Sunday, February 10, 2013

They still raise tobacco, don't they? Yes, and in the Black Patch, it's mostly a family thing

Tobacco farming has changed considerably since federal quotas and price supports ended in 2004, but  for the relative few who still raise the crop, the job remains much like it has been for a century or more -- especially in the Black Patch of southwestern Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee, where generations of families have raised dark fired tobacco, used mainly in snuff and chewing tobacco.

"Sharing the complexities of the craft with those who are unfamiliar is not an easy task," but a documentary premiering Monday night on Kentucky Educational Television "intends to do just that," Bobbie Bryant writes for The Courier-Journal of Louisville. The film, "Farming in the Black Patch," follows members of her family. It airs at 9 p.m. EST and will be available on www.ket.org.

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