WASHINGTON — Farmers in North Carolina fear a tobacco quota buyout may not go through this year.

The quota system has regulated the buying and selling of tobacco since the Great Depression. Negotiations have reportedly stalled in Washington, D.C. Farmers say if they do not get a buyout, it could spell disaster for their families and their local economies.

"We're already at a situation that we've used up all the equity that we have and we're at a point that we are desperate and something has to happen," tobacco grower Keith Parrish said.

One stumbling block is whether the Food and Drug Administration should regulate cigarettes. Most cigarette makers oppose that idea.