Some N.C. Growers Feel Cheated by Tobacco Buyout

Source from:  wric.com 01/13/2006

ASHEVILLE, N.C. Some tobacco farmers in western North Carolina say they've been cheated out of thousands of dollars from the federal tobacco buyout. Haywood County farmer Don Smart says burley and flue-cured growers expected to get three dollars a pound, based on what they grew in 2002. Instead, Smart says the U-S Department of Agriculture took an average of 2002, 2003 and 2004, with allowances for short crops or disasters. Smart says he's been shorted about 60-thousand dollars, and he's considering legal action against the U-S-D-A. His attorney has already filed two lawsuits on behalf of two Virginia growers. The Farm Service Agency isn't talking, saying it doesn't comment on pending litigation. The buyout will pay out 951 (m) million dollars a year for ten years. Tobacco companies and importers are footing the bill for the buyout, which allows companies to buy tobacco at a cheaper price. Enditem