Modern agricultural machinery is equipped with sensors that detect the very signals that often precede a breakdown: tyre pressure, axle wear, load distribution, engine stress under various conditions, operating temperatures, hydraulic pressure, and much more. In other words, your kit is already producing the data that indicates when a component is nearing the end of its useful life.

Historically, much of this data has been funneled into the manufacturer’s systems and made easily accessible only to dealers, while the farmer who owns and operates the machine had limited access. From September 2025, with the implementation of the European Data Act, this situation changes: the data generated by connected equipment becomes accessible to the user, allowing farmers to use it directly, including for predictive maintenance.

What is Predictive Maintenance?

Most maintenance programmes fall into one of these two categories:

• Reactive Maintenance: You intervene when something breaks. It’s simple and often less expensive in the short term—until the failure occurs at the worst possible moment.
• Scheduled Maintenance: The machine undergoes service at fixed intervals. This is generally better than waiting for a failure, but it can lead to replacing components that still have useful life left.

Predictive maintenance is different. Instead of relying on a calendar or waiting for a breakdown, it uses performance and status data to identify when maintenance is actually necessary. Irregular tyre wear, higher-than-normal engine temperatures, or a gradual drop in hydraulic pressure tend to emerge as patterns long before an obvious problem manifests.

For farmers, the benefits are tangible and immediate:

• Replacing tyres because the data indicates it’s necessary, not because of an arbitrary deadline.
• Identifying emerging issues during the off-season rather than during the peak of harvest.
• Making decisions based on real usage, not on “test track” assumptions.

The main obstacle, until today, has been access to the underlying data. This is where the Data Act makes the difference.

How the Data Act Unlocks Your Maintenance Data

The Data Act establishes a clear principle: users of connected products must be able to access the data those products generate. For farmers using modern tractors, combine harvesters, sprayers, and connected components like smart tyres, this paves the way for obtaining performance and status data directly relevant to maintenance.

For predictive maintenance, this includes exactly the data you need, such as:

• Tyre pressure trends over time
• Wear indicators and patterns
• Load and stress profiles
• Operating temperatures
• Fault codes and performance trends
• Component-level performance metrics

In the past, manufacturers and authorised dealers could use this information to generate recommendations, often without offering farmers the same visibility. With the access rights now provided, farmers can obtain data directly and, crucially, share it with third parties.

This is fundamental for competition and service quality. An independent tyre specialist analysing your actual wear patterns can provide much more accurate advice than someone relying on generic assumptions. Similarly, an independent mechanic with real operating data can diagnose emerging problems with greater confidence. When multiple service providers work with the same raw data, competition on price and quality increases.

Practical Steps to Access Your Data

Access should be straightforward. In practice, you can expect the following:

Identify what data your machinery collects

Data varies by machine and model, but those most relevant to maintenance include operating hours, component temperatures, pressure readings, wear indicators, load data, fault codes, and trend information. Manufacturers should provide guidance on what is being collected and how to access it.

Request access in writing

You can request access from the manufacturer or through the dealer channel. Ask for the machine’s maintenance and performance data, including real-time access where available and the ability to download historical data. You should not have to justify the request.

Expect usable formats

Data should be provided in a structured, machine-readable format, suitable for analysis or importing into farm management or maintenance software. It should not be limited to unusable formats (e.g. static PDFs) or locked within a single proprietary interface.

No cost for raw data access

Manufacturers should not charge a fee for accessing raw data. They may charge for “value-added” services (analytics, dashboards, reports), but the underlying data must be accessible without a separate cost.

Using Data for Smarter Maintenance

Once you have access, the key is to treat data as an operational tool, not as a series of isolated readings.

Monitor trends, not single values

A single tyre pressure reading tells you very little. Pressure patterns over weeks or months can reveal slow leaks, degradation, or mounting issues.

Link performance to operating conditions

Faster wear in a specific field might indicate soil conditions, drainage issues, or terrain features. Seasonal stress patterns can suggest when preventive maintenance is most cost-effective.

Share data with independent specialists

The ability to share data with third parties is one of the most practical advantages. A tyre specialist analysing real wear patterns, in your actual operating conditions, can provide replacement advice far more accurately than generic guidelines. A mechanic with engine and temperature data can spot signs of deterioration before routine dealer checks flag anything.

Let data dictate the schedule

Move from fixed deadlines to evidence-based timing. Service what is wearing out; leave what is performing well in place. Use quieter periods for preventive work when the data indicates a problem is emerging.

What you can do right away

Ask the right questions when purchasing new machinery

What maintenance data is collected? How is it accessed? Can it be downloaded? Can it be shared with third parties? Treat data access as a key purchasing criterion, not a secondary detail.

Analyse your existing fleet

Identify what data each machine records and what is already accessible. Equipment purchased before September 2025 may still fall within the scope of the Act, depending on the product and circumstances: it is certainly worth checking what is available today.

Find the right people to interpret the data

The value isn’t just in the data you own, but in who can transform it into actionable decisions. Independent mechanics, tyre specialists, and agronomic or operational consultants can all play a role.

Start simple

You don’t need advanced analytics to see benefits. Even basic monitoring of wear indicators, temperature trends, and pressure history can outperform generic “one-size-fits-all” maintenance programmes.

The Big Picture

For years, the data that could have made maintenance smarter remained effectively locked within manufacturer ecosystems. Farmers owned the machines, but lacked meaningful access to their own data. The Data Act changes this dynamic.

Predictive maintenance isn’t technology for its own sake. It means avoiding breakdowns during harvest, getting the maximum value from components that still have useful life, and solving problems when they are simplest and cheapest to address. The data to do this has always existed. Now, you can use it.

You work hard to maintain your equipment. Your data can work just as hard for you.

Rocco Limongelli, expert in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.