State Fair stages tobacco-auction demonstration Friday
By Staff Writer · Published 10/21/2026, 7:16:48 PM ET
Retired auctioneers and tobacco buyers will recreate the former sales process at the North Carolina State Fair on October 23.
RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina State Fair will demonstrate a traditional tobacco auction at 2 p.m. Friday, October 23, in the Tobacco Pavilion at Heritage Circle, the state agriculture department announced October 21.
Retired auctioneers will take part alongside tobacco-company buyers. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is also scheduled to attend, according to the department.
The reenactment will show how a harvested crop once reached buyers. Farmers brought bundled tobacco to market on burlap sheets arranged in rows, and auctioneers moved along those rows with buyers and warehouse employees. The auctioneer called bids while buyers signaled which tobacco they wanted and the prices they would offer.
The department says most tobacco is now sold through contracts instead of auctions. It also identifies North Carolina as the nation’s leading producer of flue-cured tobacco.
The announcement gives the demonstration’s time and location but does not specify its length or provide admission information.
What it means
The event offers fairgoers a demonstration of an earlier tobacco-marketing system. The department describes a mock auction, so the announcement should not be read as a report of a commercial sale or current crop prices. Its comparison with contract sales explains how the demonstration differs from the way most tobacco is marketed today.
Source
This State & Nation summary is based on North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’s original release, dated 2026-10-21. The reporting and statistics above are attributed to that publication.