hacking tractors?

This article claims US farmers are hacking software so they can fix their tractors themselves

To avoid the draconian locks that John Deere puts on the tractors they buy, farmers throughout America's heartland have started hacking their equipment with firmware that's cracked in Eastern Europe and traded on invite-only, paid online forums.
Tractor hacking is growing increasingly popular because John Deere and other manufacturers have made it impossible to perform "unauthorized" repair on farm equipment, which farmers see as an attack on their sovereignty and quite possibly an existential threat to their livelihood if their tractor breaks at an inopportune time.

the article includes an interview with a guy who uses pig manure to power his tractor but had to illegally hack it so he could do this.

and no, don't blame the Russians: It's the Ukrainians who are selling the software hack.

headsup, those libertarian rightwing guys at FR.