I remember the disappointment of waking up Christmas morning many times, only to find out tobacco was in order (some places call it in case). Christmas morning would be put on hold to go take down tobacco.
These knives are not needed around here anymore....
- Thread starter jltrent
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FlyingLSimmentals
Well-known member
It was school during the day, homework to do as soon as I got home and tobacco stripping at night afterwards. Lots of time homework got forgotten or bypassed, lol. Christmas Day we did usually take off but Dec. 26 my birthday seemed to be spent every year in the outside garage or barn stripping tobacco all day. All the other kids thought I had it made every year having my birthday while we were out of school for Christmas break.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Did you tie it in hands and pack it on a basket or bale it? Baling took a lot of the work away also.Bigfoot said:
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Also did you strip it hanging the stick up or take the stalks off the stick and strip the leaves one stalk at a time
OP
OP
jltrent
Well-known member
On a good day I could grade (strip) up to 250 sticks hanging up. I never could seem to get along good one stalk at a time. In good tobacco I got 2 1/2 lbs. average per stick, around 3000 lbs an acre.
Around here, the stalks were taken off the stick and stripped one stalk at a time. Depending on how many grades one put it in, usually three or four, there was a person for each grade. I believe the first person stripped trash and passed it on. It was tied in hands in my grandparents day, and putting it in bales came along later.
Ky hills
Well-known member
We always took it off the stick and piled the stalks up and covered it up with plastic to keep it in case. During my time we stripped it in 3 grades. Sometimes each person would strip the whole stalk and keep the grades separated, then some people would just strip one grade and pass it on down. Our grades were flyings (flines as we pronounced it), lugs, and red or tips. Some people years before had broken it down further into long red and short red. If there was enough help then somebody had the job of flunky which was to keep the strippers in tobacco to strip and to carry the leaves to the baling box and carry out the stripped stalks to the manure spreader to be spread out in the field. We never had that extra person so everybody just took care of their own flunking I guess you could say.
kenny thomas said:
Both. Bulked on baskets as a kid, and later when baleing became a thing we baled it. I'm pretty sure we got 15 extra cents for continuing to tie. Eventually they eased up, and you just baked dark tobacco loose.
We did it one stalk at a time, hand tied and packed on baskets. We never grew more than 5 acres that I recall. We tried to have it done before Christmas.
JMJ Farms
Well-known member
Funny how things differ depending on location. Unless I'm misunderstanding, we never stripped it. We placed the leaves in racks in the barns, cooked for usually 7 days, unloaded the barn and dumped the leaves onto big burlap sheets, then tied the sheets like trash bags, loaded onto a 6 wheeler truck, and hauled to the buyer. Buyer graded the tobacco and paid the farmer according to the grade. Harvesters and balers didn't make it here until right about the time the buyout came along.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
You grew flue cured, we grew Burley. Lots of difference in the process. Took months for the Burley to cure where you cured it in 7 days.JMJ Farms said:
littletom
Well-known member
Have really enjoyed reading through this. I bought more knives and spears this morning. We will start cutting mid week if weather works out. I wish i knew how to post pics i could really warm you guys hearts. So much has changed but so much is just how you remember it. Some of the best things are we can take care of weeds and worms at setting. No more plant beds, and it goes in 650 pound bales. And outdoor scaffolds I have 30000 sticks hanging on high tensile wire with plastic over them. Most years it cures better than barns.
About the ky regional things still going. Here it has always been set in strips since time when base went from acres to pounds. Most have a drive through every 12 rows and pass sticks over when cut. 20 miles north east set solid sticks dropped off hi boy. Closer to lexington they drive them.
Tobacco has really consolidated proably 500 acres within 8 miles of this chair im setting in. Then may drive hour before see anymore.
Bigfoot I know the type you ate with. I'm nasty with dirty shoes most days by 7. I do top with them pretty often I have not cut any or been in a barn for a few years. Just don't have time running my but off. Moving equitment between farms, a big part of life is setting in a jd 6500, and putting out fires, and doing endless paperwork. Next two months god knows how many tires i will change. We still strip on christmas most year.
We cut for 3 days and pickup for 4 days. Boys have off sunday unless rain is coming. I move sticks wagons and fix whatever got torn up. We pickup 15 flatwagons in the morning then they unload them i drag all those wagons back next day.
About the ky regional things still going. Here it has always been set in strips since time when base went from acres to pounds. Most have a drive through every 12 rows and pass sticks over when cut. 20 miles north east set solid sticks dropped off hi boy. Closer to lexington they drive them.
Tobacco has really consolidated proably 500 acres within 8 miles of this chair im setting in. Then may drive hour before see anymore.
Bigfoot I know the type you ate with. I'm nasty with dirty shoes most days by 7. I do top with them pretty often I have not cut any or been in a barn for a few years. Just don't have time running my but off. Moving equitment between farms, a big part of life is setting in a jd 6500, and putting out fires, and doing endless paperwork. Next two months god knows how many tires i will change. We still strip on christmas most year.
We cut for 3 days and pickup for 4 days. Boys have off sunday unless rain is coming. I move sticks wagons and fix whatever got torn up. We pickup 15 flatwagons in the morning then they unload them i drag all those wagons back next day.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
I can't imagine 500 acres any more. This county once survived on tobacco and now there might be 40 acres. I have seen trucks lines up for 24 hours to unload at the warehouse. Every piece of land had tobacco. It's very very rare here now.
A few tried hemp last year and it has put them in a financial bind. None of it has sold a year later.
A few tried hemp last year and it has put them in a financial bind. None of it has sold a year later.
littletom
Well-known member
Biggest one here trying to do it right has close to 500 himself. Some bigger playing games. Most of the ones here that are left have 75 plus. Saw a 200 acre field set solid couple years that was crazy to see. Barn down the road few miles holds 96 acres. It's mostly gone but still pretty big in my community. The legends mexicans ride around in a full size school bus. Funny to see it parked in a field.
littletom
Well-known member
Now we schedule at the receiving station in and hour or so thankfully. Company i sell about all of it too only take big bales so goes pretty fast. When I was a kid my parents let skip school to watch mine at auction times sure changed. And it didn't cost 3200 a acre to grow.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Do you provide the housing? That in itself would be a headache
kenny thomas
Well-known member
I can't imagine the cost per acre back in the 60's and 70's. We sharecropped so all we supplied was the labor. All family members working or swapped work with neighbors.littletom said:
littletom
Well-known member
Yes you got close to the same price as now. But it is better with out quota. Yes we must provide housing state comes to inspect 45 days prior to workers arriving. They tell you how many people can live there and what changes to make. I have one farm house for 8 guys and a house trailer for 4 guys. We also have to provide transportation and workers comp. And boat load of paper work goes with it.kenny thomas said:
