NAEDA voices concern on federal Farm Bill, right-to-repair efforts

The North American Equipment Dealers Association continues to navigate and combat federal legislation efforts ahead of the 2024 election. 

North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) is expressing concern as to whether the bill will pass this year and cited several sticking points in a recent NAEDA webinar. 

“If [the Farm Bill] doesn’t get passed this year, that can be scary, and right now it is stuck in neutral,” Eric Wareham, vice president of government affairs at NAEDA, said during a recent webinar. “There’s $75 billion in additional investments that both sides have called for, all 12 Title programs that have been outlined publicly, so finding that additional money right now is obviously very difficult.” 

The growth of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) continues to be a sticking point for the passage of any possible farm bill, Wareham said

For perspective, SNAP increased 242% over the farm safety net, which is comprised of federal crop insurance, commodity, and disaster assistance programs, from 2002 to 2021, and current projections point to a 508% increase over the farm safety net by 2031, according to the Office of Management and Budget. SNAP is expected to make up $1.2 trillion, or 79.1%, of the projected Farm Bill’s budget until 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s February 2024 baseline for USDA Mandatory Farm Programs and SNAP, released Feb. 13. 

In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Income Forecast projects a 25.5% decrease in farm income, Wareham said. 

The decrease amounts “to about $40 billion, so that really puts a cramp on things and puts things into perspective,” he said.   

Federal right-to-repair efforts 

Two key federal right-to-repair bills, the U.S. HR 5604 Agricultural Right to Repair Act and the HR 906 REPAIR Act, continue to make their way through Congress, McGuire said.  

So-called “right-to-repair” bills require manufacturers to provide equipment owners and independent repair businesses with fair access to service information and affordable replacement parts. 

Still, the memorandums of understanding (MOUs) signed between five agricultural manufacturers and the American Farm Bureau Federation may reduce legislation on agriculture as most agriculture equipment is covered by those MOUs. 

“The [REPAIR] bill sponsors’ critique was that the association that was part of that MOU only actually represented 1% of the auto repair providers. But the MOUs have been put in place between the manufacturers and the American Farm Bureau, I think the American Farm Bureau Federation overwhelmingly represents a vast majority of the farmers in the United States here,” Director of Government Affairs Kipp McGuire said in the webinar.  

“If that critique were to come at our industries’ MOUs, it wouldn’t necessarily carry the weight, because we definitely don’t have that situation” 

The American Farm Bureau Federation has memorandums of understanding with AGCO, CLAAS, CNH, John Deere and Kubota, which represent the five largest farm equipment manufacturers in 2022, according to research firm Statista. 

Preparing for the future

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund (PIRG) and iFixit have turned to the Federal Trade Commission as a possible right-to-repair rulemaking body, Wareham said. 

“Certainly nothing immediate that’s going to occur, but the FTC can take action on drafting rules,” he said. 

To help further its lobbying efforts, NAEDA has established a separate political action committee that will be sponsored by the association but have its own bank account and be made up of five NEADA dealer members and two staff, McGuire said. 

Registration is now open for Equipment Finance Connect, the nation’s only dealer-centric equipment lending and leasing event, which will take place May 5-7 in Nashville, Tenn. Learn about the event and free dealer registration at EquipmentFinanceConnect.com.