​A Kentucky Tradition

Even though tobacco is an important industry to the state and the University of Kentucky the production of tobacco is actually on the decline. One reason less and less farmers are producing tobacco is because they can’t find a labor force. Tobacco requires a great deal of physical labor. Tobacco is usually planted in the middle of May and cut down to be cured in August and September. So most of the work is done in the middle of summer and it’s all done manually. In Kentucky this span of time usually consists of temperatures in the 90s with high humidity. From personal experiences I can say that when my dad and I have called people to see if they want to help in tobacco there are a lot of no answers. Also some people will help once and then never come back.