May 20, 2013
North Carolina tobacco farmers are facing a new kind of problem, trying to decide how to spend the money that's started coming to them through the federal government's quota buyout. Over the past six weeks, the first installments of more than 385 million dollars has been sent to the state's tobacco farmers. The buyout program calls for a total of ten billion dollars to be distributed. Experts say many farmers are using the money to invest in timberland or real estate, while some are paying off their debts or diversifying their crops, and there are reports that one farmer bought a condo at the beach.
