TOBACCO REBOUNDS ONCE DROUGHT IS BROKEN

 

The first Extension tobacco tour in South Carolina since 2014 was a big success, as shown here. Photo by J.M. Moore. Two weeks ago, we were talking about the effects of the “historic drought.” That drought is history now thanks to significant rainfall over almost all the Tobacco Belt. FLUE-CURED “In North Carolina, we have places that got six to seven inches of rain in seven days,” says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “The crop has rebounded thanks to all this moisture. It’s been a blessing.” But there has been one problem. “The tobacco has greened back up. Some growers are delaying harvest as a result.” The prospects for the U.S. flue-cured crop may well have grown by as much as 50 million pounds thanks to the July rains, says leaf dealer Rick Smith, president of Independent Leaf in Wilson, N.C. “Right now, the crop in the Eastern Belt looks good in the field,” he says. “It may be about two weeks late. Very little has been harvested yet. It will probably be mid-August before harvest really gets rolling.”   South Carolina—Farmers here have continued to receive some much-needed rain and the crop have responded well, says USDA. “The crop is looking much better now for the most part,” says William Hardee, S.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “It’s filling out and appears to have some weight.” Harvesting has begun across the tobacco production area, he says…The turnout was good at the S.C. tobacco tour held on July 12 and 13. “We were overwhelmed by the amount of support and the number of participants,” says Hardee. Among the highlights: Disease resistant variety demonstrations. A demonstration of the Flame Weeder at Baxley Farms, Marion, S.C. “It does a good job controlling weeds especially after layby,” says Hardee.  The Baxley Farmer also demonstrated drip irrigation of tobacco. "The simplicity of the setup and the reusability of certain components may appeal to some growers.”   Georgia--A second consecutive week of scattered rainfall across most of the state helped continue to alleviate drought pressure on tobacco, said USDA. Tobacco fields were looking better as the soil moisture conditions have improved over the past few weeks. BURLEY   Kentucky--There was some scattered precipitation this past week easing crop stress in some areas, according to NASS. The overall rainfall amount was low and some areas remain very dry. The condition of tobacco continues to be fair to good. Irrigation has sustained some fields. Tennessee: In the middle part of the state, showers were hit-or-miss, with some areas receiving several inches of rain and others receiving none. In East Tennessee, the rains that fell the previous week continue to bring benefits to both row crops and pastures. But the effects of the recent hot, dry weather are still being felt.  Burley plantings up? There may have been an increase in burley plantings in middle Tennessee. Keith Allen, FSA Extension director in Macon County, Tn., near Nashville, thinks that based on the number of people in GAP training, there are approximately 100 producers this season in the county, which is enough to produce an increase in the 1,100 acres the county had last year.    DARK AND WRAPPER Black Patch: Much of the dark-producing area of western Kentucky and central Tennessee benefited from good rains last week. On many farms, one to two and a half inches fell over a seven-day period. But there remained a few droughty areas that didn’t much precipitation. “This rain ‘bought’ us a week of irrigation, which we had already done a lot of,” says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension dark specialist. “I would estimate that 80 percent of the dark tobacco here has been irrigated (by July 15).” Planting stretched out very late, with the last of the dark going in around July 10, about 2 weeks later than normal. “Everyone appears to have planted the acreage they intended to,” Bailey says. But plant supply was short at the end and may have contributed to some of the late planting. Wrapper production is definitely down in the Black Patch. “We might be down to one third the acreage of Connecticut broadleaf as we had two years ago,” says Bailey. There is also some Pennsylvania 41 and there would probably be more, but there is more demand for Connecticut broadleaf. Other tobacco news… First federal estimate of flue-cured volume: USDA’s estimate of flue-cured production, through July 12: North Carolina 223.2 million pounds, down 11.4%; Georgia 15,200, up 5%; Virginia 29.4 million, down 11.8%; South Carolina 10,8 million pounds, down 21%; U.S. 278.6 million pounds, down 11.1%. Source—Crop Production, July 2022, NASS-USDA. (Estimates of other types won't be revealed till August.)   Crop progress through July 17-18, according to USDA: GA (flue-cured), 90% topped, 14% harvested; SC (flue), 65% topped, 14% harvested; NC (burley) 90% planted; TN (burley, dark, wrapper), 34% topped; KY (burley, dark, wrapper) 34% topped.--Source: Crop and Progress Report, NASS-USDA.   Co-op emerges from bankruptcy: The U.S. Tobacco Cooperative Inc. successfully exited bankruptcy on Thursday, July 14. The announcement follows the federal Bankruptcy Court’s approval of the Cooperative’s Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization. “Today’s exit from bankruptcy marks the end of more than 17 years of class action lawsuits following the termination of the federal price support program,” said Oscar J. House, USTC chief executive officer. “Our exit allows us to now focus solely on the services and products our Cooperative is known for.”   REPORT FROM OVERSEAS The supply of leaf among the major exporting countries is very short, says Iqbal Lambat, president & chief executive officer of the Star Agritech International leaf dealer. Very low production of flue-cured and burley in Brazil has placed unusual demand on other producers, he says. Neighboring Argentina now has more demand than supply. Prices there as well as in Zimbabwe have gone up substantially. And as one senior leaf trader told Lambat, “It’s almost a war with people fighting over tobacco procurement.” This could bode well during marketing for uncommitted American leaf. DATES TO REMEMBER The NC State Tobacco Field Day will be held Tuesday, July 26 starting at 9 AM and lasting till 12 PM at the Cunningham Research Station, 200 Cunningham Rd, Kinston, NC 28501. For more information, contact Matthew Vann (mcvann@ncsu.edu).  The Southern Piedmont (Va.) Annual Field Day will be held on Thursday, July 28. Registration begins at 4:30 PM, dinner at 5 PM, with a tour following of research trials. VDACS Commissioner Joseph Guthrie will speak. Register at http://tinyurl.com/ ycknwuda. The Kentucky Bluegrass Burley Tour will be held August 10 at a time to be announced at the Spindletop Research Farm in Lexington, Ky. For more information, contact Bob Pearce at rpearce@uky.edu. The Kentucky Dark Tobacco Twilight Tour will be held August 11 at 5:30 PM at the Murray State University West Farm at Murray, Ky. For more information, contact Andy Bailey at 270 625 1560.

TOBACCO TOOK A HIT IN JUNE FROM HEAT AND LOW RAINFALL

 

As if the high temperatures and low rainfall weren't bad enough, spotted wilt showed up in June and early July, as here in South Georgia. Photo by J.M. Moore. There's an old poem that begins "April is the cruelest month," This year, for tobacco growers, June seemed much crueler, thanks mainly to historic heat and drought. Reports from the major producing states: FLUE-CURED In North Carolina, intense drought and heat took some of the luster off the very good start that the flue-cured crop in Eastern North Carolina enjoyed earlier (see “A Hot Start To The Harvest Season,” TFN June I). “As optimistic as I was a month ago, I have to admit now that things have declined some,” says Mathew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “We are in the midst of an historic drought, and it is taking its toll. On soils that are very sandy, the bottom leaves are sometimes drying up. We are in dire need of widespread rains.”   But there is still potential for a good middle and upperstalk in Eastern N.C. “We got out of the gate fast which helps," says Vann. "If it rains and we can get the tops out, we still have good prospects. We’ve not had any leaching rains to date, so our fertilizer is still there. The ability to irrigate is already looking like a major benefit this year.” Harvest has barely started in the East, with only one or two percent of the leaf taken in so far, he says. “It’s mostly farmers getting a start to work out the kinks.”   In the N.C. Piedmont, the weather stress is just beginning to show. “As of now, the farmers there seem to have a pretty good crop,” says Vann. In South Carolina, after a couple of weeks of hot and dry weather, most South Carolina farmers got some much-needed rain this past week, and the tobacco has responded well, says William Hardee, S.C. Extension tobacco specialist. Farmers are generally around a week or two from beginning harvest. But it could be delayed because the rains have “greened” the crop back up…As in many states, there was more tomato spotted wilt than last year. Hardee thinks statewide losses are around 10 percent. In Georgia and Florida, some variable rain has fallen, but the crop still needs more. “We would like to have a half inch every two days, and we are not getting it,” says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. .. Most of the Type 14 crop is topped and has received a couple of sucker control treatments. Harvest has begun in Florida and a few places in Georgia, but the volume is negligible so far. Some delugging is going on also. “We still have hopes of a good crop,” he says. Black shank is appearing all through the tobacco-growing area of Georgia and Florida. It is associated with the high temperatures and low rainfall of the last two weeks. The array of relatively new high resistant varieties from the last 10 years has really helped prevent a major problem, Moore says. New hits of tomato spotted wilt virus are showing up in Georgia, in at least one instance in a field that already had 20 percent incidence of the disease. “In some cases it is spreading up the plant after the first infection,” says Moore. BURLEY AND DARK In Kentucky, there may be a few stragglers who haven’t finished transplanting, but for all practical purposed it is done, says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. “The transplant crop was a little late, but we have had no extended period of wet weather so setting went steadily,” he says. It has been hot and dry in much of the state. "We have seen a few cases of severe transplant shock, but for the most part tobacco crops have fared well. We have the potential for a good crop if we get some rain in the coming days,” he says.  Kentucky has had more tomato spotted wilt than in the last two years. “But it hasn’t risen to the level of a ‘problem’ yet,” he says. Among other diseases, there have been the normal cases of black shank reported. In Tennessee growers have finished transplanting except for those who are resetting, says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. "We could sure use some rain now. We are dry in most of Tennessee now. In a few of our sandier fields we are seeing some sand loss. Where they can, our farmers are irrigating." There is more spotted wilt than normal. “Maybe eight to 10 percent where three would be about normal," says Richmond. "There may be more thrips out there than normal due to the mild winter we had. Or the first flight might have been early." In the Black Patch of western Kentucky and central Tennessee, where transplanting extends relatively late, the weather has slowed setting more than elsewhere. “We would like to have been done with transplanting by June 20, but we had a lot left then that still hasn’t been set (as of July 2),” says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension dark specialist. “We are hoping for rain this weekend so we can finish.” A significant portion of the dark fire-cured in the Black Patch area goes in late to facilitate a second use of curing barns, and the weather has really interfered with the schedule of this tobacco. "There has been a lot of stand loss also, and replanting is continuing." Bailey thinks there has probably been some potential production loss already, but with more favorable weather from here on, a good crop could still be achieved. Crop progress through June 12, according to USDA: GA flue-cured, 73% harvested; SC flue-cured, 54% harvested; NC burley, 74% planted; TN, burley and dark, 95% planted; KY, burley and dark, 98% planted.--Source: Crop and Progress Report, NASS-USDA. REPORT FROM OVERSEAS   ZIMBABWE From wood to gas for curing fuel? Zimbabweans search for new source of curing fuel. The Zimbabwean tobacco board said in June that it is urging gas technology companies to partner with it in developing a centralized gas curing facility for flue-cured tobacco. The purpose would be to reduce Zimbabwe’s severe deforestation problem. In addition, the new facility would be large enough for 50 or so farmers to cure tobacco at the same time, the board said. It’s hoped that a pilot project can be in operation in time for the upcoming curing season.   DATES TO REMEMBER ·   The S.C. Tobacco Tour will take place July 12 and 13. It will begin with a dinner in Florence on the 12th and end in Sumter County in the afternoon of the 13th. For more information and to register, email William Hardee at hardee@clemson.edu. ·       The NC State Tobacco Field Day will be held Tuesday, July 26 starting at 9 AM and lasting till 12 PM at the Cunningham Research Station, 200 Cunningham Rd, Kinston, NC 28501. For more information, contact Matthew Vann (mcvann@ncsu.edu).  ·  The Southern Piedmont (Va.) Annual Field Day will be held on Thursday, July 28. Registration begins at 4:30 PM, dinner at 5 PM, with a tour following of research trials. VDACS Commissioner Joseph Guthrie will speak. Register at http://tinyurl.com/ ycknwuda. ·       The Kentucky Bluegrass Burley Tour will be held August 10 at a time to be announced at the Spindletop Research Farm in Lexington, Ky. For more information, contact Bob Pearce at rpearce@uky.edu. ·       The Kentucky Dark Tobacco Twilight Tour will be held August 11 at 5:30 PM at the Murray State University West Farm at Murray, Ky. For more information, contact Andy Bailey at 270 625 1560. AND LET'S WRAP UP THE HOLIDAY with a poem submitted by my old friend Donald Fowlkes, who formerly the tobacco specialist with the University of Tennessee Extension Service, later with Philip Morris International and more recently with the Burley Stabilization Corporation. In it, he hypothesizes how a mythical farmer named Hardy Bright, might face the potential end of an era. Read it and let me know what you think.--Chris Bickers.  The Last Tobacco Farmer   He’s living out our history Holding on in spite Of the crusades and contradictions He just loved the life   Hardy Bright is 13th generation Working old Virginia land Growing the crop his ancestors Grew to deeply understand   Takes too many acres now Labor can’t be found Demand and money dwindled Crop left without a sound   Hardy Bright’s a good man Salt of the earth it’s a shame That when he drew the tobacco straw The choosing was calling for change   He won’t get a monument Erected in his honor But old man Hardy Bright Was the last tobacco farmer   His gut pinches in irony As Hardy walks the rows Salvation crop joined the devil Hardy Bright’s not sure that’s so   Something’s missing in this place That begs our common sense It’s more than family farmers Or choice and consequence   Hardy Bright’s a good man Salt of the earth it’s a shame That when he drew the tobacco straw The choosing was calling for change He won’t get a monument Erected in his honor But old man Hardy Bright Was the last tobacco farmer     Donald J. Fowlkes May 2022

Bickers Editing Service | 903-9 Shellbrook Ct., Raleigh, NC 27609 Unsubscribe {recipient's email} Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by chrisbickers@gmail.com powered by Try email marketing for free today!