Aaron Gott and Luke Hasskamp to Host CLE Event on Antitrust and Farm Cooperatives
March 19, 2021
Bona Law partners Aaron Gott and Luke Hasskamp will panel a one-hour remote continuing legal education course on the farm cooperative exemption from antitrust under the Capper-Volstead Cooperative Marketing Associations Act on March 31, 2021.
The Capper-Volstead Act provides a limited exemption from antitrust liability to farm cooperatives, which are associations of competing farmers. It allows them to come together and act as one economic entity for pooling their output, setting prices, and engaging in other marketing activities.
As with anything in antitrust, and particularly antitrust exemptions, there are nuances and exceptions that can become a trap. The Capper-Volstead Act sets specific requirements for the exemption to apply, and if they are not met, a cooperative and its members could be subject to criminal and civil antitrust liability. You can read more about the act on our blog.
For this CLE, Gott and Hasskamp will discuss the history and scope of the Capper-Volstead Act, outline risks that farm cooperatives face despite the exemption, and provide best practices for representing clients who are involved in farm cooperatives or are farm cooperatives.
The event is co-sponsored by the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section and Agricultural and Rural Law Section. Those interested in attending the event can register here by March 29, 2021. The cost for non-MSBA members is $15.