PLANTING NEARLY COMPLETE IN GRORGIA

 

TOBACCO FARMER NEWSLETTER April II 2023 In the Piedmont of North Carolina, a planting crew sets flue-cured tobacco in this file photo from a past season. Photo by Christopher Bickers.   Transplanting in Georgia was spread out considerably in Georgia because of rain events, but J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist, thinks substantially all will be complete by the end of the month. "We have had a good transplanting season and the plants that are in the field look very good.” Some of the crop has been in the field four weeks. There aren’t many problems in the field except for tomato spotted wilt. “We will still have losses to this disease but I believe our farmers took the control measures they needed to,” Moore says. There is nothing you can do to control TSWV after the crop is transplanted. Every plant produced in Georgia will be taken to the field (see TFN March I). “And it still won’t be enough acres to service the contracts we have signed.” That was made worse by some very late requests for more contracted acres by companies. “As I understand it, plants are short everywhere,” says Moore. But as of today, the outlook in the Deep South is good. “We are looking forward to producing a high quality crop that buyers will pay top dollar for,” he says.   At the other end of the tobacco belt, burley growers in Kentucky are still seeding greenhouses. Mild temperatures and dry conditions characterized most of the week, but a cold front passed through accompanied by some patchy frost. Greenhouse seeding is ahead of last year at 87 percent complete. Seeded transplants remain in mostly good condition. The average height of transplants is rated at (41 percent) less than 2 inches, (42 percent) 2-4 inches, and (17 percent) larger than 4 inches. Crop progress according to USDA-NASS (through April 23): GA–72% planted; SC—19% planted; NC--24% planted; VA-Flue--2% planted, VA Fire-cured 1%--planted. KY—87% seeded. Guano or bat manure: Organic tobacco farmers have shown an interest in using Peruvian seabird guano or bat manure for organic seedling production. Based on results of recent N.C. testing, the Peruvian seabird guano seems to be a better choice. If you use seabird guano, closely monitor alkalinity levels in the waterbed closely and correct when necessary. Both organic products produced smaller seedlings and a lower percentage of usable seedlings than 16-5-16 in one study, but in another study, the seabird guano and 16-5-16 produced similar percentages of usable transplants.   The shrinking burley base: The Council for Burley Tobacco (CBT), which is responsible for the collection and investment of the Kentucky burley checkoff funds, has noted a sharp decline in those funds. "Over the last several years, we have watched as the check-off funds continue to decrease," says Darrell Varner, a burley grower and CBT president. Ten years ago, in the 2012-2013 season, CBT received $142,794.44 in check-off funds from 13 buyers, says Varner. "As we come to the close of the 2022-2023 marketing season, the checkoff funds total is $39,852.82." With China’s return to the U.S. market in 2021, exports in 2021 increased, says Blake Brown, recently retired N.C. Extension economist. But China's purchase of tobacco from the U.S. decreased in 2022. And unfortunately, the China market in the future will be particularly volatile and susceptible to changes in U.S. relations. In other tobacco news: MORE DETAILS FROM THE USDA PROSPECTIVE PLANTING REPORT Here are state-by-state projections of plantings of the minor types. --FIRE-CURED: Kentucky 8,100 acres, down 17 percent; Tennessee 6,300 acres, no change; Virginia 200 acres, up 33 percent. --DARK AIR-CURED: Kentucky 5,000 acres, down 14 percent; Tennessee 3,400 acres, down eight percent. --CIGAR FILLER: Pennsylvania. 2,600 acres, up four percent. --SOUTHERN MARYLAND: Pennsylvania--100 acres, no change. NEWS FROM OVERSEAS In Malawi, the tobacco market (selling mostly burley) opened on April 12. The average sales price at auction rose from $1.8 per kilo to $1.88 per kg during the early sales days. Farmers were reportedly very happy with the price rise. In Zimbabwe, the tobacco market (selling mostly flue-cured) opened in early March. According to the Tobacco Industry & Marketing Board, through April 20 (Day 29), the average sales price was US$ 2.99 per kilogram.

PLANTING BEGINS IN THE DEEP SOUTH

 

April 5 2023

A Florida planting crew sets flue-cured tobacco in this file photo from a past season. Georgia: Transplanting should get going this week, says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. “We had rains last week, but the fields are drying out well, so planting conditions should be good,” he says. Temperatures in the 90s are expected by the end of this week. Plants look good in the greenhouse. Disease is generally absent in them. “We could have used more plants in the greenhouse. As it is, we will not have enough plants to meet our contracts.” South Carolina: SC farmers will be ready to begin transplanting this week or the next, says William Hardee, S.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “We’ve had some significant rainfall recently, so we’re hoping soils will dry out quickly.” Farmers have had a pretty good year in the greenhouse, though weather conditions early on after seeding were conducive to some fertilizer salts injury, and there was some pythium later on. THE NEW USDA PROSPECTIVE PLANTING REPORT--which predicts the plantings that tobacco farmers intend in 2023 as indicated by a USDA survey--projects four percent less flue-cured acreage and nine percent higher burley acreage for 2023. Tobacco of all types was projected down two percent. Details follow:   FLUE-CURED                                     North Carolina, 110,000 acres, down five percent from last year. Virginia, 11,000 acres, down 9 percent. Georgia, 7,000 acres, up 17 percent. South Carolina, 7,000 acres, up 21 percent. United States, 135,000 acres, down four percent. BURLEY                                                      Kentucky, 31,000 acres, up 11 percent. Tennessee, 3,000 acres, up 11 percent. Pennsylvania, 1,000 acres, down 33 percent. Virginia, 210 acres, down 16 percent. North Carolina, 160 acres, no change. United States 35,370 acres, up nine percent. FIRE-CURED 14,600 acres, down 10 percent. DARK AIR-CURED 8,400 acres, down 12 percent. CIGAR FILLER: Pennsylvania Seedleaf (Only Pennsylvania plantings declared in this survey). 2,600 acres, up four percent.      SOUTHERN MARYLAND: (Only Pennsylvania plantings declared in this survey). 100 acres, no change.   ALL TOBACCO: United States, 197,070 acres, down two percent.       In other tobacco news: Will more H-2A candidates be available? Earlier this year, it came to the attention of the Burley and Dark Tobacco Producers Association that H-2A visa interview spots at U.S. Consulates on Mexico were limited. “We reached out to our Congressional delegation asking for support in opening interview opportunities at more Consulates,” the association said in its recent newsletter. “We understand interview spots were increased.” A new sucker control chemical for organic: Pure-Tac is a fatty alcohol produced and marketed by Drexel Chemical Company and is the first fatty alcohol product to receive EPA/ USDA “For Organic Production” approval. Pure-Tac is residue free and can be used on all tobacco types grown in organic and PRC culture. It should be available at traditional retail out-lets. For more information visit  www.DrexChem.com or contact your local Drexel Chemical Company representative.  Correction: The phone number for Labor Services International listed in the last issue should have read 252 557 9528.