By Blake Jackson
In 1994, Kentucky tobacco producers cultivated 187,000 acres, producing over 453 million pounds valued at nearly $841 billion. A decade later, the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act eliminated the longstanding federal quota system established in 1938, dramatically changing the industry.
By 2024, the state’s tobacco crop had shrunk to 32,800 acres, yielding over 75 million pounds worth nearly $200 million. Market shifts over the past three decades have made tobacco a smaller part of Kentucky agriculture. Master Settlement funds, managed through the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, have helped diversify farms once heavily reliant on tobacco.
Kentucky Farm Bureau Second Vice President Larry Clark, who grew up on his family’s farm in Exie, Green County, says tobacco remains as much about tradition as profit.
“We grew up with the tobacco and dad always taught us to have pride in it, the way we grew it, the way we shipped it, and the way we presented it at the market,” Clark said. “I think that caused us to have it in our blood, and it is a tradition that we carry on.”
Clark recalls the days of warehouse auctions under the federal quota system.
“In the early 2000s, that quota system went away and was replaced by a contract system, and it's been a lot different ever since,” Clark said.
Today, Clark’s farm includes cattle, grains, hemp, and 218 acres of burley tobacco.
“I think the relationships growers have with the tobacco companies are vital to our continuing in the tobacco business, especially for the younger generation. But we have diversified our farm so our two sons will have the opportunity to continue farming whether they continue to grow tobacco or not,” Clark said.
“There are some crops that look really good, and there are some that are really struggling," Bob Pearce, a burley tobacco specialist and extension professor at the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment said.
"We had a fair amount that either got planted late or, in some cases, maybe didn't get planted at all because of the weather, so it's all over the place this year.”
Clark cherishes the family tradition. “We will continue to farm here and raise tobacco, because that's what we do, it's a family tradition,” he said.
Photo Credit: istock-infrontphoto
Categories: Kentucky, Crops, Tobacco