Home Based Income Online

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, from voaspecialenglish.com | http A cash crop is a crop grown for money. Four hundred years ago the first cash crop for European colonists in North America was tobacco. American Indians were already growing it. Then in sixteen twelve, says tobacco.org, an Englishman named John Rolfe found that it would “grow well in Virginia and sell profitably in England.” But tobacco kills millions every year. Farmers face increasing government restrictions on tobacco use. They also face less demand from developed countries and more competition from developing ones. Some farmers now grow niche crops instead of or in addition to tobacco. Niche crops are aimed at a particular market, but choosing what to plant can be difficult. Professor Tony Johnston at Middle Tennessee State University says most tobacco farms are relatively small. “The big issue for all the tobacco growing states is to find those small crops, those niche crops that would provide enough cash flow with fairly similar amounts of area on which you plant your crops.” Some tobacco farmers raise prawns, or freshwater shrimp. This kind of shellfish is used in different foods and often served cold in what Americans call shrimp cocktails. The British call them prawn cocktails. Tennessee farmer Jane Corbin says she got into this aquaculture business because it “sounded interesting.” On a recent weekend, she and her sons harvested tobacco and prawns from the same field. The prawns …