A Harvest of Change

"With the advent of the buyout, the major companies saw a possible breakthrough where they could get some burley grown in Maryland," Bowling said.

Haver said the company is pleased with the growth of burley in Maryland. "Anybody who grows tobacco down there, it's all burley -- and it's all going to Philip Morris," she said.

Some farmers said raising the crop under contract is easier.

Melinda Fisher, 52, grows tobacco with her family on their Mechanicsville property. She said rates at the annual auction tended to be a tossup. With the Philip Morris contract, pricing is more secure.

"We like it better," Fisher, who is Amish, said as she stripped tobacco in their red barn with three of her children, Ruth, 18, Naomi, 17, and John, 10.

Another Amish farmer, Israel Fisher, 56, who raises burley on a neighboring property, agreed that "it's better without the auction."

"Up there at the auction, sometimes the tobacco that didn't grow so big, we [wouldn't] get much money for it," he added. "But this tobacco, if it's graded right, it sells."

But growing tobacco is a hard life, Cox explained, sitting on a footrest and tearing leaves in his lap at a breakneck pace. He stained his hands and dropped flakes of tobacco on his blue jeans, burgundy hoodie and brown boots.

In the winter, during stripping season, Cox said he spends nearly every waking hour -- from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. -- in the small stripping room.

"I hope you don't mind dust and nicotine, because you'll get an awful lot of it in here," the deep-voiced Cox warned, only half-joking. "I don't smoke. I get my nicotine from this. I get my fix right here."