This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

A cash crop is a crop grown for money. Four hundred years ago the first cash crop for European colonists in North America was tobacco.

American Indians were already growing it. Then in sixteen twelve an Englishman named John Rolfe found it would "grow well in Virginia and sell profitably in England," says tobacco.org.

But tobacco kills millions every year. Farmers face increasing government restrictions on tobacco use. They also face less demand from developed countries and more competition from developing ones.

Some farmers now grow niche crops instead of or in addition to tobacco. Niche crops are aimed at a particular market, but choosing what to plant can be difficult. Professor Tony Johnston at Middle Tennessee State University says most tobacco farms are relatively small.