There’s a good article in the Mecklenburg Sun (Clarkesville, Va.) on the challenge before tobacco farmers in light of the new federal buyout law that does away with price supports.
Tradition and habit is bumping against a great deal of uncertainty as to whether local growers can make money in the post-buyout, price support-free environment.
Local growers and farm representatives agree that prices for tobacco in 2005 will fall sharply, from somewhere around $1.80 per pound to as low as $1.35. However, without the cost of administering the price support program, many growers believe they can still make decent money on tobacco.