Substantially fewer acres of flue-cured appear on the way, if the reports of much reduced contract volumes are accurate. One seed producer who normally is well-informed on this subject told Tobacco Farmer Newsletter a week ago that he anticipated no more than 80 percent of 2014 contract volume this year. Then Friday, an auction warehouse owner in North Carolina predicted no more than 75 percent. And Tuesday, a grower association owner said even 75 percent may be too optimistic. Burley contracting is not as far along, but a burley association leader told TFN Tuesday that the trend so far for that type has been similar.
This was not entirely unexpected. Back on December 4, N.C. flue-cured grower Tim Yarbrough predicted that demand for bright leaf will trend downward for 2015. "I can't give you a number [for] how much lower, but I am convinced by all the market signals that we will be offered less contract volume," he said at the N.C. Tobacco Day program.
To protect their price, tobacco growers need to collectively aim for a supply that closely matches demand, said Yarbrough, the current president of the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. "I'm not advocating for a program, but I am advocating that farmers not plant tobacco absent a legitimate marketing contract. People who plant 'wildcat' tobacco that has no initial demand are hurting everyone, including most of all themselves."
A challenge to growers: "[Let's] work collectively on delivering a product to market in 2015 that has the highest integrity of any we have ever delivered," said Yarbrough. Improvement is especially needed in one area: He said manufacturers are complaining of increased quantities of stalks in the bale. "It is understandable that windblown tobacco that is mechanically harvested is challenged by this condition... [but] we must take the time and labor necessary to remove these stalks prior to baling, or else it may result in lost marketings."
 The Council for Burley Tobacco will hold its annual meeting on Saturday, January 17, during the Agriculture Industry Trade Show which takes place at the Owensboro Convention Ctr. in conjunction with the 2015 Tobacco Expo. The meeting will take place at 12 p.m. in West Ballroom E. The annual meeting of the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association will take place immediately afterward in the same location, starting at 1 p.m. A GAP meeting will be held there earlier that day.
The Southern Farm Show will take place February 4 to February 6 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C. It will end on February 6 with the annual meeting of the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. A list of tobacco-oriented exhibitors appears below. Note: If any other exhibitor would like to be included in this list in the next issue, contact me at the address or number at the top of this page. Also, corrections are welcome.
Jim Graham Bldg.
- 221 (also 8204) Taylor Mfg. Curing barns, wood furnaces.
- 222 Evans Mactavish Agricraft and World Tobacco. Bulk fertilizer handling equipment. Curing barns.
- 227 Kelley Mfg. Co. Agricultural equipment.
- 704 (also 8131) Agri Supply. Agricultural materials.
- 807 Mechanical Transplanter Co. Transplanters, seeding equipment.
- 808-9 BulkTobac (Gas Fired Products). Curing equipment and controls, poultry brooders, pig heating, space heaters.
Kerr Scott Bldg.
- 1002 TriEst Ag Group (Formerly Hendrix and Dail). Fumigation supplies.
- 1005 Flue Cured Tobacco Services. Curing controls.
- 1015 Yara North America. Fertility products.
- 1104 GoldLeaf Seed Co. Tobacco seed.
- 1114 Transplant Systems. Greenhouse systems.
- 1116 Cross Creek Seed. Tobacco seed.
- 1121 AAA Scale Co.
- 1201 Carolina Greenhouse & Soil Company.
- 1202 Reddick Equipment Company Inc.
- 1302 Mid-Atlantic Irrigation.
Exposition Bldg.
- 3127 (also 8611) Benchmark Buildings & Irrigation Inc. Pre-fabricated metal buildings, transplanters and irrigation equipment.
- 3135 Southern Container Corporation of Wilson. Bale sheets and packaging.
- 3522 First Products Inc. Fertilizer boxes for cultivators and tool bars.
- 3605 MarCo Mfg. Tobacco machinery.
- 3714 (also 8615) Cureco, Inc. Curing controls.
Tent 1
- 5007 ABI Irrigation. Irrigation equipment.
- 5023 Walters Air Assist Plant Release System. Plant release system.
- 5110 Britt Technical Services, Inc. Rotem Curing Controls.
Scott Tent
- 7025 Drexel Chemical Company. Sucker control chemicals.
- 7323 Berger. Plant growing mixtures.
- 7327 Teeterville Garage & Weighing Systems. Moisture controllers for tobacco barns and weighing scales.
Outdoors
- 8003 Equipmax. Tobacco spray equipment.
- 8615 Evencure Systems. Curing controls.
- 8122 Carolina Tobacco Services. Curing barns, mechanical harvesters, heat exchangers.
- 8204 Wilson Manufacturing. Farm trailers. Also in the exhibit will be a Taylor Tobacco Barn.
- 8217 Granville Equipment. Tobacco Machinery.
- 8301 World Tobacco. Tobacco machinery.
- 8313 De Cloet SRL. Tobacco machinery.
- 8615 Evencure Systems. Curing controls.
- 8701 Tytun Ltd. Bulk flue-curing barns.
- 8712 Long Tobacco Barn Co. Bulk tobacco curing barns.
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