Tobacco Tuesdays
Published 8:42 am Friday, February 9, 2018
- During the tobacco sale Tuesday morning at Farmers Tobacco Warehouse, Shirley Roberts, center, of Pulaski County leans away from the line of buyers to see what the bids are. She and her husband, Luther Robbins, brought in "just a little bit" to sell, Shirley said. Years ago, the Robbins brought in a lot of tobacco to the warehouse. "I raised all my kids on tobacco," she said.
Tobacco is still being sold at the Farmers Tobacco Warehouse on Harding Street in Danville. Years ago, tobacco auctions were held four times a week at three warehouses in town. In recent years, however, there’s only one warehouse and one auction a week — on Tuesdays. Growers from as far away as Wisconsin, Indiana, Tennessee, Ohio and Virginia still bring their crop to the open market in Danville where they can sell it without having a signed contract with a big-name tobacco company. The auctions began around Thanksgiving and will continue on Tuesdays until they have a clean-up sale, later this month or the first of March.
Luther Roberts wipes his hands off waiting for the auction to begin.
Virginia Villalobos sweeps tobacco leaf remmnants from an earlier sale at the Farmers Tobacco Warehouse Tuesday morning.
Jerry Rankin, center, owner of Farmers Tobacco Warehouse watches bidders look over the bales of the leaf Tuesday morning.
Kasey Watts, left, and Lucian Robiinson push a large bale of tobacco that was just weighed, along a conveyor to where a forklift operator will lift and haul it to the floor to be auctioned.
Tim Riggs, of Upton, looks over two small bales of tobacco that he and his cousin brought to the auction Tuesday morning. Riggs said tobacco is graded as trash, luggs and tips, or red grade, which brings in the most money. The trash leaves come from the bottom of the tobacco stalks and is the least profitable.
Tobacco farmers and buyers look over the selections of bales that were being sold at People’s Tobacco Warehouse in Danville.
Victor and Stephany Zimmerman, from Campbellsville, wait to see what prices tobacco is bringing at the auction Tuesday morning.
