Bill · H.R. 5857· House(119-HR-5857)
FARM Act
- Introduced
- 10/28/2025
- Last activity
- 10/28/2025 — Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- Sponsored by
- Marie Perez
- Cosponsors
- - 3 - 0
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The bill is known as the Freedom for Agricultural Repair and Maintenance Act or the FARM Act. It requires original equipment manufacturers to make documentation, parts, software, firmware, and tools available to farm equipment owners and independent repair providers on fair and reasonable terms. Manufacturers must also provide farm equipment data to owners or authorized independent repair providers. Additionally, the bill allows individuals to circumvent certain copyright technological measures to diagnose, maintain, or repair farm equipment. The Federal Trade Commission is tasked with enforcing the act and handling violations as unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Finally, the legislation imposes specific civil penalties on manufacturers that stop offering necessary repair materials.
Yes· 3 of 16
Would farmers be better off under this?+9
Significantly reduces equipment repair costs, prevents prolonged downtime, and grants direct access to operational data.
Would people in rural areas be better off under this?+8
Supports agricultural economies and rural communities by empowering local equipment servicing.
Does this make it easier to run a small business?+7
Supports independent repair businesses and agricultural operations by mandating fair access to repair tools and documentation.
The opposite
Would billionaires be better off under this?-2
Imposes mandatory disclosure requirements and potential civil penalties on large original equipment manufacturers.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Access to Repair Materials: Under Section 3(a)(1), original equipment manufacturers must provide owners and independent repair providers with documentation, parts, software, firmware, and tools to diagnose, maintain, upgrade, reprogram, or repair farm equipment on fair and reasonable terms. This provision helps people fix their own machinery without relying solely on dealerships.
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Access to Equipment Data: Under Section 3(a)(2), manufacturers must provide farm equipment data generated by the equipment to the owner, or to an independent repair provider with the owner's authorization. This ensures that farmers have direct access to the operational data produced by their own machines.
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Disabling Security Functions: Under Section 3(b), manufacturers must make documentation, parts, software, or tools available on fair and reasonable terms to enable or disable technological protection measures or security-related functions. This helps individuals perform necessary maintenance that might otherwise be blocked by software locks.
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Copyright Law Exemptions: Under Section 3(c), individuals are permitted to circumvent technological protection measures on copyrighted works if the purpose is to diagnose, maintain, upgrade, reprogram, or repair farm equipment, or to conduct security research. This protects people from copyright infringement liability when fixing their legally owned machinery.
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Reasonable Costs for Tools and Documentation: Under Section 2(6)(B) and Section 2(6)(C), manufacturers cannot charge for tools or documentation in digital forms, and can only charge the reasonable actual costs of preparing and sending physical copies. This provision keeps repair costs affordable for equipment owners.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Trade Secret Exemptions: Under Section 6(1), the bill specifies that original equipment manufacturers are not required to divulge trade secrets to an owner or independent service provider, except as necessary to provide access to repair material or processes on fair and reasonable terms. This limitation could create disputes over what information manufacturers must legally hand over.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Farmers+9Good For Rural Residents+8Good For Business Owners+6Good For Middle Class Households+3Good For Low Income Households+2Good For Billionaires-2
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Small Business Support+7Improves Consumer Protection+6Increases Job Creation+2Reduces Inflation+2Improves Economic Growth+1
- Governance And Ideology
- Increases Federal Power+3Improves Government Transparency+2Improves Interstate Commerce+2
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Rural Development+5Improves Environmental Protections+1
- Education And Technology
- Improves Intellectual Property Fairness+5
- 7/21/2026
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 10/31/2025
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- 10/28/2025
- Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Angie CraigDemocrat · Minnesota
Joe NeguseDemocrat · Colorado
Chellie PingreeDemocrat · Maine