Dark tobacco stable as burley declines

(Louisville Courier-Journal) The smell of fire against the crisp fall air is distinct. In a metal-sided barn, rows of dark tobacco hang from the rafters and are cured by a fire underneath the smoke wafting through the leaves. While Kentucky's burley crop has declined since a federal buyout ended the tobacco price-support program, dark tobacco — used for snuff and grown primarily in Western Kentucky — has rebounded.
Kentucky is the largest U.S. supplier of burley and dark tobacco, while North Carolina leads in total tobacco production. Continued

Photo: Ten year old son of tobacco tenant tends the fire which is curing the tobacco in the barn, 1939. (Dorothea Lange)