NORWICH – The Chenango County Farm Bureau is throwing support behind a statewide proposal that could make it easier for farmers to repair modern, high-tech farming equipment.

The Fair Repair Act is sponsored by several upstate legislators, including 52nd Senate District Republican Fred Akshar. It would require manufacturers of digital electronic parts to include with their products clear repair information – such as manuals and software – that consumers would need to fix broken equipment.

As it stands, repair manuals and other information is offered only to the manufacturer’s repair channel, or certified technicians who specialize with specific brands, making it difficult for individuals to make their own repairs.

But by providing repair information to consumers, advocates say there would be a tremendous cost savings, especially to farmers who often rely on making their own repairs to farm machinery to cut overhead.

“There seems to be a fair amount of resistance from manufacturers,” said Chenango County Farm Bureau President Bradd Vickers, “but from a farming point of view and do-it-youselfers, it’s certainly cost effective.”