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Virginia Tobacco Statistics
 Tobacco Industry in Virginia |
| Cash receipts |
$71.1 million |
| Quantity grown |
46.1 million lbs. |
| Acres Harvested |
20,600 acres |
| Virginia is the third-largest tobacco producing state in the United States |
| The average yield per acre is 2,374 pounds. |
| Three kinds of tobacco are grown in Virginia: Virginia burley, flue-cured and fire-cured. |
| The majority of tobacco grown is flue-cured, with 18,000 acres harvested. |
| Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service (Most recent figures, 2007) |
| Top Flue-Cured Tobacco Counties (By Acres Harvested) |
| County |
Acres Harvested |
| Pittsylvania |
5,650 |
| Mecklenburg |
3,120
|
| Halifax |
2,310 |
| Brunswick |
1,860 |
| Lunenburg |
950 |
| Source: NASS (Most recent figures, 2007) |
| Top Burley Tobacco Counties (By Acres Harvested) |
| County |
Acres Harvested |
| Scott |
410 |
| Lee |
400 |
| Russell |
350 |
| Washington |
290 |
| Prince Edward. |
140 |
| Source: NASS (Most recent figures, 2007) |
| Did You Know? |
| Today, Virginia harvests only about 11 percent of the tobacco acreage harvested more than a century ago. In 1902, 182,000 acres of tobacco were harvested. In 2007, a little more than 20,600 acres were harvested. |
| The ports of Hampton Roads are the largest in the United States in exporting tobacco and tobacco products. |
| Flue-cured tobacco is used mainly in domestic blended cigarettes. Burley tobacco is used for cigarettes, chewing tobacco and snuff. |
| Tobacco production began in Virginia when John Rolfe acquired seed from Spanish colonies. The first shipments of Virginia-grown tobacco was sent to England in 1614. |
| Source: Va. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services |
| Growing the Golden Leaf |
| Tobacco is a member of the Solanaceae family, which also includes tomatoes, potatoes and peppers. |
| Under normal circumstances, the tobacco plant grows from 2 to 3 feet in height and produces 10 to 20 leaves from its central stalk. |
| Flue-cured tobacco is most often known as “flu-cured Virginia” or just “Virginia,” as the state was the first to use an artificial heat method of curing. |
| Flue-cured Virginia tobacco is produced in many nations around the world, including Australia, Canada, Africa, South America and parts of Asia |
| In developing countries, tobacco harvesting is done by hand, while in North America mechanical harvesting techniques are used. |
| Source: The International Tobacco Growers' Association |
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