Last Tuesday, dozens of Tennessee farmers and advocates visited the state capitol for Ag Day on the Hill, a celebration of the state’s agricultural industry. Between the annual straw bale-tossing competition —in which members of the House, Senate and executive branch separate into teams — and an acknowledgement of 4-H and Future Farmers of America chapters from across the state, a vocal group of advocates shared a clear message with the lawmakers present: Tennessee farmers want the right to repair their own tractors.
In recent decades, as farming technology becomes increasingly computerized, agricultural equipment manufacturers like John Deere have imposed certain anticompetitive restrictions on who can repair the products they sell. In many cases, farmers do not actually acquire ownership rights to the software embedded in their tractors. Instead, they receive a license to use the software needed to operate them.
