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What you should know about rights to repair for Arkansas farmers

The right for farmers to repair their equipment has been an ongoing conversation with advocates fighting for changes to try and make their lives a little easier.

ARKANSAS, USA — The right for farmers to repair their equipment has been an ongoing conversation with advocates who have been fighting for changes to try to make their lives a little easier.

For years the Arkansas Farm Bureau has been an advocate for farmers across the state.

"We want to support the $20 billion dollar industry that agriculture is," said Arkansas Farm Bureau Director of State Affairs, Mark Lambert. 

Lambert explained that they work to make sure Arkansas farmers have what they need including their rights to repair the equipment themselves that they use every day. 

"It's extremely vital to get pieces of equipment when they go down to get them back up and running," he said.

In January farmers were given the right to be able to repair their own John Deere equipment and from there, the list grew. 

"Kubota,  AGCO, New Holland," said Lambert. 

The right to repair has been a huge help for farmers like Joe Thrash. 

"Before, we were stuck with having to go to John  Deere for all the repairs and if all their technicians were busy you had to wait there might be a day, two days, or three days," said Thrash. 

The right to repair has allowed Thrash to save time and money on his farm in Mayflower.

"It's just part of our tool that we use every day. Our equipment's got to be up and running all the time," he said.

As other states look to expand the right to repair, the Arkansas Farm Bureau said there's still room for more. 

"When it comes to technology maybe emissions systems, that's kind of where you start run into the gray area and maybe they don't have the equipment to repair those emission systems," said Lambert. 

There's a chance that the Farm Bureau will bring their efforts to the capitol when lawmakers return for a general session. 

"Every equipment brand has their own software, their own hardware that is specific to them so that would be great if everybody would let that happen," Thrash explained.

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