The Last Harvest in Warren County

by J.P. Shea

Once the backbone of Kentucky’s agricultural economy, tobacco farming in Warren County has seen better days. Now, a combination of shifting consumer habits, stringent government regulations, and the Marijiana Legalization Act of 2045 have pushed the once-thriving industry to extinction.

For generations, families in Warren and surrounding counties relied on tobacco as their primary cash crop. But today, many fields that once flourished with rows of burley tobacco sit empty or have been converted into alternative crops like marijuana, algae for biodiesel, lab-engineered food sources, or solar farms. The last remaining tobacco farmer in Warren County, Matt Whitaker, harvested his final crop on his family’s dwindling 30-acre farm just outside of Smiths Grove last October. Now, just weeks away from the late February seeding, Whitaker has called it quits. There will be no seedlings in the greenhouses and no transplanting to conventional beds in the fields in early May.

“The demand just isn’t there anymore,” says Matt Whitaker, a third-generation tobacco farmer just miles outside an ever-expanding Bowling Green. “Our family has produced tobacco for centuries—not decades, but centuries—in this area and in this community and on these farms,” he said. “We used to be 10 miles from town; now, I can throw a rock and hit the Dollar General store across the street.”

“My daddy survived the tobacco buyout 45 years ago, at the turn of the century,” he reminisced. “I remember the way tobacco brought Warren Countians together–parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins all worked to burn the plant beds in the spring to stripping stalks in the winter. We used to talk with pride about how tobacco money built our schools, town halls, churches and playgrounds. It was much more than just a crop. It was a way of life,” Whitaker emphasized.

One of the biggest blows to the industry has been the global shift away from traditional cigarettes with the legalization of marijuana. With over 50% of consumers now favoring government controlled and approved marijuana, the demand for natural tobacco has plummeted. In addition, new health regulations implemented by the federal government in the 2040s imposed heavy restrictions on tobacco production, making it more difficult and costly for farmers to continue their operations. The marijuana industry lobbyists scored a big win over the nicotine-based industry of vapes, pouches and cigarettes. 

Adding to the woes of local farmers, climate challenges and corporate farming operations have made tobacco farming increasingly difficult. Unpredictable weather patterns, extreme heat, and longer drought periods have reduced yields and increased the cost of irrigation. Many farmers have been forced to adapt by either diversifying their crops or leaving agriculture altogether with large corporate farms swallowing them up. 

“Years ago, we knew legal marijuana growing and corporate farms were coming, but we didn’t think it would hit us this hard,” says Mary Lou Hess, a former Barren County tobacco farmer who now grows algae-based biofuel crops. “It’s just not sustainable anymore.”

The decline of tobacco farming in Kentucky marks the end of an era, but it has also given rise to new agricultural opportunities. Former tobacco farms in Warren County have been repurposed for medicinal plants and crops used in bioengineering. However, the biggest conversion has been the marijuana farming lottery. The coveted licenses have proven to be a cash cow for farmers lucky enough to be picked. Government grants which started decades ago encouraged farmers to transition to these new industries, offering hope for economic stability in the region.

Despite these opportunities, some lifelong tobacco farmers were resistant to change. “I tried holding on as long as I could,” says Whitaker. “This land was meant for tobacco. It’s what we know.”

However, with consumer preferences continuing to evolve, the legalization of marijuana, corporate food buyouts looming and environmental pressures mounting, experts predict that, by the end of the century, not just traditional tobacco farming but even small, family owned farms in general in Warren County may become nothing more than a chapter in Kentucky’s rich agricultural history.