Farmers seeking 'right to repair' rules to fix their own tractors gain White House ally

Grain farmer Cole Siegle didn't have time to waste when a combine his family was using to help with the harvest started acting up.

An onboard computer glitch was the problem a quick fix with the right equipment.

Instead, the Alberta farmer had to wait for a dealership technician to drive out to diagnose and reset the system. It was a five-minute job that idled the combine for two hours.

It was "extremely" frustrating, he said of theincident from two years ago. In those couplehours, he said the combine might have harvested the equivalent of roughly $20,000 worth of canola.

It's situations like this behind wrangling overwhether "right-to-repair" laws areneeded to ensure farmers can fix their ownmachinery, or whether theyopenthe door to legalizingthe kind of modifications the industry says wouldhave implications for safety and privacy.

"I'm not going to rewrite the software,"Sieglesaid.

"I just want to be able to read these codes and then [be] able to reset the computer so that I can actually use this half-million-dollar piece of equipment.

"I don't think that's asking too much."

Biden weighs in

The right-to-repairissue has been around for years, but the discussion has grown louder as more products from smartphones to dishwashers totractors become increasingly sophisticated and integrated with computers.

Consumer advocates say these repairs can be difficult due to a lack of access to parts, tools and information needed to actually complete the fix.

When it comes to farm equipment, the issuetook aleapin prominence last month after U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order encouraging the Federal Trade Commission to limit equipment manufacturers from restricting people's ability to use independent repair shops or do DIY repairs.

"Powerful equipment manufacturers such as tractor manufacturers use proprietary repair tools, software, and diagnostics to prevent third-parties from performing repairs," read a White House statement providedto reporters last month.

The statement saidsuch practices force farmers "to pay dealer rates"for repairs they canmakethemselves or thatan independent repair shop could do for less.

Later in July, the FTC votedto makeright to repaira priority.

WATCH | What Biden's order means for right to repair movement:

Right-to-repair movement gets boost after executive order from Biden

3 years ago

Duration 5:51

Canada Tonight guest host Arti Pole speaks with Alice Henry from Share Reuse Repair Initiative in Vancouver about why consumers should have more ability to repair and alter the products they buy without going through the manufacturer.

Industry concerns over privacy, safety, innovation

In Canada, some advocates hope if the U.S.makes legislativechanges, the benefits will ripple across the border. Others believeBiden'sstance should ease concerns that if Canada passedits own reforms it would risk runningafoul of bilateral trade deals.

"If the United States is on board to move in this direction anyway, it makes that argument pretty much null and void," said Bryan May, who, as a Liberal MP,recently advanced aprivate member's billthat tookaim at copyright laws related to right to repair.

But suchissues are often complex and havebeen hotly debated, withbig techlike Apple and Microsoft among those pushing back against repair rules.

Representatives for farm equipmentdealers have arguednew regulationis unnecessary and have objected to efforts they say pushbeyond the right to repairequipment into software modification, which they sayhasimplications forprivacy, safety and industry innovation.

Leading tractor manufacturer John Deere said in a statement to Reuters last month that it "does not support the right to modify embedded software due to risks associated with the safe operation of the equipment, emissions compliance and engine performance."

Industry groups also pointto commitmentsmade by two trade organizations representing North American equipment dealers and manufacturersto provide access to training and make diagnostic equipment, tools and manuals available for farmers to purchase.They say theseare also available to third-party repair shops.

John Schmeiser, chief executive of the Western Equipment Dealers Association (WEDA), whichrepresents more than 2,000 North American equipment dealers, said thesecommitments demonstrate that legislationisn't necessary.

"If the issue really is right to repair, and if it is farmers that are concerned about not getting quick answers to an error code or not having the ability to fix their own equipment, if that is really the concern, those tools are now available to help our customers," said Schmeiser fromCalgary.

He said no one has taken away the farmers' right to fixtheir own equipment, notingthe success of equipment dealers depends on the success offarmers.

In a statement, theAssociation of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), a lobby group representing North American construction and farm equipment manufacturers, said it has "always supported" the rights of farmersto repair their own equipmentand that Biden's order doesn't change its commitments.

Canadian group wants legislation

But one Canadian farmersgroup said its memberswantto see regulation that ensures the industry lives up to thosecommitments. A representative called industry concerns about modificationa "deflection" from the issuesfarmers face.

"Most producers feel they would be best served if there was some legislation," said Geoff Backman, business development and markets manager for the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, which represents about 17,000farmers across the province.

Anthony Rosborough, alawyer and right-to-repair advocate, understandswhy farmerswant to see legislation rather than rely on industry commitments, which he said arereally about allowing repair on the industry's terms.

He said it's also important that farmers be able to innovate, as they've always done.

"Farmers need the freedom to not only develop their own ways of devising a solution, but freedom to circulate and distribute and provide solutions to others."

In Ottawa, May's private member's bill hit a dead end last Sunday with the federal election call, but he said earlier this month hefeels there's enough supportto try again later.

He said hisbill aimed to carve out a specific and limited allowance for consumers to bypassatechnological protection measure (TPM), or digital locks, without violating the Copyright Act but only for diagnosis, maintenanceor repair.

Much of theresponsibility for right to repair lies with provinces, Maysaid, but he contends that the copyright issues his bill sought to addresswould have eliminated a major barrier for provinces to developtheir ownframeworks.

Larger discussion around right to repair

The right-to-repairissue is part of a larger discussion about consumers' right to repair more of the things they buy, including smartphones, cameras and other sophisticated electronics.

But it's also been an issue for medical equipment, mining and home-automation systems, like the kind that turn off your lights or lock your doors via an app,saidRosborough.

"Right to repair is about really trying to get some legal changes to allow for greater access to parts, tools and information."

Rosborough, a part-time faculty member at the SchulichSchool ofLaw atDalhousie University, said he's optimistic changes will come, adding Biden's executive order provides some momentum, even in Canada.

"But we still have to do our own heavy lifting," he said."We're starting on that process now."