AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES AND EXEMPT AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES

The Interstate Commerce Commission was established in 1887 to regulate the several railroads. The advent of efficient and economical motor vehicles gave rise to the trucking industry which began to capture more and more of the inter-city transportation of freight. With the growth of trucking business there came also many disadvantages to members of the trucking industry and the shipping public, not to mention the railroads. In 1935 the Motor Carrier Act was passed which regulated market entry and rate levels. In September of 1940 Congress passed the Transportation Act of 1940 which incorporated the Motor Carrier Act of 1935 as Part 2 of the Interstate Commerce Act. For numerous reasons, including depressions and the fact that a number of the members of Congress were representatives from farming areas, there had been in effect, well prior to the passage of the Motor Carrier Act, a public policy favoring the interest of farmers.