Colorado will become the first state to advance an agricultural right-to-repair bill, allowing farmers to fix their own equipment legally. The Consumer Right to Repair Agriculture Equipment Act passed Tuesday evening in a 46-14 vote in Colorado’s Senate.
The bill, a bipartisan effort, won approval in the state House of Representatives in February. The legislation is one of a handful across the country, and states from Florida to Texas have proposed agricultural right-to-repair acts.
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Because much of modern farming equipment is computerized and dependent on authorization from company software, a right to repair is crucial for farmers who need time-sensitive assistance.
“If you live very far away from the dealership that you bought [the equipment] from and maybe you like this one particular brand, but the dealership that’s closest to you is a different brand, you can’t utilize the services of that dealership,” state Rep. Brianna Titone, a Democrat, told the Washington Examiner.
Titone, a Colorado Democrat who sponsored the legislation, noted with the new availability of parts and tools, smaller companies can start to provide repairs to local farmers, saving time for farmers who are midharvest.
“So, you know, not every farmer is going to do everything themselves; they may do a lot of the smaller repairs and things like that on their own,” Titone said.
“But when it comes to something larger, they’re going to have a lot more options. And the whole goal of what the bill is intended to do is to try to reduce those downtimes that any farmer has, especially when it’s in a critical time period where they have to get their crop harvested or planted before the season changes or before a storm comes in or whatever that thing that’s outside of their control, they’re going to have a little bit more control over how they can be able to repair their equipment,” she added.
Last year, Colorado passed a right-to-repair wheelchair law, again being the first state to do so. The bill, which went into effect Jan. 1 of this year, allowed wheelchair owners and independent repair shops to obtain parts, software, tools, manual documentation, and more needed to diagnose and repair problems.
Lawmakers used existing law from last year’s bill to provide a strong case for adding new equipment to the current statute.
A similar right-to-repair bill failed in the Colorado state legislature in 2021. Large manufacturers like Deere & Co have expressed concerns over the passage of the bill. A statement obtained by DTN/Progressive Farmer reads:
“John Deere supports a customer’s decision to repair their own products, utilize an independent repair service or have repairs completed by an authorized dealer John Deere additionally provides manuals, parts and diagnostic tools to facilitate maintenance and repairs. We feel strongly that the legislation in Colorado is unnecessary and will carry unintended consequences that negatively impact our customers.”
The bipartisan effort came from state GOP Rep. Ron Weinberg and Democratic state Sens. Nick Hinrichsen and Janice Marchman, along with Titone.
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While Titone noted it was great to have bipartisan sponsorship, she admits it was disappointing that very few Republicans signed on to the bill, citing that many Republicans who represent rural areas have farmer constituents who are affected.
“And, you know, I kept reinforcing the idea that this was for the farmers in their districts, these were for their constituents who vote in their districts, and that was for them,” Titone said.
