A 100-Year-Old Law is a Framework for Expanding Cooperatives to the Entire Economy

Hi everyone,

My Open Markets Institute colleague Claire Kelloway and I co-authored an article published on March 3rd discussing a relatively unknown law that fosters the creation of farmer cooperatives. Congress enacted the Capper-Volstead Act 100 years to give vulnerable farmers increased power over large agricultural buyers to ensure fair prices for their products. While the law has certain deficiencies, we assert that the Capper-Volstead Act provides a great foundation to expand cooperatives to other sectors of the economy.

You can read the full article here. Below is the first paragraph.

February marked the 100th birthday of the Capper-Volstead Act. This relatively unknown law deserves celebration for establishing the legal foundation for farmer cooperatives in the United States. By promoting farmer coordination and more democratic business structures via cooperatives, Congress allowed farmers to counteract concentrated buyers and receive fair prices for their goods. While the Capper-Volstead Act is not perfect and narrowly focused, the next 100 years of U.S. agriculture policy would benefit from studying its principles and further promoting cooperatives.

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