Iowa farmers are leading the fight for repair

Hacker News · Feb 24, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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If you eat food, you’re already in this story. John Deere is still trying to kill the Right to Repair, but Iowa farmers are pushing hard to retake their rights. On February 18, the Iowa House Agriculture Committee advanced a fix, HSB 751, by an 18-5 vote. That’s a big margin, and it puts the bill on a very real path forward in one of the country’s largest agricultural producers, a state that accounts for about a fifth of US agricultural receipts. Right to Repair has passed for agriculture in Colorado and electronics in eight states, and so far this year, 55 Right to Repair bills are running the course through 20 state legislatures. Iowa might be first past the post, with an agricultural bill that’s sorely needed. Why Do We Need Agricultural Right to Repair? Why should you care if you don’t own a tractor? Because when a combine goes down in the middle of harvest, it means fewer acres cut before the rain hits. It means grain that doesn’t get hauled on time. We like to imagine the food supply as a smooth conveyor belt. In reality it’s tight timing, thin margins, and a lot of heavy machinery that increasingly runs on proprietary software. A modern combine can be mechanically fine and still be effectively broken, because the owner can’t access the diagnostic tools and software needed to complete the repair. The part might be sitting right there, but the “key” to make it work lives behind a dealer login. Agricultural Right to Repair aims to hand the keys back to farmers so they can get food back on our tables. Colorado was the first state to put that principle into law. In 2023 it passed the first-ever agricultural Right to Repair bill in the US. The law requires manufacturers like Deere to provide access to the same kinds of manuals, diagnostic tools, software, and parts that dealers use, on fair terms. And yet, even after Colorado, Deere has fought the spirit of Right to Repair. They concede a little, keep the high-leverage stuff gated, and call it a solution. Our advocacy partners at PIRG have covered the full play-by-play. Deere keeps promising “full repair access” and then kicking the can down the road. In order to hold their feet to the fire, we need to pass repair laws in more places. Farmers Just Want to Be Able to Fix Their $500k Machines Why is this an increasing problem? Software has created a specific gap in farmers’ abilities. Deere equipment relies on proprietary diagnostic software, and dealers use a special tool that is more capable than what the farmers have. That dealer-grade access includes deeper diagnostics, part calibrations, software updates, and specialty tests and resets. Farmers, meanwhile, have been a more limited tool that can be useful, but often stops short of the capabilities they need to complete the repair. PIRG’s Deere in the Headlights reporting has consistently pointed out that the gap isn’t just information. It’s missing capability, and the result is downtime. During harvest, downtime is a ticking clock. Iowa Put Deere on Notice Iowans are rolling up their sleeves. Chair Rep. Derek Wulf, a farmer himself, framed it plainly: farmers are problem-solvers. They fix things. The bill is about making solutions possible in a world where “broken” increasingly means “software-locked,” not “physically shattered.” The committee adopted a Wulf amendment aimed at dealer concerns about pricing mechanisms. The bill’s basic structure is “fair and reasonable” access, with parity to authorized repair providers and caps tied to MSRP. The amendment reportedly removed “at cost” language on parts to win dealer neutrality. That’s a familiar legislative trade, and it doesn’t change what’s at stake. Next up: The bill goes to the House floor. We think it’s got a good chance of passing. Deere’s Allies Are Stepping Back One meaningful change this year is that Iowa’s corn and soybean groups reportedly testified neutral on HSB 751, in a subcommittee meeting on Wednesday. In Iowa politics, that matters. If those groups actively oppose a bill, it usually dies. When they decline to fight it, the bill has oxygen. Neutral is not the same thing as supportive, but it does suggest the reflex to line up behind manufacturer control is weaker than it used to be. That matters because Deere’s standard strategy depends on using stand-ins to block progress. If the blockers stay out of the game, Deere’s flimsy arguments have to stand on their own. We Can’t Let Deere Run From This One This bill has a good chance of making it all the way through. That’s fantastic. If you buy a half-million-dollar machine, you should not need corporate permission to keep it running. Deere has made “permission” part of the product. Iowa farmers are trying to unbundle that. And in 2026, it looks like Deere’s usual tactics are running into a problem: they’re not working like they used to.Iowans, now’s the time to tell your legislators to support HSB 751! If you’re not in Iowa, weigh in on your state over at Repair.org or find a repair fight near you.