Montana Farmers Union outlines five priorities, from right-to-repair to country‑of‑origin labeling

Eric Summerfeld, vice president of the Montana Farmers Union, told the Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation committee that the organization will press five priorities this legislative session, ranging from equipment repair rules to labeling and state procurement tracking.

Summerfeld said the union wants a right-to-repair law for agricultural machinery and raised concerns about telemetry and on‑board data. "We're afraid that there's ability for people to hack that information and use it to manipulate markets," he said, describing a proposed bill that would either require companies that aggregate equipment data to release it or allow equipment users to opt out of data collection.

He also outlined three market‑access and transparency priorities: a bill to promote shelf space for Montana products in retail outlets; a procurement tracking measure to record how much state agencies spend on Montana products for purchases over $100,000; and renewed efforts to require country‑of‑origin placards in meat cases so consumers can see whether products are from the U.S. or abroad.

Summerfeld framed the agenda as protecting family farmers and ranchers and improving local market share: "we are the oldest and largest ag organization that represents the family farmer and rancher here in Montana." He said some measures may move to other committees but flagged them early to brief the Agriculture committee.

The Farmers Union presentation outlined policy directions rather than requests for immediate committee action; Summerfeld offered to work with lawmakers on drafting and refinement as bills proceed.