[Begin Tape #1, Side #1]
KLEE: The following is an unrehearsed interview with Barry Sims by John Klee for
the Kentucky Oral History Commission. It's one of a series on burley tobacco, and the interview is being conducted on at Mr. Sims home in . You work at the ASCS office?SIMS: Right, in .
KLEE: In . . . in ?
SIMS: Yes.
KLEE: Okay. Tell me what that is, what that means, and a little bit about your job.
SIMS: Well, first, ASCS stands for Agriculture Stabilization Conservation
Service. It . . . deal with all the federal farm programs, which in this area, the main program is burley tobacco. We keep up with all the quotas for the individual farms. [inaudible] the way they were set up back when the program first went in. Course currently they're on the poundage program, which was established in 1970.KLEE: And how long you been working with . . . with them?
SIMS: Four years.
KLEE: Okay. And you started in ?
SIMS: .
KLEE: And then moved back down here to . . .
SIMS: To .
KLEE: Okay. What percentage of your work is involved with tobacco?
SIMS: Probably fifty to sixty percent.
KLEE: And does it . . . well, let me approach it this way. If I . . . if I
bought a farm and it said I had two thousand . . . when they . . . when the realtor was advertising it, it said I had . . . it . . . they advertised as having two thousand pounds of tobacco, now what does that mean and how do I . . . how do I take advantage of that?SIMS: What they would probably advertise it with would be the basic quota, which
is the quota that remains with the farm. Course they can grant from year to year according to over-under marketing from the previous year.KLEE: Okay. So the basic quota comes with the farm?
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: And you're in charge of that quota?
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Now, how is . . . how is this . . . how is your service funded?
SIMS: Through the federal government.
KLEE: Okay. And when you say you take care of a quota, how . . . how is that
physically done? Do you just . . . is things just on file or . . .SIMS: It's on file as far as we show a marketing card each year with the pounds
the producer can sell, which is called effective quota. That's the basic quota minus any, or plus any, over-under marketings from the previous year.KLEE: Okay. Now how long can this over-under marketing take place? Can you just
hold over for one year, then? Or . . .SIMS: The quota can just be carried from one year to the next. It can just . . .
no more than double the quota without losing any pounds. The quota can be doubled.KLEE: A quota can be . . . you can go up to twice what your basic quota is?
SIMS: Plus any leases.
KLEE: Okay. All right. So, if . . . if I had grown a crop short for five or six
years, on my card that might be reflected on . . . on more pounds that I could grow.SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Now, do . . . what . . . what . . . what does a marketing card look like?
It's just . . .SIMS: It's a regular credit card. Just the same size as a credit card.
KLEE: And it says on it, what? Just . . .
SIMS: Has the farm name, the owner's name. Each . . . each farm has a farm
serial number. Each county has their own number, and each state has their own number, and they're all on the marketing card.KLEE: And then just . . . what do you write in for the individual card? What's .
. .SIMS: Just the pounds that they can market for that year.
KLEE: Just the pounds. All right now, with that card, what . . . what does a
farmer do with a marketing card?SIMS: He has to present it to the warehouse when he delivers tobacco for sale.
And then the pounds, the warehouse subtracts the pounds off as it is sold.KLEE: Okay. Now what if a farmer has brought . . . brought more to the
warehouse? Does he just have to . . .SIMS: He either has to take it back or to come to the county office to make a
lease, to get additional pounds put to the card.KLEE: Okay. Now how's that . . . how's that done?
SIMS: Well, some producers have burley quotas that they don't wanna raise their
sales for various reasons . . .KLEE: Um, hmm.
SIMS: . . . and they're allowed to transfer that to another person on a
year-by-year basis.KLEE: Okay. Now you don't handle that transaction?
SIMS: Yes.
KLEE: You do handle that transaction . . .
SIMS: Uh-huh.
KLEE: . . . for the farmers, okay. So if . . . with . . . if I bought this farm
that had the two thousand pounds and I didn't wanna grow it myself, I would have a card issued in my name.SIMS: You would have a card but it would not be issued because you wouldn't be
allowed to market it. It would just be kept at the office. And then when you sold the pounds, it would just be subtracted off of it.KLEE: Okay, but what you're talking about there, if I leased it out?
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Okay. Now, would I have to go down to your office to sign some forms or so forth?
SIMS: Have to sign a lease, and what you were talking about on the card, if you
were gonna lease, each producer that raises tobacco has to certify that they did have tobacco grown on their farm before they're issued a card.KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: So if you didn't certify that card, course you would be leasing, then you
would not be issued a card.KLEE: Okay. [inaudible] I don't get a card unless I grow it myself?
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: And so if I have leased it, then that goes on the . . . the person that's
actually gonna market the tobacco?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Goes on their card?
SIMS: Those pounds are added to his card for that year.
KLEE: Now can . . . as an owner, can I do that indefinitely? Can I lease my
tobacco out . . .SIMS: Yes.
KLEE: . . . indefinitely?
SIMS: Um, hmm.
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: It's . . . you get history for it just the same as you would resident [inaudible].
KLEE: Okay, do I have to . . . do I have to ever grow any tobacco specifically
on my farm?SIMS: No.
KLEE: Okay. All right. What about . . . what about the total amount that's
produced? How's that controlled?SIMS: It's controlled . . . each year, course, the burley co-op and altogether
with the Secretary of Agriculture to recommend to him what . . . how many pounds they think should be sold here in the entire burley belt.KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: And then he has to write to adjust it each year, either up or down, or
leave it the same. Which there are controls on that on what percentage you can cut . . .KLEE: How much you can do that, right. So, the burley co-op makes a
recommendation, and that's composed of burley farmers?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: And then the Secretary of Agriculture . . .
SIMS: He makes the final determination.
KLEE: Okay, now how does that filter down to you?
SIMS: Just . . . it comes straight from to each state. ASCS has a state office
and everything is teletexed to them and on down to the county offices.KLEE: Okay. So you know, like about when what a person is . . .
SIMS: It has to be announced by February the first of each year.
KLEE: Okay. So they might tell you February first that everyone gets five
percent less or five percent more or . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Okay. In the four years you've worked with them, how's that fluctuated? On
the total amount grown?SIMS: There have been . . . in the four years, I believe there's been two
increases and one decrease, which I think over the four-year period, it's about a three or four percent increase over that . . . over the last four years [inaudible].KLEE: Um, hmm. For . . . for a total. Take me through a . . . like a year
working with you at your office, and what happens when and, you know, what kind of . . . for example, you get in February a . . . the . . . the total amount that you're gonna . . . that you can tell farmers what they're . . .SIMS: [inaudible]
KLEE: . . . what's gonna be on their cards. Now when do they actually pick that
up? When does that . . .SIMS: We send each farm a notice of what their pounds will be for the coming year.
KLEE: Yeah, you send that out when? After the . . .
SIMS: They have to be mailed by the last part of February, first part of March.
KLEE: Okay, so you don't have very much turn-around time there.
SIMS: No.
KLEE: Now, there's local offices all over the state.
SIMS: Each county has an office [inaudible].
KLEE: Each county does, okay. And so they . . . there . . . that kind of makes
an uneven work load, doesn't it, for the offices?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Some places that don't have very [chuckle] . . . very many farms are very
. . .SIMS: Right, anywhere from . . . some counties with three or four hundred farms
up to thirty-five hundred, four thousand farms.KLEE: Okay. How many farms are you working with here in ?
SIMS: About eighteen hundred.
KLEE: Eighteen hundred. So you have to send out eighteen hundred letters, then .
. .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . just for tobacco.
SIMS: Just for tobacco.
KLEE: Okay. Now . . . all right, so you send those out before the end of February.
SIMS: Um, hmm.
KLEE: Now what . . . what happens next then?
SIMS: Okay really . . . you have to reconcile all the records. Course, the way
the federal law is written, a farmer has to get his notice, whether it's right or wrong, and it tells him that on his notice.KLEE: All right.
SIMS: And the ones that have had late sales, they're not gonna reflect on that notice.
KLEE: Right.
SIMS: So, they're gonna have less pounds than actually what they show.
KLEE: So they're . . . it's possible that some farmers will get their notice
even before they've sold their crop?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: People selling in late markets [inaudible].
SIMS: Right. And then the next step after that would be just to reconcile sales
which I spend quite a bit of time doing. Appeals to county committees and whatnot, that they don't agree with their notice.KLEE: Okay, now what does this . . . what . . . you . . . what's . . . what's a
county committee? How . . .SIMS: Each county in the has a county committee that controls the county for any
decisions to be made which are elected by the farmers for each farmer.KLEE: Now what's that committee called?
SIMS: Just the county committee.
KLEE: Okay. Uh-huh.
SIMS: It's composed of three farmers elected by the county.
KLEE: Um, hmm. All right. And they . . . if there's like . . . your office has
what the records are, and then the farmer and I guess warehouse records and . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . they . . . they might have to go to this committee to make a . . .
SIMS: To make any decision. Any decision that are made in the county, the county
committee makes the final decision.KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: Any appeals or just changes that [inaudible] made for the county.
KLEE: Okay. So by this time, around February or March, everybody's kind of
getting this straightened out.SIMS: Right.
KLEE: About the amount of pounds they have. Okay now, people will start leasing
. . . I guess you can lease anytime obviously . . .SIMS: You can't . . . you can lease fifteen days after the notices go out.
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: And then you can lease up until February the fifteenth. February the
fifteenth is the final date of leasing for each marketing year.KLEE: Okay, that . . . that's for that year?
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: But now, someone wants to lease a crop, say, in March or June or every
while it's going on . . .SIMS: Right, they can lease . . .
KLEE: . . . they can still do that.
SIMS: . . . for that . . . for that current year.
KLEE: Okay now . . . the phys-, there's not much of a physical process is there,
other than coming down to your office and informing you?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Okay, now how do they . . . as I said, I guess they sign a contract or . . .
SIMS: It's just a contract, a legal and binding contract that both parties have
to sign and agree on the price. If they wanna put a price . . . any kind of agreement they wanna put on the contract.KLEE: Okay, they don't have to tell you what they're private agreement . . .
SIMS: No.
KLEE: . . . was?
SIMS: They can to make it legal, if they would think there would ever be a
problem with it.KLEE: Uh-huh. But they might just come down and somebody said, "I signed my
lease over."SIMS: The majority of them do that.
KLEE: Is that right? Okay. And just sign the name. You have to keep that record?
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Okay. Now when is . . . when does most of that activity take place? When
are most people doing that?SIMS: The majority of it . . . course it . . . in the past, up until this year,
it had been they would not lease until market time.KLEE: Um, hmm.
SIMS: But with the heavy crop last year, and everybody got caught with pounds
they couldn't sell, the majority of it this year was leased in the spring, just as soon as the notices went out.KLEE: So it really depends on the . . . on the year?
SIMS: On the year.
KLEE: Um, hmm. Now is your . . . your office's workload is really not affected
too much by the . . . by the difference of saying the amount of . . . the volume of the crop?SIMS: No. Cause we're still dealing with the same number of farmers and whether
they sell a hundred pounds or a thousand, it's the same workload.KLEE: And usually there's . . . there's probably work for you to do for each
farmer, irregardless . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . cause even though they have a quota they . . . you know, you're
never gonna hit that just right or . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Now how many years can a farmer grow over? Go over his quota?
SIMS: He can just keep going over indefinitely.
KLEE: Oh, can they?
SIMS: They're . . . they're allowed ten percent.
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: Plus ten percent on top of their effective quote. Course that ten percent
that they sell over will be subtracted from the next year.KLEE: So . . . all right, if they're over again, they just subtract it? That
just continues . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . but you can't go over . . . over the ten percent?
SIMS: No, because the ten percent is added to the next year too. They wouldn't
allow you to sell down to zero.KLEE: Oh, okay. I see. All right. That's hard for me to figure out [chuckle]
mathematics, but I think I see what you're talking about. Now they . . . they lease all through the year. Is that really what . . . what happens then later? Do you . . . what kind of contact do you have later with the tobacco farmer?SIMS: Through the summer, with the tobacco farmer, it's just mainly his leasing.
Course any new regulations that come out, we're responsible to notify them.KLEE: That leasing just trickles in all throughout the year, I guess?
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Uh-huh. Okay.
SIMS: And then we send out just newsletters with new regulations which, this
year, there's been quite a few with the new no-net policy over tobacco. Actually we don't really get that busy again until September, October.KLEE: Okay, what happens then?
SIMS: Get the marketing cards ready for market, plus each farmer has to certify
that they will not nest tobacco . . .KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: . . . that they're agreeing to the no-net cost, which this year is five
cent, up from one cent last year.KLEE: Okay. All right, now when they get the . . . this is around September, and
when they pick up their marketing card, they sign this agreement.SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Okay, now we'll talk about some of the . . . you know, specifics of that
agreement. You said that they will guarantee not to nest tobacco. A non-farmer might not know what they means.SIMS: It's concealing any foreign matter or any foreign substance in the tobacco
is actually the definition.KLEE: Yeah, so they actually sign . . . and this has become more of a problem,
specifically with the bales?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: The new marketing method.
SIMS: Well, it's become a problem. It's always been the problem . . . actually
most farmers feel that they can nest more tobacco in hand-tied than they can bales.KLEE: Is that right?
SIMS: Cause they can hide it easier.
KLEE: Oh, I didn't . . . I didn't realize that. Okay. I thought, you know, since
the hands were, you know, like a smaller unit, it'd be harder to hide things.SIMS: No, but the bale . . . it's so compact that anything that they put in it
will just about squeeze [inaudible] and show.KLEE: I see. Okay. Now what kind of . . . does it say on this agreement what
kind of penalties are involved if they . . .SIMS: The penalty for this year, which were just a one-year thing as far as the
penalty that's set up, was that any tobacco that went to the pool that was considered nesting, they would have to pay back all of the money that that basket of tobacco brought.KLEE: I see. Okay.
SIMS: Which is . . .
KLEE: Yeah, it'd be a fair amount of money.
SIMS: . . . [inaudible].
KLEE: Uh-huh.
SIMS: If . . . even if the basket weighed seven hundred pounds, and there wasn't
but twenty pounds of nested tobacco, they would still have to pay back the total price of the seven hundred pounds.KLEE: Yeah. That would be a big [inaudible]. All right, now, they also have . .
. you said they . . . they agreed . . . this no-net cost . . . you wanna explain that?SIMS: The no-net cost is something that congress acted on last year to assure
all the taxpayers that the tobacco program was not costing anyone other than the tobacco farmer.KLEE: Right.
SIMS: And tobacco that goes into the pool, which is supported by the government,
is . . . has to . . . was just coming from tax money. Now, the farmers having to pay that hisself, which is . . . really, it's what it amounts to most farmers feel as thought they're paying all the money that's going into it. Actually all they're paying is the interest on the money that's borrowed from the government to support this program.KLEE: Okay. So you've made a distinction here: they're not actually paying for
some of the costs, they're just paying for the interest that . . .SIMS: They're actually . . .
KLEE: . . . carry . . .
SIMS: . . . well that . . . that would actually be the cost.
KLEE: Uh-huh. Yeah. Okay.
SIMS: . . . and then once the . . . once the company buys the tobacco from the
pool, then the money is paid back to the government.KLEE: So really the only government cost is . . . is the overhead and the
storage costs . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . and so on and so forth. Once it's sold, then . . . course the
tobacco doesn't cost anything.SIMS: Right.
KLEE: But it took awhile, the interest . . .
SIMS: To get the [inaudible] . . .
KLEE: . . . to hold that, right. Okay. And they're paying . . . paying that. Now
that was . . . that was a minimum amount last year.SIMS: It was one cent a pound last year, and it's up to five cents a pound this year.
KLEE: Now do you-all . . . cause your office . . . your office is the one that
informs the farmer how much that's gonna be?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: And . . . but it's from the Secretary of Agriculture that actually makes .
. .SIMS: Makes that final decision.
KLEE: . . . that decision. Okay. The figures they were throwing around this year
ranged anywhere . . . I . . . you know, I guess the lowest they talked about was maybe three or four cents, all the way up to nine cents.SIMS: Right.
KLEE: What . . . how did the . . . how did the nickel come in, do you know? Or .
. .SIMS: Well, I think one reason is that the pool got rid of a lot of tobacco this year.
KLEE: Um, hmm.
SIMS: And they're saying that they were gonna be able to get rid of some more
real soon, and they felt that the nickel would cover expenses of what's coming in.KLEE: In the future, if . . . say that this year is short-crop year, if the pool
got hardly none, next year's cost to the farmer might be very minimal?SIMS: It should lower the cost if the pool could get of tobacco they already
have on hand.KLEE: Right. Okay. All right, what else is in this agreement? We've talked about
the nesting, the no-net cost.SIMS: They have to also certify how many acres or approximate acres of what
they're . . . burley tobacco they're raising on the farm.KLEE: It still refers to acres?
SIMS: Acres as far as on this form. This is probably the only form we fool with
that's on acres.KLEE: Uh-huh. So they're . . . even though . . . course that would vary from
farmer to farmer. Some farmers get a better yield . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . than others, but they . . . the . . . the . . . your office, I guess
it's just really trying to find out what kind . . . what percentage of the farm, for example is under cultivation with tobacco . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . and how much total tobacco acreage-wise is being grown.
SIMS: And also, they have to certify of whether they're raising any non-quota
tobacco, which can consist of anything other than burley tobacco in this area.KLEE: Now I'm . . . I'm curious about that. Is there . . . do you ever have any
contact with people trying to do that or doing that?SIMS: It's . . . not in the last few years. At one time, there was, but now
there is a penalty on any non-quota tobacco.KLEE: Yeah.
SIMS: Not a penalty as such, but it does come off the marketing card the same as
burley, which is a lower price and most people don't wanna fool with it . . .KLEE: Sure.
SIMS: . . . anymore.
KLEE: If . . . if a farm didn't have a . . . a tobacco quota, for example,
someone could raise tobacco . . . non-quota type tobacco . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . and not have to report through your office?
SIMS: Course they would still have to . . . no, they would have to pay a penalty
on that, even though it was non-quota tobacco.KLEE: Off . . . off any quota that they might ever have?
SIMS: Well, even if they didn't have a quota, they would have to pay a penalty.
KLEE: Oh, is that right?
SIMS: Which is based on the price support of the previous year.
KLEE: I see.
SIMS: Which, this year, it's a dollar thirty-six cents a pound. So actually
nobody can afford to raise it [inaudible] penalty rate.KLEE: Yeah, tell me how the . . . this . . . this program . . . of course,
farmers are very supportive of the tobacco program, almost . . . you know, fervently. And your office, the ASCS, is really the . . . I guess the arm of the government that controls and operates the program.SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Is there anybody that, you know, is terribly unhappy? You know, I guess
farmers, maybe, that . . . I know that a lot of farmers now are going into big-time operation, is wanting to raise a lot and they have to lease it to get it. Are they still pretty supportive or . . .SIMS: Probably ninety-nine percent are supportive of the program. Course you got
the one percent that's not.KLEE: Uh-huh.
SIMS: On . . . each three years, the burley farmers are allowed to vote on
whether they wanna keep the program or not.KLEE: Yeah.
SIMS: And in the state of , the whole burley belt, has passed by anywhere from
ninety-eight to a hundred percent.KLEE: Sure. Let me . . . let me make sure I haven't missed anything in this
agreement the farmer signs. We talked about the no-net cost and whether there's any non-quota tobacco, about the nesting. Is there any other significant points that . . .SIMS: Well, each farmer has to certify to his tenant . . . this is a new thing
that . . . course under the no-net, too, the tenant and landlord don't have to reach the same agreement on whether they wanna contribute to the no-net cost.KLEE: I see.
SIMS: Then they could fill out that form that one party did not agree to have it
[inaudible]. They would be . . . that all the tobacco to be sold, would be sold under penalty for the one that didn't agree to . . .KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: . . . take it out.
KLEE: All right. Now, you and you . . . you mentioned what that penalty was.
SIMS: Dollar thirty-six cents.
KLEE: Dollar . . . okay. So it . . . it makes . . . I . . . effectively, no one
does this?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: No one . . . what . . . is there . . . was there any other . . . is there
any other major portion of that?SIMS: That's all that . . . the former system.
KLEE: Okay. So you got that going on in September, and I guess that's really the
bulk . . . is that the bulk of the work? What about during the marketing season?SIMS: Well, during the marketing season . . . course after this form is
completed, then we issue the marketing card.KLEE: Um, hmm.
SIMS: Once we have all signatures obtained. Then through the marketing season,
we can have control to some extent over the warehouses of tobacco that's sold. We fill out all the reports that go in, with the pounds sold for each day, from each market.KLEE: Now what . . . you . . . you mentioned . . . what does this mean, now? Are
. . . warehouses are restricted, I guess, by their floor space on how much they can sell or . . .SIMS: Right. Course each market is just allowed to sell so many baskets, and
then it's broken down into individual warehouses according to their floor space, and how much they can sell.KLEE: Okay. And you-all keep an eye on this too?
SIMS: Right. And then we can also keep . . . marketing recorders are part-time
help that work through the office during the winter months. They work in the warehouse itself . . .KLEE: Okay. Now . . .
SIMS: . . . subtracting the pounds off of each individual card.
KLEE: Okay, now you have . . . what were they called? Marketing . . .
SIMS: Marketing recorders.
KLEE: Uh-huh. And do . . . you don't have to employ one of these for each
warehouse, do you or . . .SIMS: No.
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: They just . . . one . . . two market recorders for each set of buyers.
KLEE: Okay. All right.
SIMS: So a market just has . . . you know, just has the one set of buyers.
KLEE: I see. So you just have the . . .
SIMS: Right. In , I think, maybe nine set of buyers, so they would have eighteen
marketing recorders.KLEE: Okay. And these are only employed during the season, that runs from
November to . . .SIMS: From November up to February, the first of March.
KLEE: Okay. And you're trying to keep track of all this?
SIMS: Right. They obtain their reports from the warehouse each day, and then
bring them to our office the first thing in the morning. That's when we fill out reports. And that's when all your statistical data is sent in from the average from the previous day.KLEE: Okay. Now does that kind of take you to the end of the season then? That .
. . really the . . .SIMS: That takes us up until when the marketing card's turned back in.
KLEE: Um, hmm.
SIMS: Course then what the marketing recorders send in each day is programmed in
. A printout is sent back to us in probably March, April, and when we get the marketing cards back, then we have to reconcile with that printout.KLEE: Okay, now the marketing cards come directly back to the warehousemen. Do
they . . . you said they subtract it as they sell it? From the card.SIMS: The marketing recorders do.
KLEE: Oh, okay. Do . . . does the card come back to you from the warehouseman or .
SIMS: No, it goes back to the farmer.
KLEE: Farmer brings it back into you or sends it in or something.
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: And then you reconcile what the recorders have been keeping a record of .
. .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . and what the card says.
SIMS: And then we have to match that against the card. Course if it doesn't
agree, then we have to get the farmer in with his weigh bills and see where the mistake was made.KLEE: Okay. This [chuckle] . . . seems like an incredible amount of mathematical
calculations and so on and so forth. How . . . how does this work effectively? I mean . . .SIMS: It works real good cause there's something to verify everything is done
with it.KLEE: This cross-checking . . .
SIMS: Everything is . . . comes through the office, and what comes to the office
is stored in the computer, so there's a second check against anything that's done.KLEE: Now in a . . . in a . . . a county the size of , you mentioned eighteen
hundred tobacco farmers.SIMS: Right.
KLEE: What does your office consist of? Kinds of employees and so forth?
SIMS: We just have . . . course myself and two regular full-time employees.
KLEE: Uh-huh. And then the . . . in the sea-, during the season, you have these
marketing recorders . . .SIMS: Marketing recorders.
KLEE: Uh-huh. What kind of people do you find to . . . to do this? Are they
people off the . . . usually farmers?SIMS: They're usually . . . no, they're usually . . . the majority of time,
farmer's wives.KLEE: Oh, okay.
SIMS: They're just . . . most of them . . . you'll find the majority will be
ones that have school-aged children and just want a job during the winter. Course the warehouses are mainly running from nine to three, and they're home with the children the rest of the time.KLEE: [inaudible] So it makes a pretty nice set-up for them.
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: When . . . when farmers are debating around the . . . around the general
store about . . . you know, whether tobacco program ought to be supported, and you know, how much the government supports tobacco, and course talking to . . . you know, some . . . some people the government does make a fair amount of money in taxes from them, but is . . . is your office kind of forgotten in that it is a . . . you know it is supported by the government and it's not part of this no-net cost kind of thing?SIMS: I think . . . yeah, most people . . . most farmers feel like that, you
know, they're supporting their selves.KLEE: Oh yeah.
SIMS: That the government is not supporting them at all.
KLEE: Sure, um, hmm.
SIMS: And they feel like . . . course it's . . . seems like more controls have
been put on lately.KLEE: Uh-huh.
SIMS: And, you know, a lot of them are getting fed up with that part.
KLEE: Um, hmm. Well, do they kind of [chuckle] . . . even though you're really
there to make sure the program works successfully . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . effectively, you feel like sometimes they vent their anger on you or
about the no-net cost and some of the other things?SIMS: A few times. Very seldom.
KLEE: Uh-huh. But your office is totally funded through the . . .
SIMS: Federal government.
KLEE: . . . federal government. Department of Agriculture.
SIMS: Sure.
KLEE: Before I leave that, I'm gonna ask you some more tobacco-related
questions, but now you actually . . . tobacco's considered a commodity, is that right?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: And what does that mean, as far as, like, your office is concerned?
SIMS: It's considered a commodity in a sense that it's a commodity, but it's not
considered a commodity in the sense of the other programs that we deal with.KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: You know, most of the programs that we deal with, as far as commodities,
are your feed grains which are . . .KLEE: Now you're talking about corn and . . .
SIMS: . . . [inaudible] soybeans, wheat . . .
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: . . . that are supported by the government with programs that are not . .
. that are just a direct burden to the taxpayer.KLEE: Right. So even though it's . . . you're telling me that tobacco is
classified in this broad group of commodities, but it's singled out . . .SIMS: That the burley farmer's paying for it hisself . . .
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: . . . and the taxpayer is paying for the . . . such as the PIK [Payment in
Kind] Program or [inaudible] Reduction Program for wheat and feed grains.KLEE: Yeah. So in corn, if the . . . if the government . . . course the
government has support prices . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . and if it buys excess corn, then the storage and whatever costs,
whatever loses they have, will occur just . . .SIMS: By the taxpayer.
KLEE: . . . by the taxpayer. Whereas burley . . .
SIMS: The farmer's paying it hisself.
KLEE: Okay. If it ever . . . the . . . the pool, the co-op has always I guess
been able to sell its tobacco . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . but if it ever got in a situation where they'd have to sell it at a
loss, would . . . that would also be part of this no-not cost.SIMS: The farmer would have pay to stand that too.
KLEE: Okay. I see. Now the reverse is also true if . . . when the . . . when the
co-op makes money, that goes back to the farmer?SIMS: Not with the new no-net costs.
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: Up until last year, up 'til the `83 marketing year, that was the case.
KLEE: So there . . .
SIMS: Now the . . . the money is used by the co-op. Course in a sense, it would
go back to the farmer by maybe lowering his . . .KLEE: His cost in the future . . .
SIMS: . . . charge . . .
KLEE: . . . right . . .
SIMS: . . . but he doesn't get the check back like he used to.
KLEE: Yeah, okay. In . . . at one point in time, a farmer might get a check . . .
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . whenever that was sold.
SIMS: When it was sold, and whatever was made on his crop of tobacco, the . . .
he received an additional . . .KLEE: The only way that would ever happen again is if they just made so much
money that they'd have more than enough to operate, I guess.SIMS: Right.
KLEE: That's gonna be probably . . .
SIMS: It's doubtful that'll happen.
KLEE: . . . [chuckle] very doubtful. Okay.
[End Tape #1, Side #1]
[Begin Tape #1, Side #2]
KLEE: This is side two of the tape with Barry Sims. As we end-, as we ended the
other tape, we were talking about how tobacco is singled out as . . . as a special kind of commodity. I wanted you to go ahead and explain . . . you talked about that . . . you-all work with feed grains too, and what other commodities, what other kinds of things do you have to keep a check on in this area?SIMS: With the feed grain itself?
KLEE: Well, with . . . is there any other commodities grown in this area that .
. .SIMS: No, not . . . not in the state of . There's a small amount of cotton, just
in the tip of western .KLEE: Right. So really, say in , you just got soybeans and corn, the tobacco . . .
SIMS: One or two barley farms and that's . . . no grain sorghum.
KLEE: Yeah. So the big thing is, I guess, you know, corn's probably . . .
particularly the last couple years, has been a big thing . . .SIMS: Corn is the bigger [inaudible] . . .
KLEE: . . . [inaudible]. Uh-huh. Next to tobacco. Let me go back to the tobacco,
then, and ask you about . . . particularly the leasing aspect and so forth. Do you . . . you told me about now, what happens if . . . who decides when . . . when a large farm is sold how . . . what part will get what poundage and so on and so forth?SIMS: Course if the farm is sold as an individual tract, it'll get the pounds
that . . . the basic quota that stays with the farm. If it's divided up, our office determines how much would go with each tract, as determined by crop land.KLEE: Now your . . . your office decides?
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: If . . . if it is split into tracts?
SIMS: If it's split into tracts.
KLEE: So you might decide that one section gets all the poundage?
SIMS: Right, if all the crop land would lay on that section.
KLEE: I see. What about the . . . the lease limitation? I know that's something
that's changed.SIMS: The lease limitation . . . since the poundage program had gone in, was set
at fifteen thousand pounds.KLEE: Um, hmm.
SIMS: In 1982 crop year, it went to thirty thousand. Now it's back down to
fifteen thousand.KLEE: Oh, it had changed that . . .
SIMS: Now changed it back to fifteen thousand, I think before the `84 crop.
KLEE: Okay. Now, what about leasing? If I . . . we got a lot of little counties
in tobacco, or in . If I live on the line, can I . . . can I lease another person's . . .SIMS: You cannot lease across county lines. It has to be within the county.
KLEE: That's kind of an absolute kind of . . .
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . rule. What about . . . what about a landowner that owns a lot of
land, and has land, say, in Bracken and Fleming? Or Harrison and Robertson? Can he grow at all in Robertson?SIMS: Up until three years ago, you could combine farms across county lines, if
it was the same ownership. And now you . . . you can't do that. If it was already combined, it could be left that way.KLEE: I see.
SIMS: But there can't be any additional land combined across county lines.
KLEE: Okay, so a big farmer might buy another . . . another farm, but he'd have
to grow . . . if he wanted his quota, he'd have to grow it . . .SIMS: Keep it in the county where he owned the land.
KLEE: Does the fact that, you know, of course different counties’ farm land
varies, does the fact that in some counties the lease price for a tenant is way high and in other counties, low? That doesn't affect you-all really any?SIMS: Doesn't affect us in the sense other than what you just mentioned. That's
when farmers wanna combine their farms across county lines.KLEE: I see. Okay. You've got more people trying to get through that angle than
you do really trying to lease the crops?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Because they just . . . that . . . your book work catches that?
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Pretty quickly.
KLEE: Is there any way that, you know, some places now you can buy little tracts
that might have three or four hundred pounds. Is there any way for someone to lose that poundage?SIMS: The only way they can lose it is to go five years without raising tobacco.
Raise it or lease it.KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: Five year without history.
KLEE: All right, well what about . . . what if they just grow it once every two
or three years?SIMS: Then that'd be fine.
KLEE: That still all right?
SIMS: They can keep their quota.
KLEE: So the only way you lose quota is to . . .
SIMS: Go five consecutive years.
KLEE: Okay, the only way to grow, or to . . . to gain some quota is how?
SIMS: Course a farm without a quota can apply for a quota, but it's real hard to do.
KLEE: Uh-huh.
SIMS: The main thing that catches most people on it, there are four or five
requirements to it. The main one that stops most people is that they have to obtain half of their income from farming, which, if they just own a small tract without a quota, most of them have jobs off the farm, and it's practically impossible.KLEE: Yeah.
SIMS: Course they have to have available . . . available equipment. Barn space.
And two years out of the last five previous of raising tobacco. Experience.KLEE: So it's hard to raise tobacco when you don't have any.
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: So it's kind of a Catch-22 for people?
SIMS: Right. Plus, you can, even though you don't have a quota, lease [inaudible].
KLEE: Uh-huh. Oh, well that's true. What about . . . has . . . does anybody ever
effectively get in?SIMS: Yeah, that . . . there's . . . you know, in different counties, there's .
. . it'll average maybe one producer in four or five years that'll be able to obtain one.KLEE: Yeah.
SIMS: Most of them are through someone that's either been a tenant on farms and
gone out and bought a farm without quota . . .KLEE: I see.
SIMS: . . . or a farmer that was already in, say, the hog business or a dairy
operation and . . . has got the income from farming.KLEE: Right. And been raising . . . how much . . . I guess you can apply for as
much as you want or . . .SIMS: Course the county committee determines that. Course that's recommended.
And it just depends on the size of the farm. And the amount of pounds that are available that year to be given out.KLEE: Okay, now how . . . how's that determined? Is that by people that have . .
. that lost . . .SIMS: That have lost quota. And that's determined . . . all of it that's lost
goes to . They distribute it out to the burley states; the states distribute it out to the counties.KLEE: So it doesn't . . . the . . . if . . . if a whole lot of, say, some big
corporation came in and bought a lot of land and didn't raise the tobacco, and course that land lost its tobacco, that wouldn't automatically come back to the county?SIMS: No. It goes to the national level and then starts back down.
KLEE: Oh . . . you . . . as you've already said, in most counties, people don't
get new pounds. What happens to some that's filtered back down to the counties? Some of the new poundage?SIMS: The new poundage?
KLEE: Uh-huh.
SIMS: It's given to . . . for new adjustments to farmers. The . . . course the
county committee again just reviews farms in the county that they feel like are low with quota, according to their production records, and just distribute it out accordingly.KLEE: You mentioned that . . . you said . . . before I leave that, you already
mentioned that it's gone up like three percent over the last . . . was that right?SIMS: Last four years.
KLEE: Four years, okay. So it's been a minimal amount . . .
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . now if . . . if there were several short years in a row, and course
that wouldn't really affect whether you're gonna raise the . . . the quota because everybody would be short and be able to grow more whenever they had a good year.SIMS: Right. But sometimes they do raise the national average just for that reason.
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: The companies have a lot to do with it, too . . . recommendations to the
Secretary of Agriculture, of what they think they're gonna need for the next year.KLEE: You mentioned that you sent out newsletters through the year to keep
people abreast . . .SIMS: Um, hmm.
KLEE: . . . of what kind of change is taking place. In the years you been
working, particularly with tobacco, what kinds of things have you had to send out to farmers that you thought were pretty significant?SIMS: Well, I think in the last year, there's been more changes in the tobacco
program than there has been since the tobacco program was established. With the no-net costs coming in.KLEE: Okay. That . . . that's one of the main . . .
SIMS: Right. All the provisions to it. Course right now, we're working . . .
we've been working the last week on corporations, government property that's gonna have to sell their bases.KLEE: Okay. Let . . . let's . . . let's approach that topic, cause that's . . .
you know that . . .SIMS: It's really a hot topic.
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: With some corporations not wanting to sell, and some wanting to sell.
KLEE: Well is this . . . is this something that's going to happen?
SIMS: It's gonna happen by December the first.
KLEE: Okay, well that seems to be, you know, it's the end of September now, and
I guess that finally . . . that was talked about, I think, as early as what? Well it's been talked about . . .SIMS: A year ago.
KLEE: . . . for several years. Okay.
SIMS: When the . . . and then, course the end terms to the federal register was
printed in April. Course the final register was just received by the county offices today.KLEE: The final register?
SIMS: The final . . . final register with the final ruling on this was received today.
KLEE: Now that issue . . . that was . . . that was issued by the Secretary of
Agriculture, I guess, and did . . . he got congressional orders to do that or how . . .SIMS: Yes.
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: Course it became law when the no-net went in. Course it was just up to the
lawyers to get the final way it was gonna be handled . . . down and then printed in the federal registry.KLEE: Course I'd have to talk to a politician really to address that issue, but
this was kind of a compromise thing for tobacco. To try to keep the program going, they thought this was a good thing to give up.SIMS: Right.
KLEE: What . . . say in a place like , how much tobacco we talking about there?
SIMS: It's really hard to determine right now. The way the final law is written,
any farm has to be considered for loss that is now owned by an in-, either an individual or by husband and wife.KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: So that's gonna affect probably thirty to forty percent of the farms in .
KLEE: Okay, now what kinds of . . . what kinds of other people own farms? You
mentioned corporations.SIMS: Corporations, government, churches, educational institutions.
KLEE: Okay. [inaudible] family that say, jointly owns a farm?
SIMS: A family that jointly owns a farm, if it's other than husband and wife,
would have to be reviewed. If they owned another business, and twenty percent of their income did not come from farming, then they would have to sell.KLEE: I see. So even though it originally affects thirty, forty percent, it
might . . . that figure . . .SIMS: It probably would not affect over . . . by the time it's handed down,
twenty-five producers maybe in the county.KLEE: Out of the eighteen hundred.
SIMS: Out of eighteen hundred.
KLEE: Okay, now the ones that you kind of used as examples, those are the ones
that are really gonna be hit. Maybe the schools and churches . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . government institutions and so on and so forth. You mentioned that
some people are happy about that . . . well, I guess there's not very many happy, but . . .SIMS: Well, some corporations are, because they wanna get rid of it. They don't
wanna fool with it anyway.KLEE: Just the book work, leasing it out.
SIMS: Right. Right. It's more trouble to them than it's worth. Course your
schools such as has a quota. FFA class has been raising it for years, and uses . . .KLEE: [inaudible] education?
SIMS: Right. And then they need that money to their chapter. So they're gonna
lose approximately five thousand dollar a year income.KLEE: Whew.
SIMS: So . . .
KLEE: Now you said that they are gonna have to sell by December first?'
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: How . . . is this gonna be handled through your office too?
SIMS: The sale itself will, the transfer will be. Course they'll . . . selling
it, you know, will be up to them on an individual basis. Of how they wanna sell it, give it away, whatever.KLEE: So you think, like, Harrison County High, if they decide to sell to a
private individual, they'll come down to your office and they won't have to say how much they sold it for .SIMS: No.
KLEE: . . . or anything, they'll just sign it over, more or less.
SIMS: Right. Just be the same type agreement as the lease, except it'll be permanent.
KLEE: A permanent kind of lease.
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Now I guess anybody that's classified as an individual or husband and wife
that owns an operation is eligible to buy.SIMS: Anybody's eligible to buy. There'll be certain restrictions on that which
. . . one restriction will be that they have . . . to contribute twenty percent of the cost . . . total . . . not cost, but twenty percent of the total price that that crop will bring, to the production of it. So in other words, nobody can just buy it and turn around and lease it out. They would have to raise it their self.KLEE: Okay. I see.
SIMS: For a five-year period.
KLEE: For five years. Though . . . let me understand that. If they lease it the
first year, twenty percent of the cost . . .SIMS: They have to contribute to twenty percent of the total cost of the
production of it . . .KLEE: I see. Okay. All right. That individual or husband and wife . . .
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . who buys that tobacco. Has anybody sold anything yet? It just came through.
SIMS: There's been a few that have been sold back when the . . . the rule was
first written. They thought it was gonna become effective right now. Course there hasn't been anything transferred in our office, it's just been an agreement between the parties.KLEE: Okay. You haven't heard through the grapevine what some of that . . .
SIMS: Have no idea of the price.
KLEE: Have any idea what it might be?
SIMS: The only thing I would have was what the Lexington Herald quoted, four to
five dollars a pound. I think they were maybe quoting on the Kentucky Horse . . .KLEE: Park. They were talking about . . . yeah, I understand that. Now how do
you . . . how . . . is this . . . this isn't really gonna affect production or anything very much. It's just kind of a political .SIMS: No, it shouldn't affect production at all. Cause the pounds will just be
transferred from one farm to another, so somebody will be raising the pounds.KLEE: Do you see a lot of tobacco being concentrated . . . and of course this .
. . you're in a good position to see this . . . over the three or four years you've been working, is tobacco beginning to be concentrated in the hands of a few producers?SIMS: Not . . . no.
KLEE: Isn't it?
SIMS: Because . . . it . . . there's just as many tenants . . . small tenants,
large tenants as there ever was.KLEE: Is that right.
SIMS: There's a few people that have got bigger, but they got bigger because
some of the smaller ones have got out on their own accord that have just wanted to get out. And, you know, gone and took other jobs.KLEE: Yeah. But you don't see a few producers with big marketing cards and
others that . . .SIMS: No.
KLEE: There's still a lot of small . . .
SIMS: There's more small than there is large.
KLEE: You talk about all the drastic changes. Have the . . . the marketing
process itself, the selling of the finished product, that isn't . . . hasn't affect you in any way has it?SIMS: No, and really that part hadn't changed, outside of tobacco going to being
baled instead of hand-tied. And of course, the proposal for this year is that it can be in a burlap sheet [inaudible].KLEE: But that really won't . . .
SIMS: That won't affect price . . .
KLEE: . . . you don't keep track of that at all? What about your relationship
with the different people you work with? Farmers, for example. You have a lot of contact with them.SIMS: I have a lot of contact with farmers. I think farmers are the greatest
people to work with because we've got something that they want.KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: And it's not like some of the other federal agencies that are having to
contact people for various reasons other than to try to help them.KLEE: So I guess a lot of farmers are really anxious to find out what their
quota is and . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . so they . . . they come in there and pick up the cards when they're
ready . . .SIMS: Sure. We don't have any problem getting them in for that.
KLEE: Okay. I see. You have to do some work with warehousemen too. How are they
to work with?SIMS: The majority of them you have very little trouble with warehouse people
because they . . . they want . . . they want the tobacco program to work too. And I mean, if the tobacco program goes out, then they go out too. Course we go along with them. They . . . they wanna abide by the rules and make sure that everything is done in the best way for the farmer and for the program.KLEE: Let me follow that up then. You mentioned [chuckle] that, you know, the .
. . a great percentage of your business depends on, you know, it . . . it deals with tobacco. You think that ASCS offices would be that drastically affected if the support program [inaudible]?SIMS: If the tobacco program went out, it would probably . . . especially for
all the counties in the burley belt with ASCS, there just wouldn't be any work.KLEE: I see.
SIMS: It would probably go from an office in every county to maybe a central
office in five or six counties.KLEE: I see. Just to handle whatever commodities were . . .
SIMS: Right, with some feed grain, and that would be the majority of the work.
KLEE: Right. I see. What do you see working in the government offices . . . for
example, what kinds of things are you having to . . . to tell farmers now? Recent newsletters, for example. You just kind of keeping them to date on what's going on?SIMS: Right. With the tobacco and with other programs.
KLEE: Yeah.
SIMS: Course we . . . like I said, sent out the newsletter today notifying them
of the corporations . . . that this would begin. There's a Payment-in-Kind program for wheat for next year.KLEE: I see.
SIMS: To go into . . . a small amount of detail on that. The wool program which
we have every year.KLEE: I see. What about the . . . what do you see for the future with the
tobacco? The tobacco program, for example?SIMS: I think there's gonna be changes, but I don't think it'd be near as
drastic as what we've had in the last year. I believe they've got a program now that'll be accepted by the taxpayer and by the farmer.KLEE: You have these adjustments [inaudible] . . .
SIMS: Kind of . . . right.
KLEE: Don't foresee a lot of things happening?
SIMS: I would . . . can't think that, you know, the general public, taxpayer . .
. you know, as long as he knows that it's not costing out of his pocket, then he's gonna be satisfied with the program.KLEE: Yeah. Let me ask you a couple little specific things. For example, this
lease limit, do you see it changing again? Like you've gone from fifteen thousand to thirty thousand, back to fifteen?SIMS: I don't really think so because it was at fifteen thousand ever since the
beginning of the poundage program.KLEE: I see.
SIMS: And the reason it went to thirty was maybe . . . it was maybe a mistake,
maybe just a temporary adjustment to try to get the tobacco program caught back up.KLEE: I see. What about the leasing across county lines? Do you think that's
gonna . . .SIMS: I don't foresee that in the future because it would be impossible to
control through the county offices.KLEE: Okay. So . . . the . . . the way it's kind of set up now, kind of
necessitates that?SIMS: Right.
KLEE: So that the people can keep control of it.
SIMS: It would be impossible for one county office to know if a producer had
sold in another county.KLEE: Right, that's true. What kind of coordination is there between the county
offices? It really isn't . . . I guess you have to coordinate more with the state?SIMS: With the state.
KLEE: Yeah, because it's kind of a self-contained unit there. What about the . .
. there's not any experimentation going on with non-quota type tobacco or different varieties of tobacco or anything?SIMS: Very little. Course the tobacco companies do some of that their selves to
individual producers.KLEE: Yeah.
SIMS: But very little of it in this area.
KLEE: I see. Tell me about the violations when someone . . . we . . . we talked
about the nesting, of course, which is a violation of the program, but the actual growing . . .SIMS: Okay, well course the quota has to be raised on the farm that it's
assigned to. And that's a lease he's transacting. Course if tobacco is not raised on this farm, then it is in violation of the pounds. Due . . . with the penalty of the three-fourths to support the price from the previous year.KLEE: Now how do you . . . is there . . . how do you keep track of that?
SIMS: We usually keep track of it from neighbors.
KLEE: [chuckle] Okay.
SIMS: Or by somebody telling on their self.
KLEE: I see.
SIMS: Us-, usually it'll come from someone that . . . through not even aiming to
tell on them will say, you know, "John Doe's not raising any tobacco on his farm this year." And then John Doe turns his marketing card in that he sold ten thousand bales.KLEE: I see.
SIMS: And we know that there has been a violation committed.
KLEE: I see. Now . . . how's that . . . why would somebody do that? Or they speculating?
SIMS: There's different reasons. Course some of it is honest mistakes. Some of
it is just simply dishonest. Some of them are tenant farmers that raise tobacco on eight or ten different landlords. They'll take a few pounds from each farm and take it to their own, and they sell it without the landlord ever knowing.KLEE: I see.
SIMS: Course this is just to save their production costs. I mean, they've just
the same as got a free crop.KLEE: Okay. I see. What about . . . would someone violate because maybe they
have poor land and somebody else over here has got some real good land and they . . .SIMS: They shouldn't do that because they could sign a lease.
KLEE: Yeah. Okay.
SIMS: And transfer. Course sometimes that happens, just with an honest mistake
of a farmer that just hadn't kept up with the program that well. Course he is notified four or five times a year that he can't do this, but just doesn't take the time to read the regulations [inaudible].KLEE: That's true. Yeah. Because of all this mathematical work, I . . . I
wondered if you-all had computerized, or how that was working?SIMS: At the present, we're not on computers. But from what we do understand,
we're gonna be on computers within the next three years.KLEE: Um, hmm. So when you're doing . . . you know, like you get a crop
[inaudible] how much that fella sold and how much excess it was, and you have to figure out a marketing card, you just had ledger books and calculators and . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . and just figured it up?
SIMS: And then, course, each producer has kept a five-year history card [inaudible].
KLEE: Now do you issue those cards too?
SIMS: No, we keep those in the office. That's just for our own use.
KLEE: Okay.
SIMS: And we . . . just put everything on those cards that's done.
KLEE: And you keep those five years, and then discard?
SIMS: We keep them probably thirty, thirty-five years. There are five years on
each card, and we just keep them indefinitely. Keep filing them.KLEE: How do you-all . . . course you're like . . . what . . . what's your title
with . . . with the office?SIMS: County Executive Director.
KLEE: You're county executive director, so you're in charge of personnel . . .
SIMS: Right.
KLEE: . . . and coordinating these programs. Do you have to file an annual
budget? For example, obviously different . . . there's different rents in different counties and . . .SIMS: Yeah, all that is done at the county level.
KLEE: Um, hmm. Now how do they . . . do they give you X amount of money for
overhead, for example, and you have to find a rent within that limit or . . .SIMS: Right.
KLEE: Okay. So you . . . you generally do just lease . . . lease your place or .
. .SIMS: We lease our office space.
KLEE: I see. And . . . and you . . . you're in charge of personnel, as I said,
and . . . how do . . . what kind of training do you need to get a position like this?SIMS: Course you have to have a background in agriculture, a degree in
agriculture. And then there's a six-months training course. That once you're hired, you have to take that before you're certified to become county executive director.KLEE: Now what do you . . . you intern then, more or less, with another group?
Another . . .SIMS: You just . . .
KLEE: . . . office or . . .
SIMS: . . . you take training at various offices over the state of .
KLEE: I see. Is there a . . . is there a mechanism for you-all to transfer
around and . . .SIMS: Yes.
KLEE: You said you were in Boone . . .
SIMS: I was in and transferred to .
KLEE: Uh-huh. Obviously when you change, you change the kind of jobs too,
because different places raise . . .SIMS: Different places have different . . .
KLEE: You prefer . . . you prefer what kind of . . . what kind of area?
SIMS: With the burley tobacco.
KLEE: That's what . . . that's what I figured. Thanks for talking to me. I
appreciate it.SIMS: Okay.
[End Tape #1, Side #2]
[End of Interview]
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