Understanding the Basics of Agricultural Cooperatives

On August 26, 2022, from 12 noon – 1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Business Development Center presented the most recent webinar in our new educational series, “Understanding Agricultural Law.” This session in our series is entitled, “Understanding the Basics of Agricultural Cooperatives.”

Doing business through cooperatives has been part of U.S. agriculture and life in rural America since the 19^th century.  Any professional involved with agriculture in any capacity needs to understand the singularly unique business features of a cooperative, its governance and operational structure, revenue distribution and tax treatment under law.  Lastly, agricultural cooperatives have a carefully crafted legal relationship to antitrust laws forged in the early 20^th century that remains just as relevant a century later. This webinar covered the essential information to understand how cooperatives operate and why they are distinct from all other business forms.

Each webinar in our Understanding Agricultural Law series offers 1 CLE credit to Pennsylvania attorneys at no cost. Learn more here.