April 27, 2026
Iowa Farmers Union Praises House Passage of Right to Repair Bill
Iowa Farmers Union praised the Iowa House passage of H.F. 2763, a bill reasserting farmers’ right to repair their farm equipment. The bipartisan bill passed by a large margin.
“Farmers Union has been a longtime advocate of Right to Repair issues,” said Aaron Lehman, IFU President and fifth-generation farmer. “Farmers are facing rising costs across the board, including repair costs. Allowing farmers to fix their own equipment is common sense.
Farmers have a passion for growing things on their farms. This bill allows us to fix our own equipment as efficiently and as quickly as possible during busy planting and harvesting seasons.”
For decades, farmers have traditionally often repaired their own farm equipment. Now, farmers are finding they need costly and time-consuming permissions to fix their machines.
When a farmer attempts to install a replacement part on a modern tractor, the manufacturer’s software can refuse to recognize it. The equipment shuts down and/or indicates error codes in the diagnostic system until a dealer sends a costly repair technician with proprietary pairing software.
“If the farmer has the skill and purchases a perfectly good replacement part, nothing should stand in their way of making their own repair and getting back to work,” said Lehman. “Software gatekeepers should stay off the farm unless invited.”
The bill requires agricultural equipment manufacturers to make documentation, software, firmware, and diagnostic tools available to farmers and independent repair shops at fair and reasonable cost. The document was written to protect trade secrets and to maintain safety features.
Lehman also praised the inclusion of important data protections for farmers.
“Current farm equipment collects a massive amount of information from the field. This bill would help farmers retain control of that valuable asset instead of handing it away to the farm equipment manufacturers and corporate data giants.”
The bill now moves to the Iowa Senate.