A GOOD CROP IN THE GREENHOUSE

A greenhouse in Florida. The variety is NC 196 flue-cured. Photo courtesy of Speedling Inc. COULD ACREAGE BE DOWN ONLY 11%? USDA issued its Prospective Plantings report for 2020 on the last day of March and it predicts that planted acreage of tobacco will decrease once again this year. After 227 thousand acres of all types in 2019, the prediction is that 201 thousand will be planted in 2020, down 11 percent. If realized, this would be the lowest tobacco acreage on record. Among the individual types, flue-cured is projected down 13 percent, burley down eight percent, the dark types down 11 and six percent and Southern Maryland down a whopping 60 percent. The only type that is projected to increase in plantings is Pennsylvania seedleaf, up 27 percent. Projections by type and state, including increase or decrease in a percentage basis. Flue-Cured North Carolina: 100,000 acres, down 15 percent. Virginia: 14,000 acres, down seven percent. Georgia: 9,000 acres, no change. South Carolina: 7,500 acres, down 10 percent. All U.S.: 130,500 acres, down 13 percent. Burley Kentucky: 37,000 acres, down 10 percent. Tennessee: 4,000 acres, no change. Pennsylvania: 2,500 acres, no change. Virginia: 700 acres, no change. North Carolina: 300 acres, down 25 percent. All U.S: 44,500 acres, down eight percent. Fire-cured: 14,300 acres, down 11 percent. Dark air-cured: 9,300 acres, down six percent. Pennsylvania Seedleaf: 2,800 acres, up 27 percent. Southern Maryland: 400 acres, down 60 percent. All types: 201,800 acres, down 11 percent. Other tobacco news: How to manage workers in the Coronavirus era: The key points for dealing with labor while in the current situation: It is safer for the worker to stay on the farm. To the extent possible, keep workers from congregating at stores or other places. Encourage workers from different housing to stay with their housemates. Know the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and seek medical attention if anyone on your farm displays them. Thanks to J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist, for providing these points.  For more ideas, go to GapConnections website at https://www. Gap connections .com/resources/ covid-19-resources. Sale on surplus seedlings: Speed-ling Inc will have plants of several flue-cured varie-ties, including K 326, NC 196, and NC 1226. All are being grown in Florida. Call Sales Rep Mark Gabr-ick at 813 767 0381 for more infor-mation. A good start on plants in western Kentucky: Shiny McLimore, who produces commercial plants in Owensboro and Stanley, Ky., told Tobacco Farmer Newsletter."My plants have emerged and look pretty good in the greenhouse. And that's what I am hearing from everyone else who grows plants." McLimore started seeding the second day of March and finished on the 28th "I anticipate my first plants will be coming off around the 10th of May," he says. Orders for dark plants were way down because of the large reduction in contracting. But that was partially offset by orders for wrapper leaf. "Five of my growers have gotten into growing wrapper leaf of either of the Connecticut or Pennsylvania type," McLimore says. Orders for burley plants were similar to last year. Note: McLimore can be reached at 270 925 0870. A casualty of Coronavirus: One of McLimore's customers, who'd been a large-scale burley grower in the past, canceled his plant order after it had already been seeded. He was willing to take the loss because he didn't want to take a chance on damaging the health of his workers or family. Let's hope this initiative bears fruit: A subsidiary of British American Tobacco, Kentucky BioProcessing, Owensboro, Ky., says it is developing a potential vaccine for COVID-19 that is now in pre-clinical testing. BAT is hopeful that between one and three million doses of the vaccine could be manufactured per week, beginning in June. While Kentucky BioProcessing will remain a commercial operation, its work relating to the COVID-19 vaccine project will be carried out on a not-for-profit basis. The vaccine in de-velopment uses BAT's propri-etary, tobacco plant technology. TFN will have more on this development in future issues.