A new memorandum of understanding between the American Farm Bureau Federation, Case IH, and New Holland provides farmers and ranchers the right to repair their own farm equipment. Sam Kieffer, vice president of public policy with the American Farm Bureau, talked about how the agreement will benefit U.S. farmers and ranchers.
?This agreement follows a previous agreement with John Deere that now represents more than half of the farm market share in the United States,? Kieffer said. ?And combined, these agreements ensure that farmers have the right to repair their own equipment, either individually or through independent repair shops, by giving them assurances to have access to the diagnostic codes and what they mean, specialty tools, parts, information, manuals, and things of that nature.?
Kieffer said the memorandum with Case IH and New Holland is similar to the one with John Deere.
?In focusing on making sure that individuals have the right to repair their equipment as well as the opportunity to lean on a trusted advisor, be it in an independent repair shop, to make those repairs for them,? Kieffer said.
Kieffer also discussed the next steps in moving forward with Case IH, Deere, and potentially other manufacturers.
?As the conversations continue with Case and with John Deere, we will be interacting as an organization on behalf of our members with the manufacturers,? Kieffer said. ?The agreement indicates that we’ll be meeting regularly, at least bi-annually, to discuss how it’s going and the experiences of our members. And as technology emerges and there’s new capabilities and challenges, we’ll be discussing those and identifying if we need to improve or tweak specific items within the MOU. And we will continue to engage in conversations with other manufacturers on behalf of our members.?
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