USDA PROJECTS: FLUE-CURED PLANTINGS DOWN FOUR PERCENT, BURLEY UP ONE, DARK UP SIX

The dark types, like  this Virginia dark  fire-cured tobacco growing  at the Blackstone, Va.,  research station a year ago,  are all enjoying a  resurgence in  production. According  to USDA, dark  plantings in all  three states are up  this summer, with the tiny Virginia crop leading in relative  increase at plus 35 percent. You can see dark and flue-cured  research at the Blackstone station field day on July 27. USDA's first survey of this year's crop showed a small  decrease in flue-cured plantings, a small increase in  burley plantings and a substantial increase in dark  plantings, no doubt to the weather-damaged 2016  production. Following are USDA's projections for the  major types broken out by state, with percentage change  at the end of each line. FLUE-CURED:  North Carolina, 160,000 acres, down three percent. Virginia, 21,000 acres, down four percent. South Carolina, 12,000 acres, down seven percent. Georgia, 12,500 acres, down seven percent. All states, 205,500 acres, down four per-cent,  BURLEY:  Kentucky, 60,000 acres, down one percent. Tennessee, 14,000 acres, up 16 percent. Pennsylvania, 4,500 acres, down six percent. Virginia, 1,100 acres, down eight percent. North Carolina, 900 acres, down 10 percent. All states, 80,500 acres, up one percent. FIRE-CURED:  Kentucky, 10,000 acres, up five percent. Tennessee, 7,500 acres, up seven percent. Virginia, 400 acres, up 35 percent. All states--17,900 acres, up six percent.  DARK AIR-CURED:  Kentucky, 5,800 acres, up four percent. Tennessee, 1,300 acres, up eight percent. All states--6,300 acres, up six percent. PENNSYLVANIA SEEDLEAF Pennsylvania, 1,600 acres, no change. SOUTHERN MARYLAND: Pennsylvania, 1,800 acres, no change. DATES TO REMEMBER July 24-26. N.C. Tobacco Tour.--Monday, 3:30 p.m.:  Triple B Farms, Bentonville. 5:30 p.m.: Welcome  reception (5:30 p.m.) and dinner (6 p.m.) at Lane's  Seafoods, McGee's Crossroads.--Tuesday, July 25: Oxford  Tobacco Research Station, 7:45 am, Breakfast and Field Tour. --11 a.m. Lunch, then to Upper Coastal Plain Research  Station, Rocky Mount.--Wednesday, July 26:  Lower Coastal Plain Research Station. 7:45 a.m. Breakfast  and Field Tour. 11 a.m. Lunch and Tour Conclusion. Contact  and to register: Tobacco.ces.ncsu.edu. July 27. VA Annual Tobacco Research Field Day, Southern  Piedmont Center, Blackstone. Registration begins at 5 p.m.,  dinner at 5:30 p.m., and the Field tour at 6 p.m. Contact  Margaret Kenny at makenny @vt .edu or 434-292-5331. August 9, 1 p.m. Kentucky Burley Tobacco Industry Tour, UK Spindletop Farm, 3250 Iron Works Pike, Lexington, Ky. To conclude around midday on August 10. ADVERTISINGADVERTISING

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BURLEY TRANSPLANTING ENDS, FLUE-CURED HARVEST BEGINS

Transplanting appears to be done. One of the last to finish was the Raines burley farm in Seaman, Ohio, near Ripley, which wound up on June 13. Pat Raines, who farms with his sons Todd and Greg, says they finished just one day sooner than in 2016. But it was better because transplanting was more evenly spread out than last year, when late planting caused by rainy weather caused much of the crop to come off at the same time in late season.

For flue-cured, harvest has begun. With ample rain in the last two weeks that put
most of the crop in good condition, all Florida farmers are now harvesting, and 
many in Georgia will start next week, says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco
specialist.

Tomato spotted wilt nearly towed Georgia and Florida away: A quarter of the Type
14 plants show some level of symptoms of spotted wilt, says Moore. "We are 
looking at perhaps a 10 to 15 percent yield loss on some farms," he adds. "This 
was the most damage in years." But it would have been worse if it had come right
 after transplanting. "Instead, we mainly saw it between layby and topping. I frankly
was afraid the damage would be worse based on the mild winter we had."

Blue mold is back. As bad as spotted wilt was, it hasn't been the issue in Georgia
and Florida recently. Instead, blue mold has been found now in 10 Georgia counties.
"Tobacco that is lapping in the middle now encourages the development of blue mold.
Also, temperatures have been five to seven degrees below normal lately, which favors
the blue mold organism." While some of the infection comes from about 10 greenhouses
that were identified as having the disease early in the season, there has apparently
been a spore show since then. "Blue mold has exploded since layby," says Moore. 

(Left) Blue mold spores on downstalk tobacco in south Georgia.

In North Carolina, growers are transitioning to sucker control/first harvest, says

Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. A handful have started harvesting.
"Given what this crop has been through it is not half bad, as long as it escaped
 spotted wilt." Tomato spotted still continues to be a problem. But thrips have 
moved on to other crops, and the wilt seems to have leveled off. "I think we have
seen about all we are going to see of tomato spotted wilt virus"...You would have
expected at least some spotted wilt in the Piedmont, but Vann hasn't had any reports
of it...County report: Tobacco growth is "up and down" in Caswell County because
 of late plantings, said Joey Knight, Caswell County Extension agent. Moisture certainly
hasn't been short, he adds. Over a two-week period in mid June, an excess of 10 
inches of rain fell.

In South Carolina, despite several inches of rainfall that impeded field work in
 other crops, suckering and topping of the crop was at its peak in  the week ending
June 25, said Kyle Daniel, Extension agent in Georgetown County. "Tomato spotted
wilt virus, black shank and fusarium wilt are all plaguing tobacco, but overall,
the leaf crop is good," he adds. According to the USDA, 31 percent of the S.C. 
crop (all flue-cured) had been topped by the 26th.

Another change at the U.S. flue-cured cooperative: Andrew Q. Shepherd of Blackstone,
Va., is the new chairman of the board of U.S. Tobacco Co-operative, succeeding James
Hill of Kinston, N.C., according to the cooperative's website.  Hill continues 
as a member of the board. Earlier, Chief Financial Officer Edward Kacsuta had been
named chief executive officer on an interim basis after Stuart Thompson resigned.

Settlement fraud: An online promotion is giving consumers the erroneous impression
that they can receive money from the tobacco settlement through some sort of bond
purchase, says West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. But the fraudulent
promotion leads only to subscriptions to a monthly report filled with spurious information.
"There is no mechanism for payments to consumers [from the settlement]," said Morrisey.
"Payments are made each year to the states and territories involved in the [original]
lawsuit." Numerous other law enforcement agencies have since agreed with Morrisey's
warning.

DATES TO REMEMBER

* July 24-26. N.C. Tobacco Tour.--Monday, 3:30 p.m.: Triple B Farms, Bentonville.
5:30 p.m.: Welcome reception/dinner (tentatively scheduled for Lane's Seafoods,
 McGee's Crossroads).--Tuesday, July 25: Oxford Tobacco Research Station, 7:45
am, Breakfast and Field Tour.--11 a.m. Lunch, then to Upper Coastal Plain Research
Station, Rocky Mount.--Wednesday, July 26: Lower Coastal Plain Research Station.
7:45 a.m. Breakfast and Field Tour. 11 a.m. Lunch and Tour Conclusion. Contact:
Tobacco.ces.ncsu.edu.

* July 27. VA Annual Tobacco Research Field Day, Southern Piedmont Center, Blackstone.
 Registration begins at 5 p.m., dinner at 5:30 p.m., and the Field tour at
 6 p.m. Contact Margaret Kenny at makenny @vt .edu or 434-292-5331.