of Burle\ . Four workers in a farm family is an average. 



There were 149,594 tobacco farm allotments for Ken- 

 tucky in 1971. A few farms have more than one type 

 allotment. More than one family may be working on 

 the large farms. At planting, harvesting and stripping 

 times, the farm population is somewhat increased. 



A recent analysis showed that during a ten-month 

 period an average of 339 hours of labor an acre is re- 

 quired to produce a Burley crop in Kentucky. At an 

 estimated running outlay of $950 an acre, the capital 

 needed to produce the 1971 Burley crop in Kentucky 

 came to about $135,85(),()0(). Growers have to finance 

 their farming operations, including wages to hired 

 hands, until their crops are sold at auction— their sole 

 pay daw 



The art of hand labor is retained in most pliases of 

 culti\ating, harvesting, and curing. Ecjuipment for ac- 

 celerating the chore of transplanting has largely elimi- 

 nated that general occupational backache, but the hu- 

 man element is still a controlling factor in the operation. 



c 



rop procedure and improved research 



"Making" a tobacco crop invoKes more hand labor 

 than an\- other major agricultural activity. Seeds are 

 planted in a treated seedbed during March, trans- 

 planted to the field in late Ma\- and early June. Disease 

 and insects are \erv destructive during the summer 

 and re(|uire careful attention by the grower. W'hen the 

 plants ha\e reached the bloom stage, the flowers are 

 removed so that full-bodied, highly aromatic Burle\' 

 can be produced. Suckers are not allowed to grow . 



The crop is cut b\ hand in September and placed in 

 a barn built for tiiis purpo.se. It is then air cured for 

 two months. After curiiii: it is thiMi remo\ ed from tiie 



