| Burley tobacco is one of the most
labor-intensive crops grown. The steps taken to produce burley
tobacco require a great deal of patience and perseverance, but
for many people it is not about making a profit but rather about
a sense of their heritage.
Tobacco from the seed to the final
product it is a part of the history of Kentucky. Tobacco is
the number one cash crop in Kentucky and there are more counties
that are dependent on money that comes from tobacco than in
any other state. Kentucky is the second leading producer of
tobacco in the nation and world wide it is in the top in production.
When tobacco is produced it is
necessary to take the proper steps in raising it. There are
several steps that have to be taken before tobacco is ready
to take to market. These steps include:
- Planting
- Transplanting
- Cultivation
- topping
- Spraying
- Cutting
- Housing/Harvesting
- Curing
- Bulking
- Stripping
- Baling
- Selling
There are also other steps that
can be taken when you are not raising burley tobacco.
Burley tobacco is not the only
type of tobacco that is grown. There is also flue cured and
dark fired tobacco, but burley tobacco is the primary type grown
in Kentucky. North Carolina is the largest producer of tobacco
with flue-cured being the type they produce the most of.
Burley tobacco is primarily grown
in 8 states with Kentucky being the primary state in which it
is grown. It is also grown in Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, North
Carolina, Missouri, West Virginia, and Indiana. Kentucky is
the largest producer of burley tobacco and the second largest
tobacco producing state only trailing North Carolina. There
are burley tobacco markets in 5 state where tobacco is grown.
Production is limited to these
8 states because these states are the ones where growers have
quotas. A quota means that a grower is allotted a certain number
of pounds, which they can grow. For information about the quota
system and how it was started the Burley
Tobacco Grower’s has more complete information.
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