After that fire, the town of Chapel Hill passed an ordinance requiring sprinkler systems. Currently, tobacco sold at auction in warehouses is graded by federal experts. But the law does not require this of tobacco that companies buy directly from farmers. And at a meeting called by the Kentucky and North Carolina farm bureaus, participants say that's not good enough. They want federal law changed to expand grading requirements.
Farmers say graders are paid from fees levied on the tobacco they grade.
So the farmers say contracted tobacco must be included to keep the grading program solvent. The grading system is a key component of setting price supports under the tobacco program. Strawberry farmers were up all night spraying their crops so they would be protected with a glaze of ice that prevents further exposure to the cold. Sandhills Extension Agent Roger Galloway says the area's peach growers had some slight damage over the past two nights, but it appears the bulk of the crop made it through. The Sandhills produce the bulk of the state's peach crop.