Farming Like It's 1850: The Lost Art of Dark-Fired Tobacco

Barn Talk

Tork and Sawyer Whisler

Business

4.9 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2026

⏱️ 130 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome back to Barn Talk! In this episode, we sit down with Jesse Jordan, Vice President of Jordan Farms out of Nashville, Tennessee. Jesse gives us an inside look at the world of dark fired tobacco, grown and cured using the same tried and true methods from 200 years ago. From starting tobacco in greenhouses, nurturing it in the fields, and mastering the delicate art of curing, Jesse walks us through the hands-on journey that every plant takes. But Jesse’s story is about more than just tobacco. He’s also the owner-operator of a thriving tree service business and shares how he balances entrepreneurship, family farm tradition, and rural life all while being just a half-hour from the heart of Nashville’s country music scene. We talk about living the highs and lows of modern agriculture: the realities of equipment breakdowns, labor struggles, shifting markets, and the satisfaction that comes from a hard day’s work. There’s plenty of laughter, nostalgia, and a few great stories about hunting, barbecuing, and the classic vehicles that make farm life memorable. Whether you’re curious about farming, love old trucks, or just want to hear what it’s like to build a business from the ground up, this is one episode you won’t want to miss! JOIN THE BARN TALK NEWSLETTER & GET LIVE EVENT ACCESS: We're on a mission to get 10,000 subscribers, and once we do, we're hosting a live event at the barn! Sign up to get exclusive access to tickets and details.👇🏻 Help us get there: https://www.joinbarntalk.com SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST ➱ https://bit.ly/3a7r3nR SUBSCRIBE TO THIS’LL DO FARM ➱ https://bit.ly/2X8g45c LISTEN ON: SPOTIFY ➱ https://open.spotify.com/show/3icVr4KWq4eUDl7Oy60YMY APPLE ➱ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/barn-talk/id1574395049 Follow Behind The Scenes👇🏻 ● Barn Talk Instagram ➱ https://www.instagram.com/barntalkshow ● Barn Talk TikTok ➱ https://bit.ly/3qciekS ● Sawyer’s Instagram ➱ https://bit.ly/3BtX0n4 ● Tork’s Instagram ➱ https://bit.ly/3LGZJxS ● Sawyer’s X ➱ https://x.com/SawyerWhisler ● Tork’s X ➱ https://x.com/TorkWhisler 00:00 Growing the podcast community 16:46 Starting plants in February 26:42 Controlling tobacco curing process 37:11 Preparing tobacco for grading 48:13 Early career and farming interests 57:01 Balancing farm work and tree work 01:09:04 Staying ahead in farming business 01:14:58 Starting a cigar business 01:25:03 Expanding into direct sales 01:34:56 Buying and selling Jeeps regularly 01:45:54 Starting a farming side business 01:56:13 Collecting and preparing hickory slabs 02:09:27 Jesse's social media and plans ------------------------------- ⚠NO FINANCIAL ADVICE / DISCLAIMER⚠ The Information discussed and shared on Barn Talk is provided for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only, without any express or implied warranty of any kind, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, or success for any particular purpose. The Information contained in or provided from or through this podcast is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, trading advice, or any other advice. The Information on this podcast and provided from or through our content is general in nature and is not specific to you, the user or anyone else. You should not make any decision, financial, investment, trading or otherwise, based on any of the information presented on this podcast without undertaking independent due diligence and consultation with a professional, professional broker or financial advisory. Understand that you are using any and all Information available on or through this website at your own risk. RISK STATEMENT– The trading of Bitcoins, alternative cryptocurrencies, NFTs, individual stocks, etc. has potential rewards, and it also has potential risks involved. Trading may not be suitable for all people. Anyone wishing to invest should seek his or her own independent financial or professional advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	All of the food we eat and much of the clothing we wear comes from plants and animals that are raised on farms.
0:05.7	Farms are different in type, in size, and even in name.
0:57.8	Welcome to Barn Talk. What happens at the barn stays in the barn, but not today. We're going to let it all out for you guys. Today is going to be a banger. This is going to be a damn good episode. We had dinner with our guests last night. We tend to do that a lot if we can have somebody come the night before. And I'll tell you what, we're in for a treat. You guys are in for a treat. I think you're going to get a lot of value from this one, a lot of entertainment. This is a really interesting guy. But before we get into it, you guys know the drill. If you get any value from the show, all that we ask is you share it out
0:54.4	with the people that you know. It's kind of the ticket to admission to watch or listen to the show.
0:59.9	And we found the best way to grow the podcast is through word of mouth and organically through you guys.
1:05.2	We appreciate all of you that do that. Another thing you can do to help us out here at Barn Talk is you can leave
1:11.9	a review on Spotify or Apple. The more you guys do that, the more credible you make our show,
1:17.5	which in turn allows us to have great guests that we're having like today. Come to the barn,
1:24.0	have some awesome conversations with us. And it takes two seconds, guys.
1:27.7	We love hearing your thoughts overall.
1:29.7	Last thing you can do to support us here at Barn Talk is you can go sign up for our
1:34.0	weekly newsletter.
1:35.4	We're putting together a weekly newsletter all about what's going on in rural America
1:40.0	with our thoughts on it.
1:41.6	It's completely free.
1:43.0	And we have a goal right now.
1:44.4	If we get to 10,000 newsletter subscribers on that email list,
1:48.5	we want to throw a live event right here at the barn,
1:50.9	have some Bushlight, bring on speakers that have been on the podcast,
1:55.1	have delivered a lot of value to get to you guys,
1:57.5	and just have a kick-ass time and get to meet you guys,
2:00.2	interact with you guys,
	...

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