NICOTINE BUZZ U.S. FARMERS REDISCOVER THE ALLURE OF TOBACCO
Tobacco is back in the American farm belt.
Three years after the federal government stopped subsidizing it,
the leafy crop is gaining new popularity among U.S. farmers.
Cheaper U.S. tobacco has become competitive as an export, and
China, Russia and Mexico, where cigarette sales continue to
grow, are eager to buy. Since 2005, U.S. tobacco acreage has
risen 20%. Fields are now filled with it in places like southern
Illinois, which hasn't grown any substantial amounts since the
end of World War I. . . .
As laborers from Mexico and Honduras used axes to chop down
6-foot plants and hang them on wooden planks to dry in the sun,
Mr. Barbre explained the attraction of the crop. Even factoring
in higher labor and other costs, he's netting up to $1,800 an
acre from his 150 acres of tobacco, compared with $250 an acre
from his corn. He credits tobacco with boosting his annual
income by about 35% since he started planting the crop three
years ago.
Although corn is flirting with near-record prices at around $4 a
bushel, "there's no way corn can get high enough" to compete with
tobacco, says Mr. Barbre, shaking his head. "There's just too
much money in tobacco." . . .
Mr. Barbre's profitable tobacco business adds a wrinkle to the
debate over the farm bill Congress is preparing to take up. Many
farmers say that without the system of subsidies for commodities
like corn, cotton and soybeans, they'd be at risk of going
under. But critics say the system fosters inefficiency, distorts
international trade and supports mainly the wealthiest farmers.
Now these critics can point to tobacco as evidence that
subsidies are unnecessary.
