PLANTING REPORT-- WARMER WEATHER SPEEDS PLANTING

Still a long way to go: An Ohio burley grower and his crew hustle to get the crop out. (File photo by the editor.) FLUE-CURED Virginia--Probably half of the flue-cured crop here went through a period of very cold weather, says David Reed, Virginia Extension tobacco specialist. Some, but not all, is showing the effects. Favorable weather, like most of the tobacco area experienced this week, would help. The range of development on this crop is very wide. "We have tobacco being set this week and some that will soon reach layby," he says. The tobaccos set in the week leading up to the cold snap experienced the most damage. Perhaps 200 acres had to be replanted. Overall, the crop is fairly uniform though it's a bit off color. Reed predicts that between 14,000 and 15,000 acres will be planted. USDA estimated that 75 percent of the crop had been set by the end of May.   North Carolina--Only a little flue-cured, if any, remains to be planted. The acreage is not clear yet, but Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist says, "I don't see how we could wind up with much more than 100,000 acres," Vann says. Transplanting was behind from the start because of rain and multiple frost events and many days when there was a threat of a frost. "We are finally getting some normal dry weather here in Raleigh. We are hoping tobacco will 'jump' and will make up some lost time," Vann says.  South Carolina--Heavy rain has slowed field work. Planting is complete but topping hadn't begun as of May 31, according to USDA's Crop Progress Reports. Estimated acreage remained 7,000 to 7,500. Georgia-Florida--Tobacco continued to look uniform and healthy with some areas showing signs of heavy deer damage, according to USDA's Crop Progress Report. One percent had been topped by May 31. Acreage in Georgia was estimated at 8,000. BURLEY Kentucky--The crop has made a lot of progress in the last week and a half and is off to a good start, says Bob Pearce, Ken-tucky Extension tobac-co specialist. It ap-pears that farmers will get all the acres planted that they planned to. The plant supply has been adequate. Around 50 percent of the crop has been planted, he estimates. It had been too wet early in this planting season, but now a little shower would be welcome on a lot of farms, he says. Tennessee--The crop in Middle Tennessee is later than usual, says Rob Ellis, Director at the Highland Rim Experiment Station in Springfield. There has been a lot of rain in this area, and plants have been affected. "But they will be okay if we can get some dry weather," he says. "We got some here [Springfield, Tn.] and it helped." Planting at the station is continuing. "What we have planted here has only been in the ground for about two weeks." The oldest burley in middle Tennessee was only transplanted about three weeks ago, he adds.  North Carolina--In the burley-producing area of western N.C., it has been extremely wet. At the research station in Laurel Springs, nine inches fell in a five-day period the week before last, and the soil is still drying out. "We haven't started transplanting at the station yet," Vann says. For all N.C. burley, an estimated 34 percent has been planted, according to the Crop Progress Report.  Virginia--Just under half of the burley crop had been set by May 31. DARK Virginia--The small Virginia dark fire-cured crop will be smaller this year. American Snuff--one of the major buyers--decided not to contract for the type in Virginia. The early estimate is that plantings will be down a third. Nearly two thirds have been planted. Some fire-cured growers are turning to Connecticut broadleaf. They have an advantage in growing it because they are familiar with the labor-intensive process of producing wrapper leaf, which is what broadleaf buyers are looking for. NOTE:  There is probably a demand for more fire-cured wrappers on the current market than is currently being met, sources have told TFN. In other tobacco news: GAP training: You have till June 30 to participate in the GAPConnections online program if you weren't able to attend a meeting. Login into GAP Connections and find the link for Online Training on the Grower Dashboard. Follow the instructions. Questions? Please call GAPC at (865) 622-4606. REPORT FROM OVERSEAS Zimbabwe--The much delayed opening of the tobacco market has finally taken place. It had been stalled by government officials for a month while methods to prevent spread of coronavirus were developed. The restrictions they have imposed have not set well with growers, especially a stipulation that tobacco will be sold only by appointed agents and not by the farmers, who are forced into waiting areas so as to reduce crowds at the auctions. "We are not afraid of coronavirus," one farmer told the ZimLive.com news organization. "The risk is that farmers could be cheated out of their money due to the new guidelines which say we must give our crop to a representative who will come here to sell on our behalf."