Tobacco Operation

Tobacco is a cornerstone in the farm life of the United States according to the writings of Keith Barnes in the book The World's Greatest Tobacco Market: A Pictorial History of Tobacco in Wilson, North Carolina. Dating back to 1607, when the colonists landed at Jamestown, Virginia, credit can be given to John Rolfe for being the first to cultivate the transformative crop.

one might say, tobacco plays a major part in the foundation of farming in the U.S.. Fast forward to 1879. Falling prices of cotton opened the market and, more importantly, farm land to the mass cultivation of tobacco. This was the beginning of what has become ingrained in the farm community of Wilson County as any other single crop throughout the regions of this great country.

In recent history, Scott Farms has been a mainstay in the industry. Since the incorporation of the farm in 1979 by Linwood “Sonny” Scott, Jr. alongside his wife, Alice (Honeycutt) Scott, Scott Farms, Inc. has been a major contributor to the tobacco industry in Wilson County and North Carolina as a whole. Scott Farms grows approximately 1,200 of the 9,350 acres of flue-cured or burley tobacco grown in Wilson County annually. So, it’s safe to say, the Scott’s know their way around the tobacco field.

The tobacco operation of Scott Farms is led today by Linwood Scott, III, and has made drastic strides in the modernization age of agriculture and farming. Long gone are the days of single row plows and hand planting. The former United States National Young Farmer of the Year ushered in the new farming concept at Scott Farms in 1990. In the 25 years since, Linwood, III has been at the forefront of the farming scene as a leader and agent of change in tobacco and the agricultural industry as a whole.

Participating in the Philip Morris Agricultural Leadership Development Program set the stage for Linwood, III’s excellence in tobacco production that carries on to this day. Learning of the challenges and opportunities that tobacco farmers and the industry overall face propelled Scott Farms’ production into the future and led to the development of a fully mechanized tobacco farm operation. Along with the expanded modernization of field production, he led the way for the more than 110 curing barns and seven greenhouses located on the Scott Farms property.

So, thanks to the Scott Family, high quality tobacco has been cultivated by high quality people for more than four decades in Wilson County.