WEBVTT

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- Farmers rejoice!

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After being understandably annoyed

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that John Deere was the only one

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who could fix John Deere tractors,

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the American Farm Bureau Federation

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has signed a right-to-repair
agreement with the company.

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The memorandum requires
John Deere to give farmers

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and repair companies access to software

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and hardware that the
company uses to fix tractors,

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combines, and other harvesting equipment,

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or other off-road vehicles

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that are used in the agriculture industry.

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The right-to-repair is a broad push

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to allow consumers the right

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to repair their own electronics.

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Get it?

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This would stand in opposition to having

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to bring it to a licensed repair facility

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or even the company itself.

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The tricky thing here is that
this memorandum is not a law,

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and it's not a contract,

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so it's sort of just a
good faith commitment

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between the two parties.

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That's to say:

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The agreement is only

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as good as John Deere's commitment to it.

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Kevin O'Reilly is the Right
to Repair Campaign Director

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for the Public Interest Research Groups,

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and he said as much:

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"This could be a significant step forward.

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If Deere truly provides farmers

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and independent mechanics

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with the same repair materials
that its dealers have,

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then we would shout our
praise from the rooftops.

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But the memorandum contains
limited enforcement mechanisms

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and the best aspects of this agreement

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could get lost in the legalese."

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The right to repair is
a hugely important part

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of a free economy and this
memorandum is a good first step,

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but it's not the
completely transformative,

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sweeping stride we might hope for.

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