Review of the development and current state of antitrust law regarding cooperatives shows that interpretations of legal activities for farmer marketing cooperatives have varied widely. A public policy defining the scope of exemptions granted cooperatives by the Capper-Volstead Act of 1922 and defining procedures for determining undue price enhancement under the act would improve the operating climate for cooperatives. Recognizing the intense competition and importance of large, diversified firms in the food industry, the policy should foster workable, as opposed to perfect, competition, and permit marketing cooperatives to participate in the economy as fully as other firms.