A History of Burley Tobacco in East Tennessee & Western North Carolina

by Billy Yeargin, Christopher Bickers

Overview

Burley tobacco revolutionized the industry in east Tennessee and western North Carolina. What started from two farmers planting white burley in Greeneville ignited an agricultural revolution and significantly changed crops, production and quality. Burley transformed the tobacco industry with new cultivation techniques and a shift from dark and flue-cured tobacco. By the 1990s, burley tobacco production in the region had drastically declined, and it is a tradition that few local farmers still practice. Agricultural experts Billy Yeargin and Christopher Bickers take a nostalgic look at the historic rise of burley tobacco and its gradual decline.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626199606
Publisher:	History Press, The
Publication date:	04/27/2015
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Billy Yeargin is the author of North Carolina Tobacco and Remembering North Carolina Tobacco. During his career in the tobacco industry, he has held various leadership positions in tobacco growers' and sweet potato growers' organizations. He is a member of the board of directors for the North Carolina State Capital Preservation Society and the Duke Homestead Education and History Corporation. Yeargin is currently a history lecturer at Duke University and other educational institutions.

Christopher Bickers is a seasoned journalist who has dedicated much of his career to documenting agriculture. His work has been published in various agricultural magazines including Southeast Farm Press, Progressive Farmer and Tobacco International and he is co-author of an article in Journalism Quarterly. Bickers is also the writer and publisher of the Tobacco Farmer Newsletter.

Table of Contents

Preface 5

1 The Birth of Burley in the Hill Country 7

2 Veteran Growers Remember Burley in the Old Days 27

3 How the Quota Buyout Impacted Burley Farmers William Thomas Jarrett 67

4 How Growers Created a Stable Market 73

Bonus Section. A History of Tobacco Auctions 121

Bibliography 153

Index 157

About the Authors 160