they save energy and do the job faster. Also, it is easier to secure seasonal help if the worker can ride while he works. 
Growers report that the machines cost about $1,000. One grower says he made some for his own use at an average 
cost of about $700 per machine. 
It is believed that a pony-type priming aid similar to that now being used in Canada could be used on some U.S. 
flue-cured farms, keeping in mind that average acreages in the United States are much smaller and that some growers 
might not have family labor. 
About 200 university students from France spent the summer working in Ontario’s tobacco harvest. They had 
been recruited by the Canadian National Railway office in Paris. They began leaving the tobacco area September 18 
for short tours before returning. 
No camps for itinerant tobacco workers operated in the Ontario tobacco area this year. 
A completely mechanized harvesting operation, using two-row high-boy type tobacco harvester, was visited. The 
harvester carried four senior high school or college boys as primers; two more on the top deck received the tobacco 
that was elevated from the primers. The two on the top deck placed the tobacco in bulk-curing racks (the tobacco 
was held in the racks by a bar with spikes and clamps). The filled racks were placed on a carrying frame holding 12 
bulk-curing racks. The machine was self-steering except when turning at the end of the rows. 
A man with a tractor met the harvester at the end of the rows and took (pulled) the filled rack, which had sled 
runners, to the curing area. There were seven bulk-curing kilns or barns which had been installed to make 
mechanization of harvest and curing nearly complete. 
The tractor driver, working alone with a mechanicai hoist, transferred one at a time the 12 filled bulk-curing 
frames to the bulk-curing kiln. Each of the frames, filled with the uncured tobacco, weighed almost 200 pounds. No 
other help was needed in filling the kilns, which reduced the need for workers at the kiln location. This particular 
operation, with the two-row high-boy priming aid coupled with the bulk-curing system, resulted in substantial 
savings in labor costs. 
‘The bulk-curing kilns were doing a good job. The cured leaf drawn from the kiln was graded in the pack barn 
and baled in a small hydraulic press or baler. The humidifying equipment on the bulk-curing kilns can be used to 
raise the humidity following the curing operation so that the tobacco coming from the kiln is in “case” for good 
handling and pliable for grading and packing in the baling press. The bales were wrapped with kraft-type paper, tied 
securely, and stored, each bale weighing 60-70 pounds. 
Use of the bulk-curing equipment brought substantial savings in labor. The grower stated that in the back barn, 
where five people had worked in the “strip” room, three could now do the job. The labor savings, particularly at the 
kiln, could be used in grading at the pack barn. 
The bulk-curing kilns used in this operation cost about $5,000, plus wiring. For seven kilns the total cost would 
be about $38,000. A single electrical hoist was being used to fill the seven kilns; the cost was about $250. 
The average fuel cost per “kiln” of tobacco would not be known until the end of the season. The grower 
believed, however, that since the kilns were fully insulated, the fuel cost per pound of tobacco would be 
comparatively low. 
Marketing 
As mentioned earlier in this publication, Ontario’s flue-cured tobacco is controlled by the Ontario Flue-Cured 
Growers’ Marketing Board. The tobacco is auctioned in three warehouses using the Dutch Clock system of selling. 
The organization that represents the burley growers is the Burley Tobacco Marketing Association of Canada. 
In Quebec Province flue-cured tobacco is marketed by direct negotiations between grower and buying company 
representatives. The Tobacco Growers’ Cooperative in Quebec plays a part in the sale of cigar tobacco. 
In the Maritime Provinces tobacco is sold by a 1-day sale system in each Province. 
Exports 
Canada is the fourth largest exporter of flue-cured tobacco, following the United States, Rhodesia, and India. 
Canadian export data does not separate the origin of exports by Province; therefore, exports include tobacco 
from both Ontario and the other tobacco-producing Provinces. However, less than 5 percent would come from 
Provinces other than Ontario. 
