The cooperative system was first introduced in the late 1800's and early 1900's as a way to increase farmers profit margins. Before the cooperative system, there was only one choice available for farmers to market their grain as well as larger private businesses taking advantage of this. Local farmers from around the world joined together seeking higher prices for products, cutting out the private businesses. This works well today because a co-op is made up of local citizens seeking to help, not hurt the local farmers. The clients of the co-op are also the members of the co-op board and make decisions that will directly effect their farming operations. Unlike large, privately owned businesses, decisions made in a co-op are made by a number
