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Popularity of Older Tractors Boosted by Avoidance of DRM

posted by martyb on Thursday January 09 2020, @09:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the tough-row-to-hoe dept.

canopic jug writes:

Digital Rights/Restrictions Management (DRM) technologies affecting new tractors are behind the continuing rise in popularity of the models. Particularly in the midwest, farmers are finding that 40-year-old tractors do the job with less trouble and expense.

Tractors manufactured in the late 1970s and 1980s are some of the hottest items in farm auctions across the Midwest these days — and it's not because they're antiques.

Cost-conscious farmers are looking for bargains, and tractors from that era are well-built and totally functional, and aren't as complicated or expensive to repair as more recent models that run on sophisticated software.

"It's a trend that's been building. It's been interesting in the last couple years, which have been difficult for ag, to see the trend accelerate," said Greg Peterson, the founder of Machinery Pete, a farm equipment data company in Rochester with a website and TV show.

Previously;
Reeducating Legislators on the Right to Repair (2019)
John Deere Just Swindled Farmers Out of Their Right to Repair (2018)
US Copyright Office Says People Have the Right to Hack their Own Cars' Software (2015)

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday January 10 2020, @03:32AM (1 child)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 10 2020, @03:32AM (#941755) Journal

    If I bought a Chinese tractor I think I might invest in an immediate strip and repaint - but I'd be very much more worried about details like quality of wiring, insulation, fasteners, etc.

    An one off job, on a pretty basic machine.
    Also, aren't those something that a well-seasoned farmer could do as the repairs s/he has the right to do?

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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday January 10 2020, @02:54PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Friday January 10 2020, @02:54PM (#941883)

    I might invest in an immediate strip and repaint - but I'd be very much more worried about details like quality of wiring, insulation, fasteners, etc.

    An one off job, on a pretty basic machine.
    Also, aren't those something that a well-seasoned farmer could do as the repairs s/he has the right to do?

    Sure, DIY is possible, but if you're going that far with a repaint, rewire, fastener replacement, etc. you might be more inclined to restore a home grown antique if you can get ahold of one.

    Once the rust starts, rehab isn't much fun, or very effective - that trailer only has a couple more years before the frame cracks in half. And - $30 vs $5 for a bearing doesn't sound like a big deal, but when the trailer only cost $180 to start with.... same for a strip and paint, that's a lot of labor for a $180 trailer.

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