Better Farming - August 2016

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24 Farm News First > Better Farming August 2016
FIELDTRIP
A 60-foot hydraulic door stands open at the Chesney workshop, which was built
in 2014 to custom specifications set out by the family. The 20,000 square foot
facility, which houses the workshop, company offices, a meeting room and a
presentation area, is the nerve centre of the operation.
A sprayer applies a preventative fungicide as part of an integrated pest
management system. The crop is relatively difficult to grow, requiring three to
four years before the first harvest, and a minimum of 70 per cent shade. The
plant is also sensitive to extremes in heat and moisture.
Bill Sr. points out the different jobs
illustrated in a print by Irene Anderson
titled “Tobacco Harvest in the Old
Days,” (circa 1940s) hanging on their
office wall. The elder Chesney started
working on the family’s tobacco
operation in 1942 at the age of seven.
His job back then was to ride the horse
that would pull a “boat” of tobacco
leaves as other workers harvested the
crop. The farm continued producing
tobacco until 1995.
Bill Sr. holds a ginseng flower,
which is pulled by hand at this
stage of development. This stops
the plant from directing energy
into seed creation and in turn
can increase root size by up
to 30 per cent.