日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

您現在的位置: > Language Tips > Audio & Video > Normal Speed News  
 





  Maryland's tobacco farmers struggling to survive
[ 2006-02-09 09:37 ]

When David Cox cuts tobacco on his farm in Calvert County, Maryland, he uses a knife just like those used by farmers 300 years ago. He says this is the most efficient way of cutting tobacco because they have yet to invent a machine that can do this.

"Today we are harvesting tobacco. We have to manually cut the plant from the ground and then we can spear it on these sticks, which are then transferred to hang in a barn to cure."

David and his crew continue to harvest tobacco despite changes that have swept through this county in recent years.

Health concerns over cigarette smoking and lawsuits against tobacco companies have caused a rapid decline in the number of tobacco farms. In Maryland, the decline was accelerated by the state government, which used a portion of the funds from the tobacco industry's legal settlement to pay farmers not to grow tobacco. Many farmers took the money. 
 
But others, like Franklin Wood, refused the buyout. "It was very lucrative to people my age to take the money and go; it would have meant quite a bit of money to me. But I had a big philosophical difference with it and I didn't want to sell my freedom of choice."

So farmers who took the money are prevented by law from growing tobacco or even storing a neighbor's crop in their barns, and many barns stand empty. This also means there will be fewer men like Joe Young to help harvest tobacco. "I've always been a hard worker, so the work doesn't bother me. But there aren't very many people who can even do this work anymore. We're some of the last of the breed, white and black."

The younger generation doesn't want to continue tobacco farming either. Why put up with fluctuating market prices, labor shortages, and uncertain weather? Despite the hardships, Franklin Wood says it's in his blood. "It was part of our culture and our heritage. It's been part of our life. It paid the bills in my father's time and in my grandfather's time. It was the money crop, as everybody knows, back to colonial days."

Mr. Cox adds, "It's been here in Southern Maryland since the settlers came and we don't know how much longer it will be here. But if the markets are acceptable to the few of us remaining, I'm sure it will stay awhile longer."

On productive farms like David Cox's, tobacco returns more income per hectare than any other crop. And Calvert County, Maryland has a reputation for producing some of the finest tobacco in the world. David expects to sell his tobacco to buyers from Switzerland.

Vocabulary:

 

 
 
 




主站蜘蛛池模板: 天天操人人射 | 天天摸天天揉天天碰天天弄 | 亚洲国产91 | 日韩精品 电影一区 亚洲 | 亚洲精品66| 国产精品成人在线 | 日本无码V视频一区二区 | 91九色论坛| 成人精品综合免费视频 | 成人免费影院 | 国产欧美一区二区视频 | 99亚洲精品色情无码久久 | 亚洲好视频 | 免费久久精品国产片香蕉 | 九九九九九热 | 一道本在线观看视频 | 亚洲电影在线观看 | 欧美18—19sex性hd按摩 | 免费一区| 天天鲁天天爽天天视频 | 天天透天天干 | 欧美高清正版在线 | 欧美日韩91 | 久草久草在线 | 一区二区三区不卡免费视频97 | 99热这里只有精品国产99 | 日本一级α片 | 亚洲免费网站 | 国产精品啪一品二区三区粉嫩 | 国产换爱交换乱理伦片 | 国产在线观看一区二区三区 | 免费一级毛片麻豆精品 | 欧美8一10sex性hd | 成人免费观看视频 | 成人午夜大片免费看爽爽爽 | 伊人影院综合 | av在线电影网 | 国产欧美在线视频 | 成人伊人 | 色接久久 | 91精品观看91久久久久久 |