We know that farmers, our rural economy, and the tobacco industry will best be served by this program where tobacco supplies are kept in line with demand for this legal product. North Carolina has systematically over the past 30 years been diversifying its agricultural economy. North Carolina has evolved from being wholly dependent on this single crop to being the 3rd most diversified agriculture state in the nation. Tobacco income fueled this transition. It is a 1 billion dollar annual crop to our farm families.
Tobacco provides our money in the market place.
We still have a long way to go. There are no agricultural alternatives to replace tobacco's income. No one has found a better answer other than to continue with a tobacco program. The infrastructure to support diversification programs for new factories and industry does not exist in most rural counties. The infrastructure exists now to grow tobacco and grow it well.