What problems did the railroads impose on farmers?

Railroads discriminated in the prices they charged to passengers and shippers in different localities by providing rebates to large shippers or buyers. These practices were especially harmful to American farmers, who lacked the shipment volume necessary to obtain more favorable rates.



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By diminishing the cost of transportation, the railroad has made agriculture possible in a large part of the Northwestern States. The extension of railroads has given to the farmers a great part of their wealth, and the natural alliance, a blessing to both, cannot be broken without great disaster to both.

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Small businesses and farmers were protesting that the railroads charged them higher rates than larger corporations, and that the railroads were also setting higher rates for short hauls than for long-distance hauls.

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Railroads helped farmers by shipping crops to new markets but hurt farmers by charging high shipping rates.

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The railroads provided the efficient, relatively cheap transportation that made both farming and milling profitable. They also carried the foodstuffs and other products that the men and women living on the single-crop bonanza farms needed to live.

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Ranging from 3,000 to 30,000 acres, these huge farms needed fleets of harvesters and armies of workers to gather their crops. Steel rails linked the farms and the mills. The railroads provided the efficient, relatively cheap transportation that made both farming and milling profitable.

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Railroads helped farmers by shipping crops to new markets but hurt farmers by charging high shipping rates.

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