Number of N.C. Growers Decline, But County Numbers Increase

Source from:  tobaccofarmquarterly.com Thursday, July 5, 2007 07/06/2007

The number of tobacco farmers in North Carolina has declined due to the elimination of federal price supports and a decline in smoking, but some counties have become even bigger producers of tobacco, according to a report from the Associated Press. The number of tobacco farmers in the state dropped from 10,000 in 2004 to 5,000 last year, says the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina. But tobacco is a $1.2 billion crop in the United States, which contributes 5 percent of the world's production after once dominating leaf supply. North Carolina still is the largest domestic producer, growing about 70 percent of the U.S. leaf. While many farmers retired from tobacco with their buyout checks, others saw a new freedom to grow leaf where they wanted instead of commuting by tractor to small, scattered plots they rented. "If you zig when everyone else zags, you open up a market," said Brent Pope, a fourth-generation tobacco farmer near Kenly, referring to farmers who have stayed in the tobacco business. Johnston County leads the state in production with 22.3 million pounds of leaf in 2006, a 25 percent increase since the price supports ended in 2004. Price supports stopped after a federal buyout of the quotas that had supported the tobacco farming industry for decades. Enditem