Tobacco Crop High Quality This Year, Farmer Says

Source from:  foxcarolina.com November 12, 2007 11/13/2007

A burley tobacco farmer said this year's crop is high quality. Farmers in the North Carolina mountains have planted smaller crops since the tobacco quota buyout. Warren Anders, of Madison County, said this is the best crop he's grown in his 50 years in the business. Anders said he planted 20 acres this year instead of the 75 to 100 he and his son have planted in the past. Part of the reason is the higher cost of fertilizer and fuel as well as stagnant prices. It's also harder to find migrant labor to gather the crop. The tobacco quota buyout gave farmers and land owners a payment in exchange for giving up a price support program. Half of the 4,000 burley farmers in western North Carolina stopped growing the crop last year. Enditem