Dust and nicotine

Changes in the tobacco industry--lower prices, declining demand, and a heightened stigma towards the trade--have had many small farmers reeling.   

Many people don't realize that more than a few Amish--especially those in Lancaster County and related settlements--have a long history of growing and using the product.

 

In this Washington Post article, southern Maryland farmers who refused a state-sponsored buyout--most of them Amish--have shifted to producing a higher-demand leaf common to Kentucky and Tennessee.

And in this piece for Wired, the Amish fill a niche market and earn nearly twice the market rate to boot, by growing a genetically-modified, lower nicotine strain.