Lavender Replacing tobacco

Source from:  Tue, July 10, 2007 By HANK DANISZEWSKI, SUN MEDIA 07/13/2007

Robert Koprich once grew tobacco but now the sweet, subtle scent of lavender wafts across his Delhi-area farm. Someday, he hopes it will smell like money. With Ontario's once-mighty tobacco industry rapidly shrinking, Koprich is one of hundreds of former growers looking for a profitable alternative. They've tried everything over the years, from ginseng and peanuts to tomatoes and asparagus. Last spring, Koprich planted 1.5 acres of lavender shrubs, hoping to turn it into a cash crop. His family grew tobacco for 30 years, but two years ago he rented out his tobacco quota and some of his land. "I couldn't get financing from the bank to grow a crop. It just wasn't viable," he said. He switched to niche crops such as pumpkins, garlic and now lavender. He heard about former tobacco growers in Australia who turned lavender into a commercial crop. Lavender grows well in arid conditions and the sandy soil found in the tobacco belt. It needs little irrigation and resists most insects except bees who love lavender plants, turning out lavender honey. Lavender has been grown since ancient times for its scent and medicinal properties. Oil extracted from its flowers is used in products such as soaps, perfumes, candles and decorative wreaths. It can also be used as a cooking herb and insect repellent. Koprich hopes tobacco growers can negotiate a government buyout so he can buy a steam processor that sells for about $5,000. That would allow him to refine the essential oil from the lavender flowers. The oil sells for about $1,000 a gallon. Each acre of the crop can produce one or two gallons. "That about $2,000 an acre. That's like tobacco in the good old days," he said. Koprich is marketing his crop under the name Purple Daze Lavender Farm and plans an open house this weekend at his farm at 2985 Rhineland Rd. Enditem