Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee have the greatest number of
tobacco farms among tobacco producing states (Capehart, 2004) and lie in the
heart of the “tobacco belt.” These farms tend to be small, averaging 175
acres total and typically averaging 8.4 acres of tobacco (Capehart, 2004).
In terms of revenue from agriculture, Kentucky is the most tobacco-dependent
state (Snell and Goetz, 1997). Tobacco buyout programs in the 1990’s, the end
of tobacco settlement payments in 2005 (KY Tobacco Settlement Trust, 2009),
and the end of tobacco farming subsidies has resulted in decreasing
profitability in tobacco farming, especially in small farms. Decreasing
profitability from tobacco farming is causing many tobacco farmers to
diversify and/or to change crops entirely.
Your family has been growing tobacco for generations. They have many small
fields scattered across the county. Since tobacco has been the only crop
grown for years, no one has paid much attention to the soil types in these
fields or to the mineral nutrients available in the soil. All they know is
that when one field stops yielding well, they let it “go to grass” for a
year or two before growing tobacco there again. Farming families are very
proud of their agricultural heritage and want to ensure that their land will
remain fertile for generations to come. It is very important to them that
the farming practices used be as environmentally friendly as possible in
order to maintain the balance of the ecosystems. Because your family wants
to keep their land and continue in farming, they are considering crop
rotation as a future farming alternative.