All of the Amish farms have several barns used for different purposes. They have dairy cows and raise chickens or hogs. Most of the farms have some kind of animals to provide home raised meat.
They also raise hay, wheat, barley, rye, corn, and in Lancaster County the main cash crop is tobacco. The barn to the left in the photo below is a tobacco barn.
Because tobacco is a hand-crop, the Amish can compete well with the modern farmer. The Amish have been growing tobacco in Lancaster County since 1838, but it has become a controversial crop in the Amish community, just as it has among the general population.
Growing tobacco starts with the seeding in March, and in August it is cut, left to wilt, and then spread onto tobacco lathes and hung in a ventilated barn to dry. In December after it is dried it is taken down, placed into a dampening room and then the leaves are stripped from the stalk. The tobacco leaves are put into bales and sold to a tobacco company or taken to the tobacco auction and sold.
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Check out more old barns at Tricia's Barn Charm.
