Dan River Region hails JTI Leaf

JTI Leaf Services’ decision to process American-grown tobacco in Danville doesn’t just mean 39 new full-time jobs and 150 seasonal jobs.
It’s about more opportunities for the Dan River Region’s tobacco farmers — and a potential shot in the arm for the local agricultural economy.
“They’re here. They never left,” Commissioner Todd Haymore of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said of local tobacco farmers last week. “They have the land and the infrastructure. They have the knowledge and the know-how.”
Over the past decade, though, it seemed like those advantages — developed over generations of growing tobacco in this community — were destined to be ignored, forgotten and eventually lost. Make no mistake about it — flue-cured tobacco is still an important cash crop in the Dan River Region. But the acres grown and the pounds produced are well off the marks set just a decade ago.
It’s no surprise, then that local economic developers have moved on to recruit new manufacturing, retail and technology jobs to the Dan River Region.
But in this economy, any job is a good job and if we can keep local tobacco farmers — and all the people who supply them — working, than we’ve at least stabilized an economic sector long assumed to be a lost cause.
“In these tough economic times, this multimillion dollar investment and the jobs it creates are especially significant in Southside Virginia,” Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said in a news release. “Even as we continue to diversify the region’s economy, we’re pleased by the opportunity to build on traditional industries that have historically been important in the commonwealth.”
The deal was closed with a $100,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund and up to $250,000 from the Virginia Tobacco Commission. JTI Leaf Services is also eligible to receive money from the Virginia Enterprise Zone program.
Some people may see that as an example of new money chasing after old jobs. But we think it’s a smart investment in jobs that can be filled quickly by a company that recognizes the quality product grown here.
The Dan River Region needs every good job it can get, and growth in the tobacco sector through JTI Leaf Services’ commitment to our community is great news.