Any good uses for old tobacco equipment
I already sold off all my newer barns,packing equipment, picker, and my sprayer/topper.
I have used the setter in the past for collards and mustards.
That still leaves me with, 2 High Clearance tractors, a bedder, a setter, multiple 3 point sprayers, and trailer frames. As well as about 20 barns I couldn’t sell.
I still do cow-calf, and mess around with watermelons and greens. Own 400, used to lease around 3000. Southeastern Georgia.
by Boeing-B-47stratojet
19 Comments
It’s just difficult
Leaving something you done all your life, your parents and grandparents done their whole lives, and so on
The devils lettuce
I was also gonna say CBD or the real deal. Both similar to tobacco lol
What about using some of the barns to grow mushrooms?
Considered alternative crops like mint? Or basil? I’m not familiar with how well it grows in tobacco regions but it’s something that’s grown in Michigan and other odd northern areas with good success and as an alternative to “corn, beans, corn, beans”.
If you are looking for crops that would benefit from a heated barn look at hops, sunflower, herbs, hot peppers like cayenne, hemp, garlic and onion, mushroom processing. Lots of crops could benefit from a tabacco barn setup.
Chickpeas
Poppies…there was a show on how to grow and process them. Ozark I believe was the name.
Stony Creek Colors, a company that produces natural indigo for the textile and fashion industries, was I believe asking tobacco growers to grow it for them because in part the lifecycle is similar. Not sure if they’re still doing that but maybe that’s profitable? They’re based out of Tennessee.
https://www.stonycreekcolors.com/pages/contact
Will I be bashed if I ask, are you looking to continue with other crops, or other means of income from your land?
I hear coca leaves make a tad more.
Right now, the cattle market is really high… if you could raise your own heifers and expand the herd, go for that. I’m pretty much a drawbar farmer, now. Plant wheat and Sudan/sorghum hay for the winter. Graze the wheat through the winter up until it plays out, let the pastures get ahead of the cows in the Spring before turning them back out. Hay for supplemental feed on my cows not on wheat. I can raise a decent protein and high digestible net for about $35/ton, versus $410/ton cottonseed cubes. And I sell quite a bit of the hay. Keep a few acres to raise a little seed wheat, although that may not work for you without a combine.
I’ve also reclaimed a few fields in improved grasses for hay/grazing. Usually raise my own horse hay.
It can be hard to change a lifestyle…. But changing times takes adaptability. May be what’s best for the family.
CBD Hemp if it’s legal where you’re at.
You should look into miscanthus as a biomass and/or animal bedding crop. I know the guys at [AgGrow Tech ](https://aggrowtech.com/bedding/)and they may be looking for more growers. I know they’re active in GA. *Miscanthus x Giganteus* is a sterile hybrid, not invasive. I planted over 3000 acres of it (for biomass power) and never once had it spread outside where I planted it. If you change your mind and want out, a couple applications of RoundUp will eradicate it.
It’s an amazing material for bedding–way more absorbent and cheaper than pine shavings. Big poultry operations love it. It’s also being used for erosion control– some state highway depts are using it instead of straw in those big “socks” you see at construction sites
It’s planted as a rhyzome so it’s a bit expensive to establish a new field. The AgGrow Tech guys modified a potato planter and it works well for planting. Harvested with forage choppers. All those barns could serve as bulk storage (though need to manage moisture carefully to avoid self-heating!)
something else for killing the rest of us faster/easier. grow semi auto guns or something
I’ve heard indigo can reuse the equipment. I have no experience with this though so unfortunately I can’t be much help.
At this time of the year?
Radishes, carrots, and beets.
Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts
Cannabis still has value in your area. Grow that
Two high income crops are hops and farmed ginseng. You can also include golden seal which share the same environment as ginseng.
Obviously the farmed version doesn’t bring the same money as wild ginseng but you more than make the difference with volume and a much faster turnaround. There is a lot of data on the costs and intricacies of farming ginseng using the different methods.