(Washington D.C.) The “Right to Repair” is a heavily debated topic in agriculture at the local, state, and national levels. Curt Blades is a senior vice president with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, and he says it’s an important topic in rural America. It also covers more than just farm equipment.
While the bills in the 30 different states he referred to might be a little different from each other, they all say about the same thing.
He says AEM thinks the legislation has good intentions but will lead to problems.
He says when you open up the source code or modify a machine, it does provide a way to bypass safeguards built into the machinery. Blades points out that if there was an accident, the responsibility typically moves up the line to the dealers or manufacturers, instead of the farmer that made the changes.
Blades points out that much of the push for Right to Repair legislation isn’t coming from agricultural groups or businesses.
AEM and other manufacturing groups are being proactive in the Right to Repair discussion.
Curt Blades of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
