US farmers make progress on right to repair with John Deere

Mar 22, 2023

For some time now original equipment manufacturers have denied farmers the right to repair their own machinery. John Deere and the American Farm Bureau developed a memorandum of understanding, earlier this year to change that.

This is a major shift for the agriculture sector, where Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in both Canada and the United States have restricted farmers’ ability to access the technology embedded in their products, including diagnostic and repair codes and service manuals.

While this is not a free for all, there is an understanding that John Deere’s intellectual property must be preserved. US farmers can also be assured that emergency repairs in the field, in a timely manner, on their John Deere equipment won’t end up in prosecution.

The new MOU signed by John Deere and the American Farm Bureau also has the potential to serve as a model for other manufacturers and in other jurisdictions like Canada and hopefully soon.

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Source : Small Farm Canada

Video: Our Own On-Farm Research Is the Best Source - Managing White Mold in Northeast Nebraska

If you assumed Nebraska was too hot and dry for white mold to be a problem in soybeans, think again.

This week we're featuring Galen Samuelson, a farmer and dealer from Wakefield, Nebraska, who knows all too well how devastating white mold can be.

"We don't have it consistently every year, but with our temperature and humidity, it can hurt us quite bad," Samuelson says. Looking for alternatives, he explains, "What I like about Heads Up is that it's non-harmful to the beneficial fungal colonies in the soil." Galen has been using Heads Up for several years now, after first hearing about it through a small ad in a regional newspaper. Watch below to hear about his journey.

When asked to write about Samuelson Seed, Galen said the following:

"Samuelson Seed is a 4th-generation, family-based company. It started with my grandfather, and I'm now starting to pass the torch to my son, Caleb."

"In the early 1990s, I started working with a company whose focus was on plant and soil health before those benefits were widely known. I've continued to keep plant and soil health the main focus in our farming operation decisions."