We should not close our minds to the many aspects of producing, processing and distributing this commodity. The grass, in this case, is the small tobacco farmers, quota owners, their families and the communities that depend upon them. For too long, agribusiness, tobacco growers, quota owners, and the communities that depend upon them have been left in a cloud of uncertainty that overshadows the ray of hope generated by the first declarations of a tobacco settlement. Stability is the key to this situation, as farmers and their communities can not handle nor afford this protracted instability. Many may walk away.
Tobacco is one of the main reasons that small farmers are able to stay in business.