|
Planting
Early Spring finds Mike and Bob Ammerman hard at work on their
farms, preparing tiny tobacco seeds to be planted. Using
a greenhouse to protect the seedlings against the cold, the Ammermans
wait for the best possible mix of warm weather
and rainfall to set the plants in rows.
Summer is spent hoeing, weeding and cultivating the
field and guarding the plants against insects and weather-related
calamities.
In midsummer,
the plants are topped, and by Fall they are ready for cutting and
curing.
Cultivation and Curing
Different regions have varying methods for the next step in tobacco
cultivation: in Virginia, heated flues inside barns are typically
used and in Western Kentucky tobacco is dried by controlled hickory
fires in the barns. On the Central Kentucky farms of the Ammermans
and their neighbors, burley tobacco is air-cured in ventilated
barns by Autumn’s alternately dry and humid air. The Ammermans
oversee their tobacco every step of the way.
Baling
In the old days, all of these tobacco crops would be cured, tied
into "hands" and sold on a basket. Today, they
are bundled into 60-100 lb. bales and taken to auction.
Auctions and a New Market for Small Farmers
At the Ammermans' warehouse, small farmers from
all over Northern Kentucky bring their burley tobacco crops for
the
winter
auctions.
With many large tobacco companies turning their backs on American
grown crops in recent years, many of these farmers have had to
sell
to the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative –- at the lowest
possible prices allowed by the government.
Kentucky’s Best has made a policy of buying
high-quality American tobacco whenever possible, providing a new
market for hard-working farmers.
Kentucky’s Best is proud to be part of this
legacy of independent, resourceful farmers. We carry on a tradition
of self-directed farming that sustains small communities in Kentucky
and other small-farming states.
Quality Standards
From the auction to the store shelf is where Kentucky’s Best most exacting
quality control standards come into play. After purchasing the highest quality
leaves for a combination of flue-cured, burley and other fine tobaccos, the Ammermans
and their senior staff personally oversee a climate-controlled blending process
designed to produce a smooth, rich taste. Using leaf tobacco with no reconstituted
powder or other factory debris, there is no need to add chemical taste enhancers.
Other cigarettes may contain any of more than 500
chemicals, including arsenic, ammonia and chemicals used to make
weed and bug killers, car batteries, paint stripper, lighter fluid
and mothballs. Kentucky’s Best adds no chemicals to enhance
burn rate, retain flavor or "improve" quality.
In the Kentucky’s Best factory, climate controls
maintain optimal temperature and humidity levels designed to keep
tobacco at its peak flavor. Machines may produce thousands of cigarettes
a minute, but each step in the manufacturing process is overseen
by people, not robotic equipment. The Ammermans and their highly-skilled
staff of workers personally observe quality, to ensure a perfect
cigarette and a perfect smoking experience every time.
Our Mission
Our mission now is to continue the work of growing the finest quality tobacco
for making the very best cigarettes.
Farmers Are The Bedrock of America
At Farmer's Tobacco, we believe strongly in the traditions and heritage of farming
families.
|
In
many ways, tobacco farming methods today are similar to those used
at the time Kentucky was first settled.
