Thread by @kevin_oreilly7

Farmers call for ag equipment manufacturers to let them fix their own tractors has gotten louder and louder. And now, @JohnDeere shareholders are adding voice to the mix. That's a big deal — let's talk about how we got here. 🧵 1/ uspirg.org/blogs/blog/usp…

For decades upon decades, farmers have taken pride in their ability to use their own ingenuity get the job done when problems spring up. That includes fixing equipment as soon as it breaks. 2/

But as modern software worked its way into modern ag equipment, new software tools were required to fix tractors and combines. In the @uspirg report Deere in the Headlights, I documented how farmers can't get access to those necessary tools. 3/
uspirg.org/feature/usp/de…

When farmers can't fix their own equipment or hire an indpt mechanic to fix it for them, they rely on the dealer. That can mean high prices and long wait times during planting & harvesting seasons. For @waltschweitzer it's like "being held hostage." 4/

https://twitter.com/ABCNewsLive/status/1436475816548962309?s=20

This happens despite the fact that manufacturers promised to make available software tools available when they saw the oncoming threat of #RightToRepair legislation. They did not fulfill that promise. 5/
vice.com/en/article/v7m…

Yes, manufacturers make *some* diagnostic and software tools available — often at a steep price. But Deere and other manufacturers still will not sell farmers what are called "payload files", which are essential to returning a tractor to use once a repair is made. 6/

If you're a farmer, I'd encourage you to ask your dealer for these payload files. And if they sell them to you, let me know. 7/

Frustration with wait times, high repair prices, and the attack on their agency, more and more farmers have flocked to the #RightToRepair movement. And their support has changed that conversation. 8/
wsj.com/articles/it-sh…

Ag equipment was included in many of the 27 state bills introduced in 2021. That support led to an executive order from President Biden calling for the FTC to end to the harmful repair restrictions faced by owners of everything from tractors to tablets. 9/ apnews.com/article/techno…

So: farmers, advocates, state legislators, & the president are ALL calling for the #RightToRepair. Change is coming whether OEMs like it or not — they might as well get ready for it. Will shareholders be the group that gets OEMs to see the writing on the wall? Let's hope. /end