Washington, D.C. — Last week, U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) joined Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in introducing the Freedom for Agricultural Repair and Maintenance Act (FARM Act), bicameral legislation to give farmers the right to repair their own equipment and restore competition in the agricultural repair market.
The lawmakers’ bill would require farm equipment manufacturers to share documentation, parts, and software with farmers and independent repair shops, giving farmers back the autonomy to fix their own equipment and support their farms.
The bill is led in the House by Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA-03) and cosponsored by Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO-02).
“For farmers across Pennsylvania, a broken tractor right before a harvest can ruin months of hard work. Time is money,” said Senator Fetterman. “Our farmers should have the freedom to repair their own equipment without having to travel hours on hours to the nearest approved service center or being price gouged on repair software subscriptions. I’m proud to join my colleagues on this bill so we can help protect farmers and their right to repair.”
“Farmers are fixers. It only makes sense that farmers should have the right to repair their own equipment, which is vital to saving money and maintaining operations. But right now, lack of a federal right to repair means that farmers in Vermont have to waste valuable time and resources getting someone else to fix their equipment–even if they can do it themselves,” said Senator Welch. “Our bicameral legislation will help protect farmers from rip-offs and ensure they have the right to fix their own equipment.”
“Farmers work tirelessly to feed this country. They shouldn’t have to wait for weeks on end and pay sky-high prices for a manufacturer to fix essential farm equipment that farmers already know how to repair themselves,” said Senator Warren. “Our bill is a commonsense solution: it fights back against the manufacturers’ greed and will save our farmers billions every year in repair costs.”
“I’ve heard directly from farmers across Colorado that delays to repairs for their equipment can mean thousands of dollars in lost crops. A national Right to Repair Law is a common-sense solution to ensuring these folks have more options to fix broken machinery in a timely manner,” said Rep. Neguse. “I’m proud to join with my colleagues in introducing the FARM Act and look forward to working together to get it across the finish line.”
Manufacturing companies’ exploitation of the equipment repair market creates undue financial hardships for farmers, leaving them without vital functioning equipment for long periods of time. In 2023, U.S. farmers lost an estimated total of $4.2 billion a year as a result of these practices: $3 billion to tractor downtime and $1.2 billion in excess repair costs.
The FARM Act defines what type of information Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) are required to provide to make repair accessible. If the OEM does not have the digital or physical tools available, they are required to provide sufficient information to create the tools. This bill also gives the Federal Trade Commission the ability to enforce these requirements and the authority to make rules to assist in the implementation of these requirements.
The FARM Act is endorsed by the American Economic Liberties Project, FULU Foundation, National Farmers Union (NFU), and the United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG).
“As grain farmers, we have very tight planting and harvest schedules. Where we farm, the timing of planting seed is essential. So, when we’re forced to wait days for the equipment dealer to come to the farm for repairs — that only they can do because the information is locked in their computers — we often lose the opportunity to replant on time and have a crop to harvest the following season. When we buy farm equipment, especially expensive investments like tractors, we should have the right and freedom to fully repair it if something goes wrong. Without a right to repair, we’ve seen an increase in labor rates of equipment dealers, which drives farmers deeper into debt and jeopardizes the lives of farm families,” said Todd Hardie, Vermont grain farmer, President of the Northern Grain Growers Collaborative, and Board Member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT). “I support Senator Welch’s FARM Act to ensure farmers have the right to repair their equipment.”
“The Freedom for Agricultural Repair and Maintenance Act is a major step toward restoring fairness and independence for farmers who just want to fix their own equipment,” said Rob Larew, President, National Farmers Union (NFU). “By ensuring fair and affordable access to the parts, tools, and information they need, this bill levels the playing field for our family farmers and ranchers. We thank Senators Welch, Warren, and Fetterman for their leadership on this issue, and we look forward to working with them to get this bill across the finish line.”
“If farm equipment breaks down at the wrong time and farmers can’t get it fixed, they can be forced to watch their crop — and their livelihood — wither on the vine. Too many farmers have told us that they are not able to fix their own equipment, even some that have paid thousands of dollars for repair tools, which the manufacturers intentionally limit. The answer to this problem is simple: Let farmers fix their stuff. We're grateful to our legislative champions like Sens. Peter Welch, Elizabeth Warren and John Fetterman for standing for farmers, and, frankly, for common sense,” said Nathan Proctor, Senior Director, U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair Campaign.
Senator Fetterman has long been a champion of competition in rural communities and has made farmers a key priority as a senator. In 2022, he was a vocal proponent of farmers’ right to repair, writing in a January 2022 op-ed, “It’s common sense: farmers should have the right to repair the equipment they own, without having to deal with the equipment’s manufacturer. Period.”
The full text of the bill is available here.