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.