Farm Tractors And The DMCA

You’d think that when something feels slightly off with a six-cylinder John Deere 6145R model at 5:30 a.m., one of the most qualified people to perform a quick fix would the same person who operates that hefty piece of expensive farming equipment on a daily basis.

After all, farmers have traditionally acted as their own mechanics — they know their machines inside and out and, most often, they know how to repair them quickly. And if it’s an issue that can’t be properly diagnosed or corrected, many farmers have “a guy” who will get the job done. In a previous era, a visit to the dealership was largely viewed as a last resort.

However, since 1998, the year the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) made the life of hardworking farmers’ all the more complicated, the owners of tractors, sprayers, harvesters, combines, loaders, bailers and all sorts of other agricultural machinery have been legally prohibited from embarking on their own repairs or enlisting independent mechanics to get the job done.

As Modern Farmer recently explained, the reason for this is frustratingly simple: manufacturers of farming equipment, namely John Deere, do not consider farmers to be the true owners of said equipment. Rather, farmers have purchased an “implied license for the life of the vehicle to operate the vehicle.”

Essentially, due to digital copyright laws that aim to protect the intellectual property of the sophisticated software integrated into modern farming machinery, farmers who opt to perform their own repairs are acting in direct violation of the DMCA. Under the law, repairs both minor and major must be performed by a certified technician or dealership — easier said than done in rural farming communities. Whereas non-agricultural vehicles (i.e. your Honda Accord) can be serviced by independent mechanics, this is no longer the case for tractor owners whose livelihoods depend on the health of their equipment. A days-long wait in line at the only certified dealership in a three-country area could prove to be financially devastating.

“I want it to be my call. I don’t want to have to make two trips to the service department — one to diagnose it and one to fix it,” Nebraska farmer Nick Minchow explains to the Associated Press.

For better or worse, advances in technology have radically altered how farmers operate — and own — their tractors. While high-tech agricultural machinery has made the job of farmers more comfortable and more efficient in many regards, this same equipment has also proven to be what Wired calls a “nightmare” for farmers accustomed to equipment with simple control panels that don’t resemble something found on the flight deck of the Starship Enterprise. A generation of farmers capable of popping open the hood and fixing a broken engine with their eyes closed now have their hands tied. While much of the grueling work involved with farming has eased, so has a sense of control.

Explains Wired: (WIRED??)
Now, farmers are fighting back to regain control of their machines.

As the Associated Press reports, five states — Nebraska, Minnesota, Massachusetts and New York — have proposed legislation that would require the manufacturers of farming equipment, including John Deere, to provide “diagnostic, technical and service information” to farmers and independent mechanics.

Nebraska’s Fair Repair Bill (LB1072) — which extends beyond farm equipment to computers, smartphones and other devices that cannot be legally repaired by independent repair specialists or the owners themselves under the DMCA — was passed over by the state senate this past spring, but the Associated Press notes that the fight will continue on. Proponents have vowed to reintroduce the bill next year, arguing that not having the option to perform self-repairs or enlist a more accessible/less expensive independent mechanic adds additional financial challenges to an already financially challenging line of work.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau has yet to take an official stance on the matter.

“For the time being, we remain neutral on it but that very well might change as we work through our policy development process,” says Jordan Dux, the Nebraska Farm Bureau’s director of national affairs.

Dux does play devil’s advocate, however. He explains that those who have reservations about the bill worry that wresting control from dealerships could prove to be detrimental to everyone involved: “Repairs are going to be the way a lot of these dealerships are going to make money for the time being simply because folks aren’t buying a lot of new equipment."

While detractors of right-to-repair bills may have valid points, in the case of farmers and their tractors, it would seem particularly wise to not bite the hands that feed.

This probably sounds weird to most of you. But its serious ***.

Farmers fight for the right to repair their own tractors
Farmers forbidden from fixing equipment under digital copyright law.
mother earth network (and you thought that site was all hippy dippy...)


I dedicate this thread to Alti who is probably the only other person on this site who has ever driven a tractor.[/spoiler]

Actually, it's DMCA, shorthand for "Digital Millennium Copyright Act"... and a lot of people think that law was a bad idea from the get-go.

Actually, it's DMCA

...
I'd rather have an old 8N or something because they are simple and reliable. In fact, I'd love to have an 8N just to tinker with.

I dedicate this thread to Alti who is probably the only other person on this site who has ever driven a tractor.

Nebraska’s Fair Repair Bill (LB1072) — which extends beyond farm equipment to computers, smartphones and other devices that cannot be legally repaired by independent repair specialists or the owners themselves under the DMCA

Whereas non-agricultural vehicles (i.e. your Honda Accord) can be serviced by independent mechanics, this is no longer the case for tractor owners whose livelihoods depend on the health of their equipment. A days-long wait in line at the only certified dealership in a three-country area could prove to be financially devastating.

Electronic Control Unit, governs such things as remote starter, satellite radio memory, a/c thermostat and a bunch of other stuff you wouldn't realize at first. One of my nieces' husbands is a mechanic. They legally cannot touch it without the right certification, purely because messing with it can cause worse problems than what you think you're trying to fix.

Retired heavy equipment mechanic. I've operated virtually every common piece of equipment on and off the road. Older tractors were about as complex as a 1950's automobile, just bigger. Modern ones are far more complex.

To the best of my knowledge Ford 9Ns and 8Ns used a minor variant of the model A engine. This was through 1964. At least.

Electronic Control Unit, governs such things as remote starter, satellite radio memory, a/c thermostat and a bunch of other stuff you wouldn't realize at first. One of my nieces' husbands is a mechanic. They legally cannot touch it without the right certification, purely because messing with it can cause worse problems than what you think you're trying to fix.
And more often than not, the ECU is a proprietary unit depending on the manufacturer.

Modern anythings are far more complex. I used to fix my own cars and motorcycles. I couldn't begin to fix anything made since the late '90s. But many mechanics can. There are electronic tools, code readers, and programs that aid them.

I don't recall if Ford tractors were this way, but our Massey uses the engine block as part of the frame, something an A-engine wouldn't be up for. Going by memory, they were similar but different. I never had them side by side so I can't give any examples though. One I was looking at was front mount distributor on the 8N.