Planter's, the only one of Person County's three tobacco warehouses to open for auction sales this year, sold its last 23,308 pounds of tobacco last week, finishing a meager season with half a dozen sale days.

All told, Planter's sold about 700,000 pounds of tobacco, compared with 6 million last year.

"The only reason I stayed open was to benefit the farmers, to give them an opportunity to finish [selling their crop]," said owner and manager Owen Pass.

Roughly 75 farmers opted to sell their tobacco at Planter's this year. Last year, Pass served about 300 farmers with tobacco from 14 counties in North Carolina and Virginia.

Pass, whose family has been in the tobacco business for generations, hopes the new system of tobacco farmers raising crops under contract to buyers won't completely replace the auction system.

"Right now my plans are to stay open," Pass said. "I had some farmers that said they will stay with me as long as I stay open. Yesterday, a customer said, 'See you next year.' "