Connecticut Tobacco?

Did you know  Connecticut has region known as "Tobacco Valley"? Tobacco is a major cash crop for the state and was a major economic booster in the mid-19th century...

History

Settlers from Europe learned about tobacco from the Native people of North America who used tobacco in pipes. In the Connecticut Valley, farmers have grown specialized tobacco used for the two outside layers of cigars - the binder and the wrapper, since the early 1800s. This type of tobacco is known as Shade tobacco and has been recognized as the finest cigar wrapper in the world. 

In the mid-19th century, an area which ran from Springfield, Massachusetts, to Hartford, Connecticut, had become a center for cash-crop production and was known as “Tobacco Valley.”  Commercial tobacco production expanded dramatically in the early 1800s thanks to the growing popularity of cigars among men in the U.S. It brought in millions of dollars and provided a source of work for thousands of young people fourteen or more years old. At its height in acreage in 1925, there were 30,000 acres of tobacco in Connecticut alone.

It's still a major cash-crop  for the state

Source

There are a couple of types of tobacco grown in the area.

Broadleaf

and Shade

"Connecticut shade tobacco is a tobacco grown under shade. Around the year 1900, Connecticut tobacco growers were facing increased competition from Ecuador, specifically the Sumatra region. However, when Sumatran seeds were brought to Connecticut to grow, they were getting scorched by the sun and dying. In order to use these seeds, tobacco farmers pioneered a technique called shade-grown tobacco, where a cheesecloth is placed above the tobacco plant while growing to prevent direct sunlight."

"The results were fantastic, and this technique quickly spread to other varietals of tobacco and other growing regions. Not only does this cheesecloth limit the sunlight that can damage fragile leaves, it also increases the temperature and humidity of the air around the tobacco plant increasing yields."  Source

South Glastonbury Tobacco Farms

Crops of broadleaf tobacco can be seen quite frequently in the area. (I believe further north in the Windsor area shade tobacco is more common)

Many barns in the area have a peculiar elongated shape. These are (or were) tobacco barns where the sides would be opened up for drying the leaves

barn on the right is opened for drying

On Hubbard Street in Glastonbury there's an abandoned cigar factory

Close up

Further Info

Introduction to Connecticut's Tobacco Valley (YouTube)

Connecticut shade tobacco (Wikipedia)

Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum

Connecticut Tobacco Crop Report

Windsor Tobacco: Made in the Shade

USA Climate Change Maps

Recent extreme weather incidents are examples of human-caused climate change supercharging extreme rainfall events which are are likely to become more common as long as the planet continues to get hotter.

"The reason is based on a physics principle known as the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship, which relates temperature, pressure and water vapor. The principle shows that warmer air can hold more water vapor -- about 7% more water vapor per 1 degree Celsius. More water vapor in the atmosphere means more moisture available to fall as rain, which leads to higher rainfall rates."

On average, the planet has already warmed more than 1 degree Celsius since pre-industrial times, according to a major UN climate change report published earlier this month. Over land areas there has been even more warming, and particularly in the Eastern US, which has led to a noticeable increase in heavy downpours that lead to flash flooding, according to the most recent National Climate Assessment." Source

Every Place Has Its Own Climate Risk. What Is It Where You Live?

Maps Source Below

Stress per Region

Increase in Precipitation

Increase in Droughts

Details