Pictured here is tobacco on the warehouse floor ready for selling. These crops will be sold through auction warehouses. Before the auction, U.S. government tobacco graders walk the floor and grade each bundle of tobacco. With each grade there is a corresponding price. Then the tobacco is sold based on the grade. It will either sell for that price or buyers will generally pay at least $1 per 100 pounds, or a penny a pound, for a pile of tobacco. Occasionally, the price can rise to four or five dollars.