Santa Fe Company Expects to Double this Year’s Organic Crop
SANTA FE, N.M. – October 1, 2007 – “Organic” and “tobacco” are words many in the organic movement might be surprised to find combined.
But that is exactly what a small Santa Fe-based company has been doing – and doing successfully for the last 17 of its 25 years of existence.
Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company expects to process 600,000 pounds of organic tobacco this year – about double of what it used last year.
“When we first tried to set up an organic growing program back in 1989, farmers laughed at the idea of growing organic tobacco,” says Mike Little, senior vice president for operations at the company. “Now they see it as a way to get a premium price for their crop – almost double the price paid for conventionally grown tobacco – and we are encouraging them to grow other organic crops, like sweet potatoes and lettuce.”
A growing number of smokers, a group usually not portrayed as organic friendly, are turning to the company’s organic styles of its Natural American Spirit brand. Overall, Santa Fe has captured one-half of one percent share of the U.S. cigarette market for its “all natural, additive-free” tobacco, which includes styles of certified USDA organic tobacco products.
Growing organic tobacco is not easy, says one of the company’s growers. “Fields must be separated from conventional crops, detailed records of planting, cultivation and application of crop dressings must be kept, and more hand labor is required,” says Bill Wyatt, who has been growing organic tobacco since 1998. “But the satisfaction of producing ‘pure’ tobacco is hard to beat. It’s just a pure product, basically what the Indians or the early colonists would have done.”
“Our farmers don’t use yellowing agents,” says Fielding Daniel, the company’s leaf manager. “They don’t use herbicides and they don’t use suckering agents. We sample and test every bale of organic tobacco. We check all the way through three pages of chemicals. Our tolerance level is zero.”
Each bale of the company’s organically grown tobacco is tested for residues of banned chemicals. “We take this very seriously,” adds Fielding. “In fact, we’ve only had to reject two bales of tobacco over the years of our organic growing program. That shows the dedication of our farmers to organic principles.”
Growing organic makes good business sense, too, for tobacco farmers.
“Our contract grower agreements give farmers peace of mind,” says Daniel. “They know they can sell their crop at harvest time. And they know they’ll get a premium if they meet our quality standards.”
While Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company’s organic crop is expected to be double that of last year, the capacity to grow enough in the United States does not yet exist. For that reason, the company supports organic farming in Brazil, contracting with 40 farmers, all small, family run farms.
“We’re committed to organic and will continue to promote organic tobacco production,” says Little. “In fact, we plan to start transitioning our earth-friendly growers, who already avoid using most synthetic chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides, to certified organic production.”
Although organic farming is more labor-intensive and requires land to lie fallow for three years before certification, we are committed to its principles in order to continue using the best possible pure tobacco in our products,” continues Little.
“Sustainable agriculture promotes the interests of small, independent farmers, not only for tobacco but also for the organic vegetables and other crops grown in rotation with it. More organic production is in line with our company’s principles and better for all of us.”