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Stripping and Marketing
Fully cured
leaves are brittle to the touch. These leaves cannot be handled
easily unless the leaves have a certain moisture content in
the leaf. This moisture helps the farmer handle the leaves so
they can be prepared for market.
 Usually this moisture
will be in the tobacco during humid conditions so the leaves
can absorb atmospheric moisture. If conditions do not allow
for this then leaves may be steamed or misted so they can be
handled.
Once the
leaves have enough moisture in them to be handled then they
are taken out of the curing facility. When the plants are taken
off of the sticks they were put on during harvesting the leaves
are then stripped off. This can either be done completely by
hand or there are machines that can do this for the farmer.
As the leaves
are taken off of the stalk they are graded based upon their
color, size, and physical condition. These leaves are then gathered
together and put into bales. The bales are less than 100 pounds
in weight. Tobacco that is now put in bales was once hand-tied
and placed into baskets. The baskets were also graded before
they reacted the market. The bales today are then taken to a
warehouse where they are auctioned off. Before the bales are
auctioned though federal graders grade them. This grade helps
determine the price of the tobacco is sold for is a company
does not buy the tobacco. If a company does not purchase the
tobacco, then it goes to what is known as the "pool."
This is actually the Burley
Tobacco Growers Cooperative.
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