Interest in the cigar wrapper type Connecticut broad leaf has fallen off in Kentucky and Tennessee. Why? It's because the new (to the South) type requires more intense manage-ment than either burley or dark air-cured. “We tried growing it last year but it didn’t fit our way of doing things,” says Rod Kuegel, an Owensboro, Ky., farmer who grows dark air-cured and who has grown burley. But dark fire-cured growers may find Connecticut a more compatible choice. “Both Connecticut and fire-cured production are both more of an art form than burley and dark air-cured,” says Kuegel.
It’s no wonder why Black Patch growers are abandoning burley for dark air-cured. “While the companies have been keeping burley growers in the dark about contracts, the leading dark air-cured buyer has announced a 60 percent increase in volume for 2022, a 14 cent a pound increase in price and also stipends for H2A and Gap cost increases,” says Kuegel. “It is definitely a better relationship.”
The last burley warehouse conducting auctions in the burley belt sold it’s lowest ever volume in the season just ended. About 900,000 pounds were sold on the floor at Farmers Tobacco Warehouse near Springfield, Ky., says owner Jerry Rankin. He calculates the average price as $1.88 to $1.94 per pound with a practical top price of $1.99. But note: Those prices fell way off the last two weeks of sales as the last of the crop—much of it low quality--flooded the market.
Next season? Rankin hopes to conduct sales at the warehouse, which operated in Danville, Ky., all its existence until this past season. But that depends on how much burley gets planted; not enough was planted in 2021, and the outlook is bleak for the coming season.
Burley buyers fell all over themselves to acquire any good quality leaf that was available later in the season, says Rankin. Reason? Not enough burley was produced to meet their needs. Rankin knows of a number of cases where companies bought all a farmers leaf even if it was more than the contracted amount.
A reminder of the requirements to receive crop insurance on flue-cured this year: Flue-cured tobacco grown under a valid contract from a processor or manufacturer will receive one price, while tobacco grown without a valid contract will receive a different price. Producers with a valid contract who choose to grow more tobacco than contracted will receive a weighted average price for all their insured tobacco. Also, the amount eligible for quality adjustment will be limited to the amount of tobacco grown under contract.
Choose a greenhouse medium: The particle size distribution of a greenhouse medium determines many characteristics that are important in plant growth. Research has shown that a wide range of particle sizes is suitable. After you find a medium with a good range of particle sizes for tobacco production, make sure that it is free of sticks, stems, clods, and weed seeds and evaluate its moisture content, uniformity, and fertilizer charge.
Correction: In the last issue of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter, Tennessee tobacco specialist Mitchell Richmond should have been quoted as saying that in his state, “I expect seeding to get going full speed next week [which would be this week],” instead of “transplanting.”
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
I appreciate reading your newsletter as always. I’m interested in your future reports re the newer burley group in Kentucky. It’s still under court supervision and will be for the near future. In less than two years burley coop class members will have the opportunity to claim back any remaining $ of the $1.4 million allowed by the court. It is now is protected in a court supervised account.
Roger Quarles
Georgetown, Ky.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.