By 1978, mechanical harvesters will be used to harvest an estimated 23-36 percent of the flue-cured tobacco acreage in the study area, which produces three-fourths of all U.S. flue-cured tobacco. Farmers will use bulk barns to cure an expected 65-80 percent of it. Comparison figures of 1972 are 1 and 8 percent, respectively. If these changes occur, labor needed during the harvest will fall as much as 50 percent between 1972 and 1978. In 1972, flue-cured tobacco management units averaged 9.5 acres in the study area, or about three times the size of the average flue-cured tobacco allotment. Close to 60 percent of these units use some harvest system that differs from the more traditional methods: • 8 percent — bulk barns • 47 percent — machines to tie tobacco leaves on sticks • 30 percent — priming aids • 20 percent — traditional method
