Tobacco Rises, Still Down From Decade Ago

Source from:  ThirdAge 09/22/2011

Tobacco crops in the United States saw a 1 percent rise in production from 2010, but are still down almost 28 percent from a decade ago, reports the AP. Farmers are expected to produce 726 million pounds of tobacco in 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, a decade ago, more than 991 million pounds of tobacco was produced for cigarettes and other products. There are a number of proposed reasons for the decline, including tax hikes, bans, health concerns and the social stigma of cigarettes and tobacco. But, in growing markets like Asia, tobacco is still strong, offsetting worldwide declines and contributing greatly to U.S. exports. The AP interviewed Gene Witt, a third-generation tobacco farmer, who said the current climate of tobacco farming is as tough as ever - from the weather to the tobacco companies that sign up farmers under production contracts to supply them with leaf. Tobacco companies can now select what part of a crop they want to buy. Witt told the AP, "It used to be fun and you made some money. You're not making as much money now and it's not as fun." Since the 2004 tobacco buyout, which introduced a free-market system to replace a Depression-era price support program, tobacco production in the United States has fallen sharply. Anti-smoking efforts have only further debilitated tobacco farmers and some companies are also looking at crops overseas, where tobacco can be grown less expensively, reports the AP. In Kentucky, for example, which is the nation's top producer of burley tobacco, production is down about 11 percent from last year and down nearly 43 percent from 10 years ago. Enditem