Colorado's farmers may soon be able to access the resources needed to repair their own agricultural equipment after the state House of Representatives on Tuesday passed House Bill 1011.
Modern agriculture equipment often runs on advanced computer software and, currently, some manufacturers prohibit access to these systems, or do not provide information on how they work. If approved by the Senate and governor, the bill would require manufacturers to sell tools, parts and digital access to farmers and independent repair shops to diagnose and fix problems with equipment, beginning in 2024.
"I'm talking to my constituents out in rural areas and they're telling me that they're buying third-party illegal software from Russia trying to fix their own machines. That is a problem," said bill sponsor Rep. Ron Weinberg, R-Loveland. "It is time that we pass something to help the ag community."
The bill is backed by the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Colorado Cattlemen's Association, National Federation of Independent Business and the Colorado growers associations of corn, wool, wheat, fruit and vegetables.
During a committee hearing on the bill, Colorado farmers told stories of having to wait weeks and pay thousands of dollars to manufacturers to conduct repairs they could have done themselves. One farmer, Danny Wood, said he paid $950 for a technician to type in a code to unlock his tractor, after he had already paid $8,500 for them to repair the tractor two days before.
"Depending on your location, a service call can cost between $75 to $129 an hour, plus charges by the mile," said bill sponsor Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada. "Those charges rack up really fast and delays in getting farm equipment have real, major ramifications to a farmer's bottom line."
The House voted 44-17 in support of the bill Tuesday, advancing it to the Senate for consideration. The vote was almost entirely along party lines, with all but one Democrat in support and all but two Republicans in opposition.
Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron, said he is worried about hurting manufacturers and dealerships of agricultural equipment that rely on revenue from repairs to stay in business.
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"Those service departments might become distressed and it would cause the dealership to become distressed and then it goes away," said Holtorf, who voted against the bill. "When something goes away, it hardly ever comes back."
Manufacturers stood in strong opposition to the bill, arguing that it would give farmers the ability to tamper with equipment beyond repairs, such as increasing a machine’s horsepower or bypassing emissions control systems. In response to this concern, sponsors amended the bill to clarify that these changes would still be illegal and that the dealer is not liable for a change someone makes to the products.
Other opponents argued that the private sector is already figuring the problem out, pointing to the manufacturing company John Deere reaching a private agreement with the American Farm Bureau Federation last month, promising to offer farmers and independent repair shops access to purchase software, manuals and other information needed to service their equipment.
Critics said there is no enforcement provision to the agreement and argued it was only reached to avoid federal and state legislation requiring the right to repair agricultural equipment, as a provision in the agreement allows John Deere to pull out if any right to repair legislation is enacted.
During the House debate on the bill, Republicans proposed six unsuccessful amendments to try to weaken the legislation or limit what information companies would have to release. Weinberg called his party's opposition to his bill "ridiculous."
"Farmers are angry, genuinely angry, that they cannot fix their own equipment," Weinberg said. "On the conservative principles side, when you buy something, you own it. Where are we on the conservative principle of that basic sense of ownership?"
