Final answer:
Farmers historically organized into agricultural bargaining groups known as cooperatives, helping them to increase their bargaining power for better rates and conditions, with groups like the Grange and Farmers Alliance driving these efforts.
Step-by-step explanation:
Farmers historically have organized agricultural bargaining groups called cooperatives. These groups served as a means for farmers to pool resources, gain better shipping rates, optimize prices on essential supplies, and increase their bargaining power with entities like railroad companies.
One famous example of such a group is the Patrons of Husbandry, known as the Grange, which grew rapidly in membership, advocating collective efforts on behalf of farmers.
The Farmers Alliance served a similar purpose, working to educate farmers and promote better conditions, though it faced limitations due to its exclusion of tenant farmers and African Americans. Aggressive groups like the Farm Holiday Association went as far as to use protest tactics, including farm holidays and penny auctions, to pressure the government into meeting their demands.
The formation of farmers' cooperatives represents a critical response to the economic challenges that farmers faced in history, and these efforts often extended into political action with the rise of the Populist Party and other political movements seeking to advocate for agricultural interests.