Question: Why were farmers forced to sell their produce on consignment through wholesalers at The Lots?
About the article "Pike Place Market", section "Before the Market".

Candidate passages:
Before the Market.
Before the creation of the Pike Place Market in 1907, local Seattle area farmers sold their goods to the public in a three-square block area called The Lots, located at Sixth Avenue and King Street.
Most produce sold at The Lots would then be brought to commercial wholesale houses on Western Avenue, which became known as Produce Row.
Most farmers, due to the amount of time required to work their farms, were forced to sell their produce on consignment through the wholesalers on Western Avenue.
The farmers typically received a percentage of the final sale price for their goods.
They would sell to the middleman on commission, as most farmers would often have no time to sell direct to the public, and their earnings would be on marked up prices and expected sales.
In some cases, the farmers made a profit, but just as often found themselves breaking even, or getting no money at all due to the business practices of the wholesalers.
During the existence of the wholesale houses, which far predated the Market, there were regular rumors as well as instances of corruption in denying payment to farmers.
Before the creation of the Pike Place Market in 1907, local Seattle area farmers sold their goods to the public in a three-square block area area called The Lots, located at Sixth Avenue and King Street.
Most produce sold at The Lots would then be brought to commercial wholesale houses on Western Avenue, which became known as Produce Row.
Most farmers, due to the amount of time required to work their farms, were forced to sell their produce on consignment through the wholesalers on Western Avenue.
The farmers typically received a percentage of the final sale price for their goods.
They would sell to the middleman on commission, as most farmers would often have no time to sell direct to the public, and their earnings would be on marked up prices and expected sales.
In some cases, the farmers made a profit, but just as often found themselves breaking even, or getting no money at all due to the business practices of the wholesalers.
During the existence of the wholesale houses, which far predated the Market, there were regular rumors as well as instances of corruption in denying payment to farmers.
Consumers were also unhappy with the system.
Manipulated prices often forced them to pay unexpectedly high prices for staple foods.
For example, in 1906 and 1907, the price of food skyrocketed mysteriously.
Onion prices climbed from 10 cents a pound in 1906 to a dollar a pound in 1907 (from US$0.10 to $1.00).
By comparison, a pair of shoes cost $2.00 at the time. 
As the English increasingly used tobacco products, tobacco in the American colonies became significant economic force, especially in the tidewater region surrounding the Chesapeake Bay.
Vast plantations were built along the rivers of Virginia, and social/economic systems developed to grow and distribute this cash crop.
In 1713, the General Assembly (under the leadership of Governor Alexander Spotswood) passed a Tobacco Act requiring the inspection of all tobacco intended for export or for use as legal tender.
In 1730, the Virginia House of Burgesses standardized and improved quality of tobacco exported by establishing the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730, which required inspectors to grade tobacco at 40 specified locations.
Some elements of this system included the importation and employment of slaves to grow crops.
Planters filled large hogsheads with tobacco and convey them to inspection warehouses.
The tobacco economy in the colonies was embedded in a cycle of leaf demand, slave labor demand, and global commerce that gave rise to the Chesapeake Consignment System and Tobacco Lords.
American tobacco farmers would sell their crop on consignment to merchants in London, which required them to take out loans for farm expenses from London guarantors in exchange for tobacco delivery and sale.
Further contracts were negotiated with wholesalers in Charleston or New Orleans to ship the tobacco to London merchants.
The loan was then repaid with profits from their sales.
American planters responded to increased European demand by expanding the size and output of their plantations.
The number of man-hours needed to sustain larger operations increased, which forced planters to acquire and accommodate additional slave labor.
Furthermore, they had to secure larger initial loans from London, which increased pressure to produce a profitable crop and made them more financially vulnerable to natural disasters. 
Secondary wholesale markets are generally found only in developing countries these days.
They are located in district or regional cities and take the bulk of their produce from rural assembly markets located in production areas, where the transactions are small scale and usually take place between farmers and traders.
The distinction between rural assembly markets and secondary wholesale markets is that secondary wholesale markets are in permanent operation (rather than being seasonal in nature or dealing in specialized produce), larger volumes of produce are traded than at the rural assembly markets and specialized functions may be present, such as commission agents and brokers.
Wholesaling include all the activity involved in selling goods and services to those buying for resale or business use .
Firms engaged primarily in wholesaling are called wholesalers.
Wholesalers buy mostly from producers and sell mostly to retailers, industrial consumers, and other wholesalers.
Types of wholesalers:  Merchant wholesalers   Agents   Brokers  1) Merchant wholesalers are the largest single group of wholesalers, accounting for roughly 50 percent of all wholesaling.
Merchant wholesalers include two broad types: full-service wholesalers and limited-service wholesalers .2) Brokers and agents differ from merchant wholesalers in two ways: They do not take title to goods and they perform few function like merchant wholesalers, Like merchant wholesalers, they generally specialize by product line or customer type.
A broker brings buyers and sellers together and assists in negotiation.
Agents represent buyers or sellers on a more permanent basis.
Terminal wholesale markets are located in major metropolitan areas, where produce is finally channelled to consumers through trade between wholesalers and retailers, caterers, etc.
Produce may also be assembled for export.
In some countries, such as India and China, terminal markets also supply other parts of the country.
For example, New Delhi serves as a distribution centre to the south of India for apples grown in the Himalayan foothills.
The problems of terminal wholesale markets are usually ones of congestion caused by an unsuitable location or by an inappropriate mixture of wholesale and retail functions.
Traditionally, wholesale markets were built adjacent to city centres, located at a focal point of the inter-city transport facilities and close to the main retailing areas.
Population growth, changes in urban land-use patterns and the development of modern transport systems have all influenced the suitability and functionality of existing sites. 
To farmers.
Farmers' markets can offer farmers increased profit over selling to wholesalers, food processors, or large grocery firms.
By selling directly to consumers, produce often needs:  less transport  less handling  less refrigeration  less time in storage By selling in an outdoor market, the cost of land, buildings, lighting and air-conditioning is also reduced or eliminated.
Farmers may also retain profit on produce not sold to consumers, by selling the excess to canneries and other food-processing firms.
At the market, farmers can retain the full premium for part of their produce, instead of only a processor's wholesale price for the entire lot.
Where consumers perceive the farmers' produce as of equal or better quality than produce available through grocers, farmers may retain most of the cost savings to themselves.
Some farmers also prefer the simplicity, immediacy, transparency and independence of selling direct to consumers.
By contrast, relations with agricultural conglomerates can be burdened with quite complex contractual details.