tobaccotwist
Member
I am raising a small crop of an acre in Kentucky (KT215LC burley) this year to make a little extra money. I did some a couple years ago and had a barn, but it was very old (in good condition though tier rail wise) and was unfortunately damaged in a windstorm and pulled down. I can definitely get a barn but I wonder if anybody can tell me two things 1) will it cure correctly in a barn that is not full? (I read a forum thread where somebody said it might not, but on the other hand people on here are mostly curing in their garages and sheds so I think it would) 2) what is your experience with scaffolds and tin roofs or black plastic?
I have heard that the curing structures can be better (comes into case more often, better air movement) or worse (more exposure to things like splashing rain, more management like mowing, takes up space, plastic or tin is expensive,etc), but I'm leaning towards building one out of old logs because that way I'd only have to buy tin or plastic to save on labor because its very difficult and kind of dangerous to hang tobacco by yourself in a barn. But I could hang it on rails in the field without any help, or even if I got help, I wouldn't have the liability of someone falling out of the barn which is part of the challenge of getting a barn. Between my house and the field, 3 miles-ish I pass probably 30 tobacco barns but people either use them and have it full of stuff, or its been neglected since most people quit raising it here 20 years ago and either they're not worth using or too dangerous to use/the owner doesn't want the liability.
Funny thing is I know plenty of tobacco farmers, but they don't have always have answers to problems like this because they're growing large crops and running out of barns to hang in haha, hence practices like stripping the first barn hung in out and 'doubling up'.
Like I said though I saw two older forum threads where one guy from NC said he wished every stick he'd ever hung was on a scaffold and made the statement it might not cure right in an empty barn, and another where @BigBonner, who I know is a farmer here in Kentucky said he got poor quality with scaffolding.
I have heard that the curing structures can be better (comes into case more often, better air movement) or worse (more exposure to things like splashing rain, more management like mowing, takes up space, plastic or tin is expensive,etc), but I'm leaning towards building one out of old logs because that way I'd only have to buy tin or plastic to save on labor because its very difficult and kind of dangerous to hang tobacco by yourself in a barn. But I could hang it on rails in the field without any help, or even if I got help, I wouldn't have the liability of someone falling out of the barn which is part of the challenge of getting a barn. Between my house and the field, 3 miles-ish I pass probably 30 tobacco barns but people either use them and have it full of stuff, or its been neglected since most people quit raising it here 20 years ago and either they're not worth using or too dangerous to use/the owner doesn't want the liability.
Funny thing is I know plenty of tobacco farmers, but they don't have always have answers to problems like this because they're growing large crops and running out of barns to hang in haha, hence practices like stripping the first barn hung in out and 'doubling up'.
Like I said though I saw two older forum threads where one guy from NC said he wished every stick he'd ever hung was on a scaffold and made the statement it might not cure right in an empty barn, and another where @BigBonner, who I know is a farmer here in Kentucky said he got poor quality with scaffolding.
