Jim explained that the referendum is being held to let tobacco growers decide if they wish to continue the self-assessment program. This program has been in place since 1991, and the law requires that a new referendum be held every six years.
A 2/3 favorable vote will mean that growers are willing to continue to assess themselves to support tobacco research and education. The assessment is ten cents per hundred pounds of tobacco produced in North Carolina.
The funds, about $300,000 annually, are collected at buying stations by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and then allocated by the Tobacco Research Commission to research and Extension projects for tobacco at NC State University.
For more information on the referendum, please call the Watauga County Extension Office at 828-264-3061.