Although Farmers Still grow Tobacco, Md. no Longer has Auction

Source from:  delawareonline.com Monday, February 5, 2007 02/07/2007

A state buyout program and an industry change to raising tobacco on contract for the cigarette industry mean Maryland is facing its first spring since 1939 without a tobacco auction. Farmers used to haul loads to warehouses where auctioneers dealt their crops to cigarette makers and other buyers. But with only about 150 growers left, an agricultural tradition has ended. "There's a sadness associated with it by people who grew up in this industry, because it was a cultural gathering point," said S. Patrick McMillan, an assistant secretary in the Maryland Department of Agriculture. In 2001, the state offered farmers a decade's worth of annual payments in exchange for ceasing tobacco production. Eighty-three percent of the eligible growers signed contracts, eliminating about 7.6 million pounds from Maryland's tobacco pool, according to the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, which monitors the program. Those farmers still in the market contract directly with the cigarette industry to sell their crop. Most of them are Amish and Mennonite farmers who do not participate in government programs, said David L. Conrad, a tobacco expert with the University of Maryland's extension service. While contracting has contributed to the demise of tobacco auctions, it has helped the waning industry. Maryland's farmers harvested about 1 million pounds of tobacco last year, nearly 300,000 more pounds than in 2005. "I predict in 2007, we'll produce even more," Conrad said. Contracting has been a trend in agriculture for years, with large distribution companies paying farmers to produce their goods, such as livestock and produce, he said. Earl "Buddy" Hance, president of the Maryland Farm Bureau, does not see the tobacco industry going the way of its auctions. "It's certainly already a much smaller industry," he said. "But as long as those individual growers are around, and those cigarette companies are willing to buy it, tobacco will probably be around." Enditem