Tobacco harvest in full swing at Wendolowski Farm in Hatfield (Photos)
HATFIELD — One by one, workers at the M.A. Wendolowski Farm swing hatchets into Connecticut broadleaf tobacco plants, cutting them down for transport.
Three workers chop down the tobacco plants and prep them on the ground ready to be loaded onto tractor trailers, before being set to dry in barns. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
The freshly harvested stalks are quickly loaded onto trailers and hauled to one of the many barns dotting the Pioneer Valley, where they'll be carefully hung to dry.
Chase Dennie unloads hanging tobacco leaves from a tractor trailer and passes them up to a worker in the rafters of the barn, where the plants will dry. In November, the leaves will have dried and will be sold to cigar companies for their wraps. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
The harvest kicks off in early August, and by the first week of September, all 15 barns on the Hatfield property will be filled. The leaves will hang until November, when they're finally taken down, cured and sold to vendors.
James Zehelski, 89, drives his own tractor to Wendolowski Farm to help with the tobacco harvest. The other workers in the field all talk about his tractor and jokingly ask him to leave it to them in his will. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Where do they specifically end up? That's a bit of a mystery.
Tobacco is grown on 35 acres at the M.A. Wendolowski Farm in Hatfield this year. The tobacco leaves then get sold to cigar companies that use the leaves to make the wraps for cigars. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
"We don't really know what cigar brands use our leaves," said farm owner Mark Wendolowski. "Usually, the packaging just says they're from the area."
Angel Perez, right, works the tobacco fields at M.A. Wendolowski Farm in Hatfield during the harvest at the beginning of August. It ends in early September. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Since taking over the operation from his father in 2018, farm owner Mark Wendolowski has seen a resurgence of demand for Connecticut broadleaf. The farm, which once cultivated just 9 acres of tobacco, now uses 35 acres for it this year.
Mark Wendolowski, owner of M.A. Wendolowski Farm, said that when he took over the family farm in 2018 from his father, he wanted to go back to growing tobacco, partly because the industry was seeing a resurgence, but also because of the heritage of tobacco farming in the Pioneer Valley. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Connecticut broadleaf has been grown in the area since the 1600s, according to The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station . This is because of the Connecticut River Valley's fertile soil, Wendolowski explained.
At M.A. Wendolowski Farm in Hatfield, Chase Dennie unloads hanging tobacco from a tractor trailer and helps hang it in the rafters of the barn to dry. Mark Wendolowski, farm owner, said that when he took over the family farm in 2018 from his father, he wanted to go back to growing tobacco, partly because the industry was seeing a resurgence, but also because of the heritage of tobacco farming in the Pioneer Valley. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
The local tobacco boom comes despite a devastating 2023 season , when heavy rain and flooding wiped out roughly 70% of the farm's crop. Across Hampshire and Franklin counties, more than 2,500 seasonal farmworkers, many of whom rely on summer harvests for the bulk of their income, were displaced. Only a portion of them work in tobacco, but the effects were widespread.
This is the fourth year Ryan Hannah has worked at M.A. Wendolowski Farm in Hatfield, harvesting tobacco. The tobacco harvest season starts early August and will be finished the first week of September, according to owner Mark Wendolowski. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
This year, however, has brought ideal conditions.
Angel Perez works the tobacco fields at M.A. Wendolowski Farm in Hatfield during the harvest that ends in early September. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
"It's been a great crop," said Wendolowski, who runs the farm alongside his wife, Alicia.
Workers chop down tobacco plants and prep them on the ground to be loaded onto tractor trailers and hung up in one of the barns. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
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