Trying to fix my combine, I need politicians who really get what farmers are facing
Older machinery is cost effective but difficult to repair. Right-to-repair legislation would help
This First Person article is the experience of Jason Jackson, a farmer near Olds, Alta. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
My favourite farm machine is my old combine, a Case IH 1688. It's 30 years old and I've racked up countless hours in the cab harvesting barley, wheat, oats, peas, faba beans and canola.
Using older farm machinery helps keep costs down at my small central Alberta farm, but repairing this older machinery is getting difficult.
That's why my ballot box issue is right-to-repair legislation. I want our next government to actually understand the complexity of the issues facing Canadian farmers, and right-to-repair legislation is a prime example.
Right-to-repair is crucial to helping farmers survive. But it's not just to help out farmers. Keeping our costs down can help keep grocery prices lower for all Canadians, and protect Canada's food sovereignty.
Rising costs on my farm
I grow grain and hay on about 1,300 acres near Olds, Alta., which is roughly an hour drive north of Calgary. I'm the fifth generation of my family to farm this land and, like many smaller farmers, I work off-farm as well to help supplement my income by teaching French immersion part-time in a nearby high school.
My old combine is very cost effective to operate. It would only fetch about $10,000 at an auction, but a new one would cost more than $1 million. That's capital that I would rather deploy elsewhere.
Plus, my dad and two uncles, all in their 70s now, can continue to operate this old combine without wasting time learning a new technology. Our trusty old combine doesn't have nearly the capacity of a newer harvester, but it chugs along each fall at eight to 10 acres an hour, helping us get the harvest in ahead of the prairie winter.
For smaller farms like mine, used equipment is essential for profitability and the survival of our businesses. But these older machines are only effective if we can keep them running.
In 2022, one of the few electronic components on my old combine failed. It was a small metallic cube housing two printed circuit boards that controlled the header speed. Without it, the front of my combine wouldn't feed crop into the separator.
A mechanic found the problem. Then I checked the manufacturer's website to find the part. This quickly brought up a hideous list price of $1,400 and some bland grey letters that simply told me the part was "no longer available."
I eventually sourced a used part from one of the four machinery recyclers saved in my phone contacts. It was just under $700 and came with no guarantee that it still worked, much less a warranty. But when I had it installed, my 1688 roared back to life.
My old combine has soldiered on through two more harvests since.
In theory, modern technologies, such as 3D printing and CNC machining, should make repairing these older machines easier, cheaper and faster. But equipment dealerships have been generally hostile to the right‑to‑repair movement.
For newer machines with more electronic components, diagnostic software is an essential tool for repairs. However, dealerships carefully guard access to most software. Repairs are becoming slower, more expensive and often no longer a do-it-yourself job.
John Deere is one of the biggest manufacturers of agricultural machinery. The majority of its dealerships in Alberta and Saskatchewan belong to only two companies. For two other popular brands, a chain carrying the brand of my combine, Case IH, as well as New Holland operates no less than 43 dealers across the Prairies. Under this oligopoly, there is little need to compete by offering better repair services. A lack of parts for equipment like my Case lH 1688 will eventually force farmers like me to buy newer machines at high costs.
Action the federal government could take
If federal politicians really understand agriculture and want to support small farms like mine, they would change the regulatory framework around repairs.
For example, they could mandate that if agricultural equipment manufacturers choose to no longer offer parts to support machines, they would be obliged to sell a downloadable schematic so a replacement part can be quickly manufactured by machining or 3D printing.
They could also mandate that full diagnostic software be made available to offer competitive repairs.
I'm not the only one thinking this way.
In January, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued John Deere over this very issue. Canadian politicians should be standing up for farmers more forcefully as well. A private member's bill passed during the last parliament amended the Copyright Act to stop manufacturers from preventing repairs. It did not, however, improve farmers' access to schematics or repair parts. Stronger action could reduce costs for farmers, boost the Canadian economy by encouraging the local manufacturing of repair parts and prevent more of these machines from ending up on the scrap pile prematurely.
During federal election campaigns, agriculture often seems to be an afterthought — something to talk about only after a drought or trade disruption. Some of the most pressing problems facing farmers are deeper and more structural in nature. Farmers need serious, nuanced, thoughtful policy to help us keep feeding the nation.
So this campaign, I will be looking for a party that I think actually understands deeper structural issues facing the agriculture industry. One way a party can show this deeper understanding is by supporting comprehensive "right‑to‑repair" legislation.
What's the one issue that matters the most to you in this federal election? CBC News will publish a range of perspectives from voters who share the personal experience shaping their choice at the ballot box. Read more First Person columns related to the election here.
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