted by facing down the corporate monopolies. Democrats on the committee also supported right to repair for American farmers. Unfortunately, it was not enough to overcome the majority,” Schweitzer said in the press release.   

The lack of competition between the manufacturers who sell most of the agricultural equipment in the U.S. gives those manufacturers almost exclusive control of the parts and service business, the release added.

In other words, a producer who buys a new tractor also locks themselves into repairs and service for the duration of that ownership, Harmon said in the press release.

However, other types of equipment, including mining and trucks, are not subject to the same repair limitations.

Imagine an over-the-road truck breaking down and being stuck until a manufacturer-approved technician was able to come and read a code and then return later with the correct parts to fix it, Harmon said, adding it’s tough to imagine because it doesn’t happen, thanks to enough competition amongst manufacturers.

That same scenario, though, plays out time and time again for ag producers.

“It’s a ruse. It has nothing to do with farmers not being capable enough to hire an independent mechanic or fix it themselves. (Manufacturers) are not giving them the right to even try,” Harmon said.

Worries about producers tampering with emissions controls and proprietary software have been used as reasons not to allow full right to repair. A tractor or combine is no more complicated than an over-the-road truck, which also is subject to emissions regulations but is able to be repaired independently, Harmon said.

“It’s wrong, it’s not true, and I hope that we will make this a non-partisan issue moving forward and allow the farmers to be in control of this very expensive equipment that they’ve purchased,” he added.