Kentucky tobacco producers are seeing perhaps a better growing season than expected.

GREENSBURG, Ky. –Most Kentucky tobacco producers endured a wetter-than-normal planting season which led many to believe their crop may not be the best come harvest time.

And that well could be the case for some producers as harvest begins. However, according to information from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Kentucky tobacco has been listed mostly in the good to excellent categories since the first June crop report.

Kentucky Farm Bureau Second Vice President Larry Clark is a tobacco producer from Green County. He said his area had a few weather events that left the future of his crop in doubt.

“It was wet to begin with and then we had a hailstorm after we had set the first 30 acres,” he said. “I thought that had ruined the crop, but it has actually turned out pretty well.”

Clark admits it’s sort of a balancing act when it comes to getting the right amount of rainfall for a burley crop.

“Tobacco doesn’t like to get its feet wet, so we always hope for not too much rain in the beginning, but we also have to have enough rain for our other crops.”

Clark also grows corn and soybeans on his third-generation farm and said what often is good for one crop may not be the same for another.

“We try not to fuss about the rain too much when we're getting more than we need for the tobacco, but tobacco doesn't do well in wet weather,” he said. “But some ground is better suited for it than others.”

That must be the case on the Clark farm as they get further into their harvest. He said so far, the crop is looking better than expected.

“We raise almost 200 acres of burley tobacco and there are a few spots that look questionable at this point but for the most part we think this will be a good crop,” he said.

Having a good tobacco crop at harvest is one of the keys to making a profit and after two decades of being without the old government tobacco quota system, relationships with contracted companies now have to be maintained in order to have a buyer at the end of the season.

Clark said he understands market fluctuations and said he has a good relationship with his buyers.

“We don't always get all we want or all we need, but we have a good relationship with the guys we have to deal with,” he said. “We can call and talk to each other daily if that's what we want to do and they're welcome at our farm.”

Having those types of relationships has been beneficial to Clark, who has raised tobacco for 43 years. While tobacco is a labor-intensive crop and much of the growing and harvesting hasn't changed a lot over the years, there have been many advancements to help alleviate some of the labor issues that come with raising it today.

“When I started, I had three acres of tobacco and plowed it all with a mule,” he said. “We've gone from that to the point now that we don't even break the ground, we just no-till or a strip-till with everything we do.”

Clark added that while he hasn’t seen much difference in the yield utilizing a no-till system, along with a cover crop for his tobacco, the ground wash is less and there's less labor involved.

“We don't have to work the ground and then prepare to set, and we don't have to plow four or five times, through the season,” he said. “While there is still conventional tillage for many tobacco crops, no-till or strip till is the norm for our farm.”

Clark is taking measures today to ensure the soil health of his farm for the future. His two sons, Colton and Caton help run the farm today. Colton said tobacco on the farm has been a part of his life and raising it is as much about tradition as profitability.

“I don’t ever see not having tobacco on this farm, it’s just something I’ve grown up with,” he said. “I know it’s hard to get started for a younger person especially if you don’t have the equipment and infrastructure to start with. But you also have to make a commitment to the farm and if you’re not willing to do that, then farming may not be for you.”

Colton is already learning the ins and outs of the tobacco farm especially when it comes to profitability and labor issues.

 “It's something we enjoy seeing on the farm and it does have a profit to it in most years,” he said. “If you can handle the H2-A labor part of it. It’s time-consuming and labor-intensive, but if there's still an income in it to be made and an H2-A system that we can use and afford, I can't see myself quitting raising tobacco.”

As tobacco farming has changed over the years, going from the main crop to a more diverse mixture of crops and livestock on the farm, Larry Clark said it’s always a hope that if one crop on the farm has a down year, the others will pick up the difference.

“It’s going to be a better year for tobacco than I thought and hopefully that and our cattle will help offset the lower grain prices we are seeing.”

This could be one of those years when the burley crop may have to prop up the corn and soybeans as grain prices have seen considerable losses over the summer months.

KFB Commodity Specialist Taylor Thompson said that it's no secret that there have been sharp declines in corn and soybean prices.

“These declines have been driven largely by expectations of sufficient supply relative to demand,” he said. “Favorable weather in many areas of the U.S. has played a key role in the expectation of another strong corn and soybean harvest.”

Thompson added that, from a yield perspective, according to the USDA NASS August Crop Production report, 2024 forecasted corn and soybean yields in Kentucky are on par with 2023 at 187 bu./acre and 55 bu./acre, respectively.

While having a diverse farm operation is one way to help keep the farm going, the Clarks’ faith in God may be what helps the most.

“We put a lot of dependence in Him when we put our crops out every year and depend on Him to bring us through and He always has,” Clark said. “We may not make a profit every year, but he takes care of us one way or another.”