A small family farm in southwestern Ontario is not commonly thought of as a research centre, but on many farms, including mine in Kent County, research is occurring every day. The main crop on my family’s farm is black, fire-cured tobacco, and each year my dad, who is head-scientist at our research centre, conducts studies to learn more about tobacco and find ways of improving its quality. These studies focus on areas such as ground types, plant spacing, plug plants versus bare root plants, and different methods of firing the barns, and each year new information is gained. This new information, whether used only on our farm or shared and used by many, is the basis of advancements in agriculture.

Before any crop can be grown, the farmer must decide which type of soil the crop grows best in, to get the best possible yield. Over the years my dad has discovered that tobacco grows better on loam than on sandy soil. When grown in loam type soil, tobacco plants end up having better weight, the ultimate goal for tobacco production. Therefore each year dad carefully plans his crop rotation so that tobacco will be grown on loam.

When planting, we have discovered that the spacing between the plants is very important. During different growing seasons we have experimented with 28, 32, and 36 inch spacing between plants. Spacing the plants 32 inches apart turned out to be the best overall. With a spacing of 36 inches, the plants developed very well, but it took up too much land so it was not economical. At 28 inches apart, the plants were too confined and therefore did not develop to full potential or weight. So, 32 inch spacing allowed for the development of strong, heavy plants, and use the land economically.

Each year dad compares the two types of black tobacco plants we grow, bare root plants and plug plants. So far, his research has turned up a mixed bag of results as to which type is better. He has discovered that plugs have a higher survival rate than bare roots after being transplanted from the greenhouse to the field, because the plugs already have a strong root system developed, where as the bare roots must have ideal weather conditions so that they can develop a strong root system.

Another discovery that we have made about these plants is that bare root plants grow in a triangle shape, with bigger leaves at the bottom and smaller leaves at the top, and plugs are opposite, like an inverted triangle with bigger leaves at the bottom. The bottom leaves, are the lowest grade, called sand leaves, and since bare root plants have larger sand leaves than the plugs, when we are stripping the tobacco the bare root plants have a higher weight percentage of sand leaves than plug plants. In overall weight bare root plants are also higher than plug plants. Therefore our research in this area is inconclusive as both types of plants have their own pros produce as many sand leaves, but they produce less weight overall. Bare root plants have a lower survival rate after transplanting, but the one that do grow produce more weight at harvest time.

Firing the barns to cure black tobacco is a tedious process, which requires the right temperature, humidity, and amount of smoke to dry and colour the tobacco. In recent years many farmers have been using corn cobs and lots of sawdust of make the fires in the barns, but a common problem of fat stems has occurred. This year dad plans to experiment, and use logs and less sawdust to make the fires. This the method used many years ago to make the fires and dad hypothesizes that the logs will create a drier heat to combat the fat stem problem.

Research is an everyday occurrence on most farms, as many farmers, like my dad, try to get better yields from their crops, and improve the quality of their products to keep current markets and maybe attract new ones. Agriculture is a big business in Canada, and like other industries it must become more efficient to compete in the global market. Efficiency is achieved by reducing costs, increasing production, and improving quality, all of which can only be done by research. Each farmer’s "curiosity-driven" scientific research on his own farm leads to advancements in agriculture as entire industry.