The Rural Voice, 1991-06, Page 18PRODUCTS, INC.
SAVE!
• UPTO75%OF YOUR
OPERATING COST.
• QUALIFY FOR HYDRO
REBATES.
• LAST 10,000 HOURS.
• SEALED AGAINST
ENVIRONMENTS.
• C.S.A. APPROVED.
• PROVEN INSTALLATIONS.
• 'REPLACE 25 WATT TO 150
WATT LIGHT BULBS WITH
ENERGY EFFICIENT
FLUORESCENT LAMPS.
K L PRODUCTS INC.
R. R. 2, Mount Brydges, Ontario
NOL 1WO
(519) 264-1016
Fax (519) 264-1017
14 THE RURAL VOICE
FARM MACHINERY
The Ontario Farm Implements Act
(the Act), passed in 1988, provides a
formal process for the resolution of
problems farmers encounter dealing
with the farm machinery industry.
The main features of the Act are
the registration of distributors and
dealers; implied warranties with each
farm implement; availability of emer-
gency and regular order repair parts; a
specified procedure for the return or
replacement of defective equipment; a
repurchase system of dealers' unused
inventory of farm equipment by a dis-
tributor on the termination of a distri-
butor dealer agreement; and, the crea-
tion of a mediation system for resol-
ving disputes.
The Act applies to any farm imple-
ment, which is defined as any equip-
ment or machinery designed and used
for agricultural or horticultural purpo-
ses, and includes repair parts for the
machinery. The Act covers relation-
ships between a farmer and any deal-
ers and distributors with whom the
farmer does business. A dealer is a
person who, in the ordinary course of
business, offers farm implements for
sale at retail. A distributor is a person,
including a manufacturer, who, in the
ordinary course of business, sells or
delivers farm implements or parts to a
dealer. The Act does not apply to farm
implements with a manufacturer's list
price of S3,500 or less; motor vehicles
that are not farm vehicles; tractors that
develop 20 horsepower or less; lawn
and garden equipment; and, tires.
A dealer or distributor who sells, or
offers for sale, farm implements and
who is unregistered under the Act is
liable to prosecution. Registration is
required annually and is subject to cer-
tain conditions, including the payment
of license fees.
When a farm implement is sold, a
A QUICK FIX
sale agreement between a purchaser
and the dealer must be made. The
agreement is to be in writing and must
contain information describing the
farm implement and any trade-in; the
purchase price and any trade-in allow-
ance; the date of delivery; the name
and address of the purchaser, dealer,
and distributor. Further, the agree-
ment must include the nature and du-
ration of any warranties.
Perhaps the most important feature
of the Act is that a farm implement is
warranted to develop the power stated
in the sale agreement. In addition, on
the sale of any new farm implement,
there is a warranty that the implement
is properly constructed and will per-
form to the manufacturer's specifica-
tions. Warranties as to power and
quality will be the lesser of one year
or 1,000 hours of operation for tract-
ors; the lesser of one year or 500 hours
of operation for combines; and, one
year for any other farm implement.
On the sale of a new farm imple-
ment, there is an implied warranty that
repair parts will be available for 10
years and will be free from defects.
The distributor is liable to honour the
implement power and quality warran-
ty, and the quality of new repair parts
warranty. The dealer and distributor
are jointly liable to honour the parts
supply warranty. A distributor or a
dealer may, of course, give warranties
offering broader protection for the
consumer than those created by the
Act.
Under the repair parts warranty,
when a dealer and distributor are noti-
fied that a farm implement requires
emergency repair parts, those parts
must be made available within three
working days unless there are condi-
tions beyond the distributor's control
which prevent delivery. The repair