Characteristics of flue-cured and burley farms compared - selected characteristics of flue-cured and burley tobacco farms compared, including acreage, production and yield to promote better understanding of two main types of tobacco grown in United States; quota holding arrangements contrasted; land tenure and economic differences examined; includes references - U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service report

Situation and Outlook Report: Tobacco, June, 1991 by Tom Capehart

Abstract: Selected characteristics of flue-cured and burley tobacco farms are compared to provide a better understanding of the two main kinds of tobacco grown in the United States. The data used is from Farm Costs and Returns Surveys conducted for each kind of tobacco. Acreage, production, and yield are compared. Regulations are examined and quota holding arrangements are contrasted. Land tenure and farm size, as well as complementary crops and livestock enterprises are examined. Economic differences between burley and flue-cured farms, and the relative economic importance of tobacco to each are noted.

Keywords: Burley tobacco, flue-cured tobacco, acreage, production, quota, tenure, income

Introduction

In 1990, flue-cured and burley accounted for 58 and 37 percent, respectively, of United States tobacco production. Because of different cultural characteristics, climatic and soil requirements, and regulatory restrictions, flue-cured production is limited to six States and burley is produced in eight States (table A-1). Flue-cured is mainly grown in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Florida, (in declining order of 1990 acreage). In addition, Alabama grows a very small amount. In 1990, 939 million pounds of flue-cured were produced on 416,900 acres in the United States. Burley tobacco is produced in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Indiana, Missouri, and West Virginia (in declining order of 1990 acreage). In 1990, 596 million pounds of burley were produced on 270,600 acres.

Table : Table A-1 - Tobacco production by type and State, 1990

                                       Production
State             Acres                1,000 lbs.
                             Burley
Kentucky         185,000                419,950
Tennessee         46,000                 94,760
Virginia          11,000                 22,605
Ohio               9,700                 18,915
North Carolina     8,200                 17,999
Indiana            6,400                 13,440
Missouri           2,600                  5,928
West Virginia      1,700                  2,720
Total            270,600                596,317
                           Flue-cured
North Carolina   276,000                621,640
South Carolina    51,000                109,905
Georgia           43,000                103,845
Virginia          40,000                 84,800
Florida            6,900                 19,044
Total            416,900                939,234
                   Flue-cured and burley
United States    687,500   1,535,551

Source: Crop Production, 1990 Summary, USDA/NASS, January 1991.

Selected characteristics of flue-cured and burley tobacco farms are examined in this article. Acreage, production, quota holding arrangements and regulations, farm size and tenure, complementary enterprises, income sources, and financial well-being are compared.

Tobacco is an important source of income for farmers in tobacco growing regions. Because of Government programs, growers receive a guaranteed minimum price for their product. Knowing the characteristics of tobacco farms and how they derive their income is important in determining how potential changes in regulations and economic conditions could affect producers.

The USDA Farm Costs and Returns Survey

The farm level analysis in this report is based on data collected through the Farm Costs and Returns Surveys (FCRS) conducted by the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Flue-cured tobacco farmers were interviewed in early 1988 for 1987 calendar year information, and burley farmers were interviewed in 1990 on 1989 calendar year activities. Since the survey results for the two types of tobacco are from different years, some conclusions will be affected by changes in the farm economy or other structural factors which occurred between surveys. However, comparisons between survey years are still meaningful.

The FCRS is a probability based survey; all farms in the areas surveyed had an equal chance of being included in the sample. NASS assigned expansion factors to each observation so representative means, medians, and ratios could be analyzed. All calculations are cumulatively weighted by these expansion factors to give each survey observation a weight representative of its share of the population.

All the data and statistics presented in the remainder of this report are based on these two surveys. Survey results might differ from official USDA estimates prepared by NASS.

Acreage, Production, and Yield

Flue-cured tobacco is grown on much larger farms than burley. Average flue-cured acreage per farm is 15.8, while that of burley is 3.2 (table A-2). Burley tobacco is harvested and cured using labor intensive methods that make it less suited for large holdings. In addition, regulations concerning the consolidation of quota have been more restrictive for burley than flue-cured. Since 1982, flue-cured quota could be sold, within a county, separately from the farm to which the allotments were attached. Burley quota was tied to the farm and could not be sold separately until 1991.