Until the early 1980s, little attention had been given to the ability of flue-cured tobacco cultivars to hold value over time. Value is normally reported in terms of dollar value per unit area. In tobacco this is determined from yield and value of the cured leaf. Value is determined by assigning a tobacco grade to each lot of cured leaf. Under the tobacco support program, each grade is assigned a certain minimum monetary value. However, actual sales figures are used to determine value of a specific grade given there are sufficient sales of that grade. This latter figure is more realistic of market value; so the final value per unit area is yield multiplied by grade value or price.