What often gets ignored in the discussion about blends changing over time is the differences in a crop of tobacco from one year to another. There are a number of variables that come into play when farming - the minerals in the soil can change, how much rain falls on the crops, the very seeds that are planted may have slight differences. This is why you hear stories about how the crop one year was better than another.
It is also why large, successful farmers will rotate the crops in different fields. One year they will plant corn, the next year that field will be planted with soybeans, for example. This is done to replenish the nutrients in the soil.
I don't know of any reason why this would not hold true for tobacco growers. Each crop removes nutrients from the soil. The soil can be re-fertilized but that's not going to guarantee the same results every year.
Now, imagine you are a large tobacco blending company. You go to a tobacco grower and buy 2 tons of tobacco leaf. You use that to make a specific blend and go back the following year or two and buy another two tons. There is no guarantee that the quality of the leaf is going to be an exact match.
I have heard several times that this was one of the reasons that McClelland decided to close down. They were having trouble sources the same quality of leaf that they wanted to make their blends.
You suggest an interesting question: Do tobacco growers practice crop rotation?
Yes, but the length of rotation varies widely, from short-term rotations alternating tobacco with another crop in the same year to long-term rotations with 3-4 years between tobacco crops. Common rotation crops include maize, small grain cereals, grasses, rice, groundnuts, soybeans, and cotton.
However, crop rotation is not universally practiced, especially among small-scale tobacco farmers. Factors limiting rotation include small farm sizes, land tenure issues, limited income, and the high cost of alternative crop seeds. Despite these challenges, surveys indicate that recommended rotation systems are applied to about 60% of the total tobacco crop in responding countries.
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What often gets ignored in the discussion about blends changing over time is the differences in a crop of tobacco from one year to another. There are a number of variables that come into play when farming - the minerals in the soil can change, how much rain falls on the crops, the very seeds that are planted may have slight differences. This is why you hear stories about how the crop one year was better than another.
It is also why large, successful farmers will rotate the crops in different fields. One year they will plant corn, the next year that field will be planted with soybeans, for example. This is done to replenish the nutrients in the soil.
I don't know of any reason why this would not hold true for tobacco growers. Each crop removes nutrients from the soil. The soil can be re-fertilized but that's not going to guarantee the same results every year.
Now, imagine you are a large tobacco blending company. You go to a tobacco grower and buy 2 tons of tobacco leaf. You use that to make a specific blend and go back the following year or two and buy another two tons. There is no guarantee that the quality of the leaf is going to be an exact match.
I have heard several times that this was one of the reasons that McClelland decided to close down. They were having trouble sources the same quality of leaf that they wanted to make their blends.
You suggest an interesting question: Do tobacco growers practice crop rotation?
Yes, but the length of rotation varies widely, from short-term rotations alternating tobacco with another crop in the same year to long-term rotations with 3-4 years between tobacco crops. Common rotation crops include maize, small grain cereals, grasses, rice, groundnuts, soybeans, and cotton.
However, crop rotation is not universally practiced, especially among small-scale tobacco farmers. Factors limiting rotation include small farm sizes, land tenure issues, limited income, and the high cost of alternative crop seeds. Despite these challenges, surveys indicate that recommended rotation systems are applied to about 60% of the total tobacco crop in responding countries.
And there are differences in the crop from year-to-year even if they do practice crop rotation.
I agree that small farmers of all types do not have the option of practicing crop rotation.