For us who consume tobacco, it’s a hobby or an addiction or a passion, or a combination of those.
But for tobacco farmers it’s pure business.
The flue cured leaf (Virginia) I enjoy so much is produced today using about a minute per pound labor, as much as thirty times less than centuries ago.
Reading that, I’m reminded of my conversation with the last full time row crop farmer in our county. He was breaking down the $400 or so cost per acre to plant and harvest corn, and I said you forgot labor.
He smiled and said my labor is part of my profit.
I said what about the labor you hire?
He smiled and said what I pay a kid to operate a half million dollar piece of machinery doesn’t matter much, it’s way less than an hour an acre. What matters is my machinery comes back in one piece.
Mechanization is why tobacco leaf averages about $2 a pound.
But for tobacco farmers it’s pure business.
The flue cured leaf (Virginia) I enjoy so much is produced today using about a minute per pound labor, as much as thirty times less than centuries ago.
Reading that, I’m reminded of my conversation with the last full time row crop farmer in our county. He was breaking down the $400 or so cost per acre to plant and harvest corn, and I said you forgot labor.
He smiled and said my labor is part of my profit.
I said what about the labor you hire?
He smiled and said what I pay a kid to operate a half million dollar piece of machinery doesn’t matter much, it’s way less than an hour an acre. What matters is my machinery comes back in one piece.
Mechanization is why tobacco leaf averages about $2 a pound.