The change makes the country less photogenic, but overall the smaller plantings are a good thing. The oversupply was bad news for cigar smokers. The boom mentality led farmers to plant tobacco wherever they could, often on land that never should have sprouted a tobacco plant. The excess plants and lack of high-quality curing space also caused much of the crop to be improperly handled, cutting into quality. That translated into bad taste in the final product.
Tobacco is a fast-growing crop that needs surprisingly little moisture to thrive.
A dry season means tobacco will be stronger, more intense in flavor. The ground was cracked. Gomez told me there had been only one day of rain, and he had to open the canals on the property to irrigate. The tobacco was lush and beautiful. We're going to get a higher yield.