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

1/ With land. 2/ Cash rent only. 3/ Leased and transferred in without land. 4/ Pounds sold divided by farm effective quota times 100. na = not available. Source: 1987 and 1989 FCRS.

Burley producers underproduced their effective quota by an average of 22 percent (this does not include quota that was held by farmers or others who produced no tobacco). Underproduction occurs when a grower sells fewer pounds of tobacco than allowed. Underproduction of flue-cured is only 5 percent of effective quota. One cause of burley underproduction is the division of quota through sale of land into holdings too small to produce tobacco economically. Program changes instituted for burley, beginning with the 1991 crop, will allow sale of quota and, in Tennessee, cross-county leasing. This should enable quota to be consolidated more easily. In addition, the upper limit has been increased for the acquisition of burley quota through leasing and transfer in all production areas.

Fewer flue-cured than burley producers owned all the quota they grew (table A-4). The proportion of growers only renting quota was about the same for both types. Fifty-two percent of flue-cured farmers combined ownership and rental. Burley farmers tended to combine ownership with lease and transfer arrangements not available to flue-cured growers. Twenty-two percent of the burley growers surveyed opted for ownership combined with lease and transfer.

Table : Table A-4 - Flue-cured and burley tobacco quota holding arrangements

Arrangement            Flue-cured         Burley
                         (1987)           (1989)
                       Percent of farms
Own all                26                  48
Own and lease           1/                 22
Rent all               22                  19
Own, rent, and lease    1/                  7
Own and rent           52                   3
Lease and rent          1/                  1
Lease all               1/                  0

1/ Not permitted by statute. Source: 1987 and 1989 FCRS.

Labor Use

Flue-cured and burley tobacco vary greatly in the hours of labor required to produce, harvest, and cure a crop (1,2). Flue-cured is frequently harvested mechanically and cured in bulk barns. Burley, on the other hand, is harvested manually and generally cured on tiers (rails) in barns.

Considerably more hours were required to produce burley (using 1989 FCRS results) 1989 than flue-cured (using 1987 results) (table A-5). Producing and marketing an acre of flue-cured required 109 hours, while burley required 267 hours. Labor costs for an acre of flue-cured were much less at $596 compared to burley at $1,132. Labor costs include unpaid family or exchange labor, valued at the average wage rate paid hired workers.

Table : Table A-5 - Flue-cured and burley labor use and expense, and cost of production

Item                        Flue-cured   Burley
                              (1987)     (1989)

Labor

  Hours per acre              109          267
  Hours per  100 pounds         5         13
  Dollars per acre            596        1,132
  Dollars per  100 pounds      28           55