Burley cutting time

Posted August 27, 2014 at 2:29 pm

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Tobacco crops used to be a very common sight in Clinton County, but over the past several years, more and more farmers are steering away from the crop, mainly due to the Tobacco Transition Payment Program or more commonly known as “Tobacco Buyout.” The TTPP started paying farmers in 2005. On October 22, 2004, President Bush signed the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which included the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform.

In recent years, many farmers have found substitute crops to take the place of their former burley crops, but others have been found returning to the growing of tobacco.

One such case is the crop being grown this year just north of Albany on the new U.S. 127 Bypass by a young Clinton County farmer, Derek Guffey.

In the above photo, Justin Brown, who was working in Guffey’s tobacco crop with several others, is shown Monday morning cutting tobacco on the Perry Hay farm. Guffey, Hay’s grandson-in-law, planted over five acres of tobacco this season.

After storms containing heavy rains and strong winds passed through Clinton County Saturday night, that blew over many sticks of tobacco that had already been cut, Brown said they were able to stand up the sticks before too much damage had occurred to the plants.