N.C. Burley Tobacco Farmers Worry About Buyout

Source from:  ASHEVILLE, N.C. 03/29/2005

Some tobacco farmers in western North Carolina say they're concerned they won't get fair treatment in the $10.1 billion tobacco buyout. Many local growers were under the impression they would receive payments based on their 2002 effective quota -- the amount the federal government allowed them to grow under the old tobacco program. But the payout is being calculated on how much tobacco the farmer grew and took to market. The quota produced can be significantly lower than the effective quota in mountain counties. Down east, where land is more abundant, farmers tend to plant more tobacco and don't come up short of the annual limit as often. Ednitem