Montana Farmers Union outlines five ag priorities including right-to-repair, data-harvesting limits and country‑of‑origin labeling

Eric Somerfeld, vice president of the Montana Farmers Union, presented five legislative priorities the organization plans to pursue during the 2025 session.

Somerfeld said the Farmers Union will seek a right‑to‑repair measure for agricultural machinery, legislation addressing data harvesting from GPS‑enabled equipment, a bill to promote shelf space for Montana products, procurement tracking for state agencies’ purchases over $100,000, and country‑of‑origin placarding for retail meat cases.

On data harvesting, Somerfeld described concerns that modern GPS‑enabled farm equipment aggregates yield and spray data and that the companies who collect that data could later release or misuse it. He said the Farmers Union is weighing two approaches: require immediate release of aggregated data so all users have access, or give equipment users the option to opt out of data collection. “We’re afraid that there’s ability for people to hack that information and use it to manipulate markets,” he said.

On procurement and shelf space, Somerfeld said the Farmers Union will seek a baseline that shows how much of large state purchases are spent on Montana goods to inform future procurement targets. On country‑of‑origin, he said the goal is to have clear labeling in meat cases so consumers can identify whether product is from the U.S., Argentina or elsewhere.

Somerfeld said some bills may be heard in other committees; he told senators that the data‑harvesting bill may be routed to the business committee. He offered to answer committee questions and to work with legislators on drafting and outreach.

No formal motions, bills, or votes were recorded in this committee hearing regarding the Farmers Union priorities.