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Article: Philip Morris Plans to Contract Directly with North Carolina Tobacco Farmers.(Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
- Article date:
- December 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Dec. 1--In a move that will transform the way tobacco has been grown and sold in North Carolina since the Great Depression, cigarette giant Philip Morris has decided to contract directly with Tar Heel farmers starting next year.
That probably hastens the demise of two of the icons of harvest time in North Carolina: the dusty, bustling tobacco auction warehouse and the singsong cadence of the leaf auctioneer.
Warehouses and auctioneers are part of the government price-support system for tobacco, which dates to the 1930s. The program requires farmers to take their crop to a specific warehouse, where it is sold in an open auction. Tobacco that doesn't draw ...