Cooperatives
Overview
Individual farmers cannot consistently and reliably control the price they receive for their agricultural products or the price they pay for the inputs needed to produce those goods. Thus, farmers often form cooperatives so that they can enhance their economic market power. Although there is no universally accepted definition, a cooperative can be defined as a legal business entity created under state law that is owned and operated for the purpose of benefiting those individuals who use its services. A farmer cooperative can serve one or more functions including but not limited to providing loans to farmers, supplying information pertinent to agricultural production, selling inputs necessary to agricultural production, bargaining on behalf of its members, providing transportation services, and marketing agricultural products for its members. Read the full overview.
Note: Recently added resources are posted at the top of the applicable sections.
Major Statutes
Agricultural Adjustment Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 601-641
Agricultural Cooperatives, 15 U.S.C. § 57b-5
Agricultural Fair Practices Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 2301-2306
Agricultural Marketing Act, 12 U.S.C. §§ 1141-1141j
Capper Volstead Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 291-292
Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 12-17
Robinson-Patman Price Discrimination Act, 15 U.S.C. § 13
Cooperative Marketing Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 451-457
Cooperative association representation, 7 U.S.C. § 4508
Discrimination Against Farmers Cooperatives Associations by Boards of Trade, 15 U.S.C. §§ 431-433
Exemption of Farmers’ Cooperatives from Tax, 26 U.S.C. § 521
Farm Credit Act, 12 U.S.C. §§ 2001-2279
Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-38
Taxable Income of Cooperatives, 26 U.S.C. §§ 1381-1388
Regulations
Agricultural and Horticultural Cooperatives, 26 C.F.R. §§ 1.199-6
Capper-Volstead Act Regulations, 7 C.F.R. §§ 1.160-1.175
Cooperative Reserve Supply Unit, 7 C.F.R. §§ 1124.11
Internal Revenue Service Regulations, Tax Treatment of Cooperatives, 26 C.F.R. §§ 1.1381-1.1383-1
Internal Revenue Service Regulations, Tax Treatment by Patrons of Patronage Dividends, 26 C.F.R. § 1.1385-1
Internal Revenue Service Regulations, Definitions; Special Rules, 26 C.F.R. § 1.1388
Payments to Producers and to Cooperative Associations, 7 C.F.R. § 1033.73
Case Law
Case Law Index for Cooperatives
Center Research Publications
Corporate Transparency Act Factsheet (Robb & E. Rumley, 2024)
Forms and Filing Information: Business Organizations (NALC Staff, 2023)
States’ Agricultural Cooperative Formation (NALC Staff, 2022)
Navigating Your Legal Duties: A Guide for Agricultural Cooperative Directors (Scott & Traxxinger, 2021)
A Snapshot of LLCs and Farming: How Farm Businesses have Implemented the Limited Liability Company Structure in the Midwestern United States (Bachelor & Hall, 2019)
Considerations for Operating Agreements (Ferrell, 2019)
The Farmer’s Legal Guide to Producer Marketing Associations (O’Brien, Hamilton & Luedeman, 2006)
Legal and Policy Considerations of Investor-Friendly Cooperatives (O’Brien, 2005)
An Introduction to Federal Securities Laws as They Might Apply to Agricultural Operations (Goforth, 2002)
An Overview of Organizational and Ownership Options Available to Agricultural Enterprises: Part 1 (Goforth, 2002)
An Overview of Organizational and Ownership Options Available to Agricultural Enterprises: Part 2 (Goforth, 2002)
Ag & Food Law Update blog topics:
Agricultural Law Bibliography
Introduction | Keyword Search | Browse Categories
Legal publications on Cooperatives:
Agribusiness Corporations
Cooperatives
Corporate Farming (Restrictions on Corporate Farming/Family Farm Preservation)
Organizational Forms for Agriculture (Business Law and Development)
Reference Resources
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Antitrust Division Manual
Policy Guidelines Manual to Merger Remedies
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
The Farmer’s Tax Guide, IRS Publication 225
The Agricultural Employer’s Tax Guide, IRS Publication 51
Corporations, IRS Publication 542
Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program
Rural Business-Cooperative Service
Rural Cooperatives Magazine (Archive)
Publications for Cooperatives
Rural Development
Congressional Resources
Dairy Cooperatives: Potential Implications of Consolidation and Investments in Dairy Processing for Farmers (Government Accountability Office, 2019)
Other Federal Resources
Export Trading Company Act of 1982
Publications
Managers, Boards, and the Principal Agent Problem in Cooperatives: A Survey of Cooperative Managers in Texas (Seo, Hudson, McCallister, Johnson, & Park, 2024)
Student Cooperative Start-Up Toolkit (Scott, Welch, & Sherman, 2023)
Cooperative and Community Opportunities in Solar Energy (USDA, 2021)
Organizational Charting for Member Control in Cooperatives (Gray, 2020)
The Contribution of Farmer Cooperatives to the Kansas Economy (Clymer, Briggeman, Letherman, 2019)
Agricultural Cooperatives: Opportunities and Challenges for African American Women in the South (Paarlberg, 2018)
New Federal Tax Bill Includes Helpful Provisions for Farmers, Especially Those Marketing Through Cooperatives (Hoppe, 2018)
Tax Reform Impacts Cooperatives: New Section 199A (Cook, 2018)
The 199A Deduction: A Look at the Qualified Cooperative Dividend (Tidgren, 2018)
The Co-op Farming Model Might Help Save America’s Small Farms (Jolley via Civil Eats, 2018)
Trends of U.S. Agricultural Cooperatives (1913 – 2016) (Demko, 2018)
History of Cooperatives in the United States: An Overview (Pitman, 2018)
Basics of Agricultural Cooperative Taxation (Cook, 2017)
New Section 199A Deduction Impact on Cooperatives (Christianson CPAs & Consultants, 2017)
A Brief Introduction to Agricultural Cooperatives (OR St. Ext., 2004; revised 2016)
How to Start a Cooperative (Rapp & Ely, 1995; revised 2015)
Agricultural Cooperatives (Tortia, Valentinov, Iliopoulos, 2013)
Agricultural Cooperatives: paving the way for food security and rural development (FAO, 2012)
Current Challenges in Financing Agricultural Cooperatives (Barton, Boland, Chaddad, Eversull, 2011)
Agricultural Cooperatives I: History, Theory and Problems (King, Ortmann, 2007)
Agricultural Cooperatives: A Guide to Complying with Missouri Securities Laws
The Economic Culture of U.S. Agricultural Cooperatives (Hogeland, 2006)
Cooperatives and Contracting in Agriculture: The Case of West Liberty Foods (IA St. U., 2005)
Cooperatives: Principles and Practices in the 21st Century (Zeuli and Cropp, U. WI Extension, 2004)
Antitrust Status of Farmer Cooperatives: The Story of the Capper-Volstead Act (Frederick, 2002)
New Generation Cooperative Membership: How Do Members Differ from Nonmembers (Olson, Kibbe, Goreham, 1998)
The Farmer’s Cooperative Yardstick (Williamson, 1998)
New Generation Cooperatives: External Environment and Investor Characteristics (Cobia, 1997)
Co-ops 101: An Introduction to Cooperatives (Frederick, 1997)
Member Control of Cooperatives: What It Means and How It Is Exercised (Cook, Ratchford, Griffith, 1995)
Understanding Capper-Volstead (Volkin, 1995)
Additional Resources
Bill Fitzwater Endowed Cooperative Chair (OK St. Ext.)
Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives
Cooperative Communicators Association
Cooperative Network
Co-ops: A Key Part of Rural America (USDA)
Cornell Cooperative Enterprise Program
Democracy at Work Institute
Food Co-op Initiative
International Co-operative Agricultural Organization
National Cooperative Business Association
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
National Farmers Union
National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives
Quentin Burdick Center for Cooperatives (ND St. U.)
The Arthur Capper Cooperative Center (KS St. U.)
University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives
State Cooperative Councils
Cooperative Council of the Carolinas
Georgia Cooperative Council
Iowa Institute for Cooperatives
Kansas Cooperative Council
Mississippi Association of Cooperatives
Missouri Institute of Cooperatives
Montana Council of Cooperatives
Nebraska Cooperative Council
Northeast Cooperative Council
Northwest Agricultural Cooperative Council
Ohio State University, South Centers, Cooperative Business Development
Oklahoma Agricultural Cooperative Council
South Dakota Association of Cooperatives
Texas Agricultural Cooperative Council
Virgina Cooperative Council
State Cooperative Development Centers
California Center for Cooperative Development
Cooperative Development Institute
Cooperative Development Services
Federation of Southern Cooperatives
Indiana Cooperative Development Center
Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development
Keystone Development Center
Montana Cooperative Development Center
Nebraska Cooperative Development Center
Northwest Cooperative Development Center
Ohio Employee Ownership Center Cooperative Development Program
Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Co-op Development Center
Non-Publicly Available Resources
Phil Kenkel, Agricultural Cooperatives (Cognella Academic Publishing, 2024)
Anne Meis Knupfer, Food Co-ops in American: Communities, Consumption, and Economic Democracy (Cornell University Press, 2013)