Flying the Co-op
Though farmer-run co-ops have some antitrust immunity, various partnerships open them up for investigation.
December 31, 2009 at 07:00 PM
3 minute read
To read about how the DOJ and USDA have been cracking down on anti-competitive behavior in the agricultural arena, click here.
The Capper-Volstead Act of 1922, known to famers as the Magna Carta of cooperatives, authorizes farmers to collectively process and distribute their own crops and products, including everything from cottonseed to beef. It also protects co-ops such as the Dairy Farmers of America from antitrust investigations by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission. Instead, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is given primary authority to examine and handle any potentially monopolistic activity spearheaded by the co-op.
But recently Northeastern mushroom producers realized the limits of Capper-Volstead during a suit that alleged violations of the Sherman Act, the primary anti-competitive law in the U.S.
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