Right now there has been a moratorium placed on tobacco quota sales by our board. It's been put in place to protect those who are most vulnerable, and it's been in effect since May. There's no out-year to plan for with our tobacco companies. We're in a situation now where there's got to be time for whatever the decision is—and we need to know that decision soon for planning purposes. Growers need to know: if there is an exit, should I take the exit now? The actual customer, our tobacco companies, have to have time to put forward what they see for our future, whether it's direct contracting or some other method of growing tobacco. They also have to have that time. We need the time for the producers to make an informed decision.
On November 28th, 2006. See this statement in context.