Some tobacco farmers see sales light up again

By The Associated Press

Published: November 30, 2008

MOUNT STERLING, Ky. — Lindsay Pasley is an eager young man in what used to be an older man’s game — tobacco farming.

He recently took 20 tons of his early prepared leaf to Clay’s Tobacco Warehouse in Mount Sterling, due east of Lexington in the Appalachian foothills, where he said he earned enough to "have a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

Clay’s is the last tobacco warehouse standing in Mount Sterling, once home to four. Owner Roger Wilson, who has watched as longtime growers have switched crops or quit farming altogether over the years, hopes to sell more than 2 million pounds this season, comparable to last year but down about half from the days before Congress pulled the plug on a Depression-era buyout program. Yet Pasley, 28, wants to quadruple his acreage.

A decade ago, tobacco seemed destined to wither as cigarette companies shelled out tens of billions to settle lawsuits with states. Smoking bans then swept the country and — worst of all for the small-time grower — Congress cut off the quota system four years ago.

As a rebound in production shows, however, Big Tobacco and individual growers alike have proven as resilient as their leaf, aided by a boost in exports primarily to Germany and Switzerland and by new marketing tactics emphasizing smokeless options.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, production of all tobacco varieties fell 27 percent to 640 million pounds in 2005.

This year, production climbed to 805 million pounds — within 10 percent of the 2004 level of 882 million pounds.

We’ve had so many to drop out, that for the ones who stay in there are opportunities.”

Will Snell
economist

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