News

American Farm Bureau signs right to repair MOU with Case IH, New Holland

The American Farm Bureau Federation has signed a right to repair memorandum of understanding with Case IH and New Holland.

This is the second agreement of its kind between the organization and an equipment manufacturer. AFBF and John Deere signed an MOU in January.

AFBF Vice President for Public Policy Sam Kieffer says, “by our estimation, the two agreements with these three brands represent more than half of the U.S. market share for tractors and agricultural equipment.”

The agreement gives farmers and ranchers access to repair their own equipment.

“Agricultural equipment is far more complex today than it was five, 10, even 20 years ago and the significance of this agreement is that it provides producers the opportunity to have access to documentation, diagnostic codes, opportunities to purchase parts and specialty tools directly from the manufacturer, and get assistance from the manufacturer. What I’ll also note is that it’s not just the end-user or the farmer or rancher who has the opportunity to access this stuff, it’s also the independent repair facilities. As dealerships are consolidating and now people are driving further to get what they need, independent repair facilities can play a vital role in making sure that farmers and ranchers can repair their equipment and get the job moving again.”

Kieffer says American Farm Bureau will continue to engage in conversations with other equipment manufacturers.

“Part of the agreement is that we come to the table multiple times a year with the manufacturers that are parties to the agreement. The purpose of that is to roll up our sleeves and share information back and forth about how our members and their customers are experiencing the results of the MOU as technology evolves and as dealers, independent repair facilities, and growers experience new change on the ground. If we need to go back and tweak the terms of the MOU or rethink how we go about this, we have the opportunity to do that. That’s why (AFBF members) asked us to pursue a private-sector solution rather than a patchwork quilt of state-by-state initiatives or even federal legislation. We realized we needed to make real-time fix and there’s an opportunity for us to do that and be nimble in doing that with a private sector MOU.”

In the news release, Sally Johnson, the vice president of New Holland Agriculture North America, said the agreement is the next step in delivering on New Holland’s promise “to better serve customers and help them safely and effectively manage and maintain their equipment uptime.”

Case IH North America Vice President Kurt Coffey says the agreement underscores CNH Industrial’s commitment to empowering customers by providing them with resources and tools that allow them to safely self-repair their equipment in a timely matter.

Audio: Sam Kieffer