It’s been 7 years since Farm Equipment first covered the right to repair movement (R2R) and what it would mean for dealers. In that time, state and provincial legislation has been introduced across the U.S. and Canada, lawsuits have been filed and an executive order has been issued by President Joe Biden. Over the years, bills have passed certain arms of state government — most recently the Colorado House of Representatives and Senate passed House Bill 1011. So far none of these bills have become law, largely due to dealers’ lobbying and testifying efforts. A big sticking point on the Colorado bill was that only Deere had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). That’s no longer the case.

As of March 9, 2023, John Deere, Case IH and New Holland had all signed a MOU with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) over R2R. Kubota has confirmed that while no conversations have taken place, they are considering a similar MOU. These MOUs are a step in the right direction to settle the issue without legislation.

Similar to the understanding with Deere, a recent MOU between AFBF and CNH sets a framework for farmers and independent repair facilities in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico to access CNH Industrial brand manuals, tools, product guides and information to self-diagnose and self-repair, as well as support to directly purchase diagnostic tools and order parts.

The MOU respects intellectual property rights and recognizes the need to ensure safety controls and emission systems aren’t…