(Reuters) — Colorado farmers will be able to legally fix their own equipment next year, with manufacturers including Deere and Co. obliged to provide them with manuals for diagnostic software and other aids, under a measure passed by legislators in the first American state to approve such a law.
The Consumer Right to Repair Agriculture Equipment Act passed 46-14 in Colorado’s Senate on April 11, after winning approval in the state House of Representatives in February. The bill garnered bipartisan support as farmers grew frustrated with costly repairs and inflated input prices denting their profits.
A spokesperson for Deere and Co. said the company supports farmers right to repair but believes the legislation is “unnecessary and will carry unintended consequences.”
