Better Farming - November 2016

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22 FarmNews First > Better Farming November 2016
FIELDTRIP
From left,
Jose Juarez-
Sarza, Omar
Sosa-Castillo,
Salome Sosa-
Ferrusquia,
and Alejandro
Sosa-Castillo
pull separating
pins before
removing the
tobacco from
the curing bin.
Karen Bradley does the final stage of grading
and sorting second-pass tobacco leaves before
they make their way up a ramp into the baling
machine. She quickly but carefully picks out
green or undesirable tobacco as
leaves steadily pass by.
Paul Arva (left) meets with ginseng cultivation
consultant, Tony Quon, outside the sorting barn.
Quon provides field recommendations to help
with the development of the 42 acres of ginseng
that the Arvas cultivate. The plant is very
sensitive to growing conditions, and agricultural
techniques that produce better grades are
proprietary amongst competitive farmers. Arva
says that alternate crops such as ginseng, as well
as his chicken barn, help cushion his operation
from changes in the tobacco market.
Handfuls of dried
leaves are tossed into
sorting bins by a group
of workers while one
individual stands on
top, guiding the leaves
in and stamping them
down to compress.
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