More than 700 acres of Connecticut farmland were planted with shade tobacco in 2011. Since then, those shade plantings have plummeted by nearly 80%, a decline that has some experts fearing that this iconic, century-old crop is about to vanish forever from the state's landscape.
It is out of such concern, that Cigar Rights of America (CRA) initiated a letter from Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT) to the U.S. Department of Agriculture raising the concern of federal cigar regulation on Connecticut tobacco farmers.
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