Fewer than 90 days into the new year, and already 18 US states have introduced Right to Repair legislation. California is the latest, with Assemblywoman Eggman from Stockton introducing legislation that would require electronics companies to make repair manuals, diagnostic software, and repair parts available to owners and refurbishers.

Unexpectedly, farmers in small rural towns have been leading the charge for Right to Repair alongside corner computer repair shops around the nation. How did farmers wade into a battle over Big Tech? Because, these days, farm equipment is big tech—literally. They are computer systems that trundle around on massive wheels. As tractors have gotten more complicated, ag equipment makers have tightened the reins on who can access the software—even for the purpose of repair. A traditionally independent bunch, some farmers are fighting back by learning how to hack their tractors to fix them.

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Meanwhile, farm bureaus and growers associations have thrown their support behind Right to Repair, even as John Deere opposes it. But public sentiment is on the side of farmers, and Big Ag’s closed-fisted opposition to Right to Fair has shown sign of loosening its grip. Recently, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and the Equipment Dealers Association (both with ties to John Deere) reversed their position and indicated that they would support what they call “commonsense repair solutions.” As part of the concession, equipment makers are making a voluntary commitment to provide maintenance, manuals, and diagnostic materials for tractors and combines by the year 2021.

Sounds a lot like Right to Repair, right? Except it’s not—and AEM has made it clear that they won’t support any Right to Repair measure, because it would affirm an owners right to access and modify firmware for the purpose of repair. This despite the fact that the Copyright Office has already affirmed the legal right of the owner to access and modify the software in their own tractors (and they are well on their way to re-affirming and expanding that right as part of the 2018 DMCA exemptions process that’s currently underway, with hearings in April.) The upshot: Right to Repair is quickly gaining speed—and electronics makers who don’t hop on this train now are going to get left behind.

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Kyle Wiens
Kyle Wiens is the co-founder and CEO of iFixit, an online repair community internationally renowned for their free repair manuals and product teardowns. Launched out of his Cal Poly college dorm room, iFixit has now empowered millions of people to repair their broken stuff. In 2011, he started Dozuki, a software company that is revolutionizing online technical documentation. Kyle is a board member of Softec and the IEEE CE Society. He’s spoken widely on technical writing, cloud computing, self-repair, service documentation, and sustainable consumer electronics at forums like MacWorld, The Intelligent Content Conference, and more. He also regularly writes for media outlets, including The Atlantic, Wired, TreeHugger, Harvard Business Review, and ifixit.org.