Trying to fix my combine, I need politicians who really get what farmers are facing

Jason Jackson · for CBC First Person

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

This First Person nonfiction is the acquisition of Jason Jackson, a husbandman adjacent Olds, Alta. For much accusation astir CBC's First Person stories, delight see the FAQ.

My favourite workplace instrumentality is my aged combine, a Case IH 1688. It's 30 years aged and I've racked up countless hours successful the cab harvesting barley, wheat, oats, peas, faba beans and canola.

Using older workplace machinery helps support costs down astatine my tiny cardinal Alberta farm, but repairing this older machinery is getting difficult. 

That's wherefore my ballot container contented is right-to-repair legislation. I privation our adjacent authorities to really recognize the complexity of the issues facing Canadian farmers, and right-to-repair authorities is simply a premier example. 

Right-to-repair is important to helping farmers survive. But it's not conscionable to assistance retired farmers. Keeping our costs down tin help keep market prices little for each Canadians, and support Canada's food sovereignty.

Rising costs connected my farm

I turn atom and hay connected astir 1,300 acres adjacent Olds, Alta., which is astir an hr thrust northbound of Calgary. I'm the 5th procreation of my household to workplace this onshore and, like many smaller farmers, I enactment off-farm arsenic well to assistance supplement my income by teaching French immersion part-time successful a adjacent precocious school. 

My aged harvester is precise outgo effectual to operate. It would lone fetch astir $10,000 astatine an auction, but a caller 1 would outgo much than $1 million. That's superior that I would alternatively deploy elsewhere. 

Plus, my dada and 2 uncles, each successful their 70s now, tin proceed to run this aged harvester without wasting clip learning a caller technology. Our trusty aged combine doesn't person astir the capableness of a newer harvester, but it chugs on each autumn astatine 8 to 10 acres an hour, helping america get the harvest successful up of the prairie winter. 

For smaller farms similar mine, utilized instrumentality is indispensable for profitability and the endurance of our businesses. But these older machines are lone effectual if we tin support them running. 

In 2022, 1 of the fewer physics components connected my aged harvester failed. It was a tiny metallic cube lodging 2 printed circuit boards that controlled the header speed. Without it, the beforehand of my harvester wouldn't provender harvest into the separator. 

A mechanic recovered the problem. Then I checked the manufacturer's website to find the part. This rapidly brought up a hideous database terms of $1,400 and immoderate bland grey letters that simply told maine the portion was "no longer available."

I yet sourced a utilized portion from 1 of the 4 machinery recyclers saved successful my telephone contacts. It was conscionable nether $700 and came with nary warrant that it inactive worked, overmuch little a warranty. But erstwhile I had it installed, my 1688 roared backmost to life. 

My aged harvester has soldiered connected done 2 much harvests since.

In theory, modern technologies, specified arsenic 3D printing and CNC machining, should marque repairing these older machines easier, cheaper and faster. But instrumentality dealerships person been mostly hostile to the right‑to‑repair movement. 

For newer machines with much physics components, diagnostic bundle is an indispensable instrumentality for repairs. However, dealerships cautiously defender entree to astir software. Repairs are becoming slower, much expensive and often nary longer a do-it-yourself job.

John Deere is 1 of the biggest manufacturers of cultivation machinery. The bulk of its dealerships in Alberta and Saskatchewan belong to lone 2 companies. For 2 different fashionable brands, a concatenation carrying the marque of my combine, Case IH, arsenic good as New Holland operates no little than 43 dealers crossed the Prairies. Under this oligopoly, determination is small request to vie by offering amended repair services. A deficiency of parts for instrumentality similar my Case lH 1688 volition yet unit farmers similar maine to bargain newer machines astatine precocious costs. 

Action the national authorities could take

If national politicians truly recognize agriculture and privation to enactment tiny farms similar mine, they would alteration the regulatory model astir repairs.

For example, they could mandate that if cultivation instrumentality manufacturers take to nary longer connection parts to enactment machines, they would beryllium obliged to merchantability a downloadable schematic truthful a replacement portion tin beryllium rapidly manufactured by machining oregon 3D printing. 

They could besides mandate that afloat diagnostic bundle beryllium made disposable to connection competitory repairs.

I'm not the lone 1 reasoning this way.

In January, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued John Deere implicit this precise issue. Canadian politicians should beryllium lasting up for farmers much forcefully arsenic well. A backstage member's measure passed during the past parliament amended the Copyright Act to halt manufacturers from preventing repairs. It did not, however, amended farmers' entree to schematics oregon repair parts. Stronger enactment could trim costs for farmers, boost the Canadian system by encouraging the section manufacturing of repair parts and forestall much of these machines from ending up connected the scrap heap prematurely.

During national predetermination campaigns, agriculture often seems to beryllium an afterthought — thing to speech astir lone aft a drought oregon commercialized disruption. Some of the astir pressing problems facing farmers are deeper and much structural successful nature. Farmers request serious, nuanced, thoughtful argumentation to assistance america support feeding the nation. 

WATCH | How agriculture workers successful Lethbridge consciousness astir the upcoming national election: 

So this campaign, I volition beryllium looking for a enactment that I deliberation really understands deeper structural issues facing the agriculture industry. One mode a enactment tin amusement this deeper knowing is by supporting broad "right‑to‑repair" legislation.

What's the 1 contented that matters the astir to you successful this national election? CBC News volition people a scope of perspectives from voters who stock the idiosyncratic acquisition shaping their prime astatine the ballot box. Read much First Person columns related to the predetermination here.