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.