WUNC News; Tobacco Buyout

douglas and dorothy braswell livin edgecombe county they've been married fifty years to each other and even longer to farming whale scat come from a common thing in a free way there it's part of my life for the negatives as we were able the brass wells are quote or holders a quota refers to the amount of tobacco one is allowed to produce and in most cases it's passed down from generation to generation it dates back to the nineteen thirties that's when the government stepped in and approved programs to support and stabilized tobacco prices during that time though everybody who grew tobacco had a quota dorothy remembers how she used to help plant tobacco honor days farm taking one hole at a time that was a lot of backbreaking work it had they are placing one hand an equal money make their home waller of the rail might play any an anti sure ukraine's that dirt back to their roots and there was always someone young and then you're coming along and water nick casey played at dorothy

doesn't do the planting anymore she and douglas are seventy years old and are no longer physically able to work the land they have two small tracks of land they went from tobacco growing season see these metal pipe say we really tobacco barns and they form a safe out there they were made history murray the brain swells represent your average quarter holder and north carolina they're retired and over sixty five they also own small amounts of quota and rely heavily on the rent they receive from growers every year here india before last week us my increasing but that the three years before the end i mean we've lost arm one a rap on sept fourteen thousand claims on it without any has slightly over four thousand i say see when i'm talking and banana falling tobacco prices and

higher production costs are a constant problem in this business over the past couple of years several tobacco buyout deals had been submitted in congress the macintyre davis bill sponsored by north carolina democrat mike mcintyre is heavily supported by tobacco giant philip morris usa if this deal is approved folks like the brass wells would have to get out of the tobacco business that what maurice and others have said one reason american tobacco cost so much is because tobacco growers have to pay rent to quote holders who no longer actually farm some growers lawmakers and lobbyists say there's a fifty fifty chance of tobacco court a buyout will be approved this year if record holder is a law to say ten thousand pounds of tobacco he can receive eighty thousand dollars in a buyout divide that over five years of payments that sixteen thousand dollars a year their yearly rent the brussels receive is a lot less than sixteen thousand dollars the dorothy says

without their tobacco quote the investment in their land and it's worth would disappear and they were counting on a steady income from that land and we see it when we recap of people we can't work the end this a lot about where hip us with ira sosa security ok you know whatever and now now seventy three rape what happens and of course it's a real disappointed that monopoly hey but some say without a buyout tobacco quotas would disappear and that would be even more devastating for the ten thousand growers and one hundred thousand quote a holder zinn the state tobacco pricing and marketing has changed and so as the global economy but that doesn't stop dorothy from wondering why it has to end this way in the old leads to man people's lives not demand it prompted to his children and he made reference to god and he gets the property to his

children and his children's children and their children giuliani end wu and seniors ok thirteen