Even with the Farm Bill at the forefront of many agriculture organizations’ focus right now, groups such as the National Farmers Union continue to promote campaigns that aim to bring fairness to farmers. Decades of consolidation within the agricultural industry have come with lasting impacts on the family farmers.
Through its Fairness for Farmers campaign, the National Farmers Union advocates for fair markets by reforming the Packers and Stockyards Act, diversifying marketing opportunities and antitrust enforcement, and advocating for the right to repair.
When it comes to the right-to-repair efforts, Rob Larew, President of the National Farmers Union says there has been more traction in states to help farmers gain this right. In fact, Larew adds Colorado signed a Right to Repair law earlier this year.
“It affects us in a lot of different ways, primarily in delays in costs. When you can’t get your equipment repaired quick enough when you are limited on who can work on your equipment, what you as the owner of the equipment can actually do to it, said Larew. “Whether you can take it into an independent repair shop in town, whether you have to wait a long time for the dealer-approved repaired service providers to come out and take a look at it and ultimately maybe just read a code on it or something. That adds time, that adds expense and delays which if we are in the middle of harvest, we can’t afford.”
Larew says the National Farmers Union will continue to push for farmers to gain the right to repair their own equipment and that there needs to be more than one solution to achieve this goal.
