The Changing Economy of Tobacco in Eastern North Carolina, 1968-98

Abstract

This paper examines the changing economy and geography of tobacco in eastern North Carolina over the past thiny years. Our primary interest is to assess the technological changes that have taken place in cultivation and haivesting, and the impacts of these changes on production practices and the agricultural landscape of one county in the region (Pitt). During the period under study, the tobacco culture of the state has undergone a tremendous transformation that has encompassed every stage of the production process. The most significant innovations in this transformation process have been bulk barns for curing and hydroponic greenhouses for the cultivation of seedlings. One impact of these panicular innovations, and with mechanization in general, is that Hispanic migrant labor has become increasingly imponant to the operation of the tobacco farm.