The 1999 tobacco-selling season concludes today on a higher note than expected across Kentucky and other burley belt states. Some tobacco officials say that the crop's quality was below average this year but that it could have been worse considering last summer's drought, which extended through the fall.
Quality is dependent on fluctuations in moist and dry air.
But about 40 percent has been purchased by the cooperative and placed in its pool stocks. Last year, the pool take was 12.8 percent in Kentucky. Mr. Althauser said he will not have final numbers until Friday, but he thinks 542 million pounds of tobacco will be sold throughout the tobacco belt this year. He estimated that about 377 million pounds will be sold in Kentucky markets. Kentucky generally averages about 70 percent of sales for the burley belt and has about 20 burley markets.