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  • From: "Liz Pike" <liz AT laughingbrookfarm.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] tobacco
  • Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 17:23:25 -0500

I've got lots of info about & experience with tobacco but no time to
post...quickly:

Robert, having worked with tobacco all my life, I've never found the plant
to be irritating & I've got sensitive skin. That isn't to say it doesn't
happen, but it hasn't been my personal experience. I've also never seen it
happen when priming or bundling for auction and that's when it's comes into
contact with skin the most. I used to break out occasionally from the
sprays used on the fields I scouted when I wasn't forewarned they'd been
sprayed (arrgghh, if I ever get cancer....)

Wendy, as of last year (things may have changed, but now with the buyout
getting moved up, I doubt it. It was the only talk at a farmer's
appreciation bbq last night.) there's only one company buying organic
tobacco and as of last year they were cutting the number of growers. They
prefer farmers already experienced with growing tobacco, and of course, the
farm must be certified organic. To get in requires a huge investment in
curing barns & hand labor. No matter how they improve the crop it still
requires picking by hand--usually 5-6 pickings, every 5-10 days. That's
alot of labor and it must be done on time or the crop will be nipped by
frost. And then, once it's picked, the real work begins. The barns must be
monitored constantly for adequate drying to develop the flavor...kinda like
Goldilock's porridge. It must be just right. ATTRA has a publication on
organic tobacco production:
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/tobacco.html

Tobacco also requires alot of water/rain/irrigation and a certain amount of
humidity which is why it's a southern/midwest fringe crop.

And for whoever asked about drying. What is processed today has sat in
warehouses for 2-3 years and is "reconstituted". I would never cut it with
a lawn mower. You want the thinnest shreds, not bruised leaves. We used to
roll it up once it had cured and slice very thinly like fresh herbs.

As for tobacco's pesticide quality, it was used as a wormer for cattle &
horses for many many years.

On the days the Winston factories shred tobacco, it smells sooooo good!!
Too bad the cigs don't smell the same.

Liz Pike
Laughingbrook Farm
Westfield NC
http://www.marketfarming.com new content added daily!!
http://www.laughingbrookfarm.com






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