TOO MUCH DRY WEATHER IN MUCH OF THE TOBACCO BELT

  TOBACCO FARMER NEWSLETTER JUNE II 2024 Be careful what you wish for: In May, North Carolina growers wished the rain would let up, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco spec ialist. “It did. We have had no rain since then”…There was no oversupply of plants, but it seems there were enough to plant the whole crop…The crop was completely planted by the start of June…Many irrigation ponds are in need of replenishing and need rain badly. If they don’t get it, farmers may have to pick and choose between which fields to water…Topping and sucker control application are going full tilt in N.C. now, and farmers are cleaning up their fields…A record has been set. Two farmers in Eastern N.C. began harvesting their crop this week, according to their county agents. “This is the earliest date that har-vesting has ever taken place in their areas from what I hear,” says Vann… North Carolina Extension will hold a tobacco field day Wednesday July 17, 9 AM PM at the Cunningham Research Station, 200 Cunningham Rd., Kinston: https:// tobacco.ces.ncsu.edu/vent/2968995597/tobacco-field-day/ Catching up in Kentucky: “We may not be caught up, but we are not as far behind as we were,” says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. “Growers have made good progress with planting since last week.” Perhaps 20% remains to be planted. “There are not a lot of extra transplants out there so shortages may limit the total amount planted. Hopefully, as planting ends on individual farms, farmers will find some unused plants they can sell.” Burley that has already been planted is looking good so far. Farther up the road, Pearce sees a potential problem. “A whole lot of this crop was set out all at one time. All that tobacco could mature around the same time and cause harvest scheduling problems, “he says…For now, the main problem is that it has gotten hot and dry. “It has been abnormally warm the last few weeks and the rain has fallen off,” says Pearce. “We are going to need a good general rain in the next week and a half.” Conditions for transplanting in Tennessee have gotten better. “We have had some favorable weather for setting, and the rains have improved,” says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. “We are behind but we are on the right track. May was not a good month. There was way too much rain.” That slowed transplanting somewhat and Richmond estimates that about 25% still remains to be set. Tennesseans didn’t suffer too much of a plant shortage…The Tobacco, Beef & More Field Day will be held Thursday, June 27 at the UT Highland Rim Research & Education Center, Springfield TN. For more information, go to https:// calendar.utk.edu/event/tobacco beef_and_more_024tm_campaign=widget&utmmedium=widget&utm_source=University+of+Tennessee%2C+Knoxville. In the Black Patch, farmers are moving as fast as they can to finish transplanting. One reason: “June 20 was the deadline for full crop insurance, and farmers were anxious to be finished by that date,” says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. Making it more difficult is that growers in western Kentucky and north central Tennessee have had to replant at least a few fields due to transplant shock from hot, dry conditions recently, said Bailey. There was definitely a shortage of plants, especially where farmers chose to re-set. Growers had enough plants to transplant all their fields the first time, but there is no surplus of plants available now for replanting. All transplants seem to be gone or spoken for.’’ In general, tobacco here is two or even three weeks late because of the wet conditions over much of the past six weeks…The Kentucky Corn, Soybean and Tobacco Field day will be held Tuesday, July 23, at the UK Research & Education Center in Princeton KY. For more information, go to htps:// w krec.ca.uky.edu/events/corn-soy bean-tobacco-field-day-0. No registration required… The crop in Virginia was planted a little late, says Stephen Barts, Extension agent in Pittsylvania County, Va., the main flue-cured producing county in the state (along with Virginia dark fire-cured and Connecticut broadleaf). Most of the crop was planted in late May and the first days of June but planting dates were widespread: Some tobacco went out to the field in April, while some was set two weeks ago. Barts says the late planted might look the best right now. The main problem so far has been lack of moisture. “We are extremely dry right now,” says Barts. “We haven’t had a measurable rain in the month of June.” Still, some growers may be able to begin topping next week, especially if it finally starts raining. Also, some growers have started watering their crop. But overall irrigation capacity is low so they probably will be able to operate their irrigation only once or maybe twice. They certainly won’t be able to supply the crop’s full needs. REPORT FROM OVERSEAS ZIMBABWE: Production of the crop that is just finishing marketing is expected to be down a projected 20%. A drought was the reason. It was blamed on climate change and was made worse by El Niño. Zimbabwe growers harvested a record 326,000 tons of tobacco (almost all flue-cured) last year, but this year no more than 259,000 tons is expected. The shortfall could derail the country’s expansion plans: Zimbabwe has had a national growth program in place since 2021, and its goal is production of 330,000 tons by the end of 2025. But with the small crop of 2024 staring growers in the face, it is much to be wondered if that goal will be reached. TOBACCO TOURS The South Carolina Tobacco Tour is scheduled for July 9 and 10. It will kick off with check-in at the Hotel Florence on July 9 from 3 to 6 PM. The first stop will be at Pee Dee Research and Education Center Pavilion at 7:45 AM on July 10. The tour will end after lunch near Stevens Farms in Loris around 12 PM.

A SLOW START THANKS TO RAIN

  Above: A Kentucky farmer plants burley in the Bluegrass in late May. A SLOW START THANKS TO RAIN It’s been a very wet start to the season in Tennessee. “Rainfall has been above average and spaced out enough to keep fields too wet for transplanting,” says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. Last week it was wide open on any field that was dry enough to plant, he says. “But we are a week or so behind normal. We are struggling to find a window to get the crop planted.” Through Friday, Richmond estimated that 10% to 15% of the crop had been set out. “It might be a little more but definitely less than 20%.” In Kentucky, planting is definitely behind schedule. “It’s basically been wet,” says Joe Cain, Executive Director for the Kentucky Burley & Dark Tobacco Producers Association (KBDTPA). “A lot still needs to be set. You still see fields with standing water.” Although late last week saw frantic planting activity by farmers, that may not be possible this week. Weather forecasts predict a chance of rainfall every day this week till Saturday, and it was raining Monday. “We are just waiting for conditions to be right,” says Cain. “Tobacco setting, at 36 percent, is well behind both last year and the five-year average,” said NASS. “Both corn and tobacco are rated as mostly good condition despite recent weather setbacks.” Organizations blend in Kentucky: The Council for Burley Tobacco voted in March to come under the administration of KBDTPA. But it will maintain a separate identity and will continue to collect grower checkoffs and tags. The two organizations now share largely similar directorial boards and officers and will hold joint board meetings. Note: Kara Keeton, longtime executive of CBT, has left the organization. There’s not been much dry weather in the Black Patch in recent weeks but growers have been able to make some progress. “During the few dry days we have had, we got a lot set,” says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension dark specialist. “As of today (June 3), I would say 40% is set, maybe 50%. That is better than two weeks ago, but we are still behind where we would like to be.” Now, there is reason for optimism. “Weather forecasts say Thursday and Friday are likely to be dry,” he says. “I am sure our farmers will be ready to take advantage of that or any opportunity they get to plant.” Blank shank showing up in Georgia. That should be no surprise with the wet spring, says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. Tomato spotted wilt has also made its appearance—Moore estimated that about 25% of plants across the state are infected. There is no reason to push the panic button yet on either disease. The popularity of KT 222 keeps on growing. The nearly new burley variety appears headed for planting on 70% of acreage in Tennessee this season. It’s key strength: Very good resistance to both strains of black shank. “Growers in the burley belt seemed to like performance of KT 222 in terms of yield last year,” says Richmond. Plantings report by selected states from USDA-NASS as of June 3: (Flue) GA*—100%; NC—91%; VA--92. (Burley) KY--36% (includes Dark); NC--34%; VA 75%. (Dark) VA 69%. *Extension Service estimate. TOBACCO TOURS IN JUNE:  The South Carolina Tobacco Tour is scheduled for July 9 and 10. It will kick off with check-in at the Hotel Florence on July 9 from 3 to 6 PM. The first stop will be at Pee Dee Research and Education Center Pavilion at 7:45 AM on July 10. The tour will end after lunch near Stevens Farms in Loris around 12 PM. The Georgia-Florida Tobacco Tour will begin with a Kick-Off Supper at H&H Farms, 1151 Evergreen Church Rd., Cobbtown, GA, near Metter, on Monday evening, and end at lunch on June 18 at Live Oak FL. Go to www.georgiatobacco.com information and directions. REPORT FROM OVERSEAS: Malawi production up: The Tobacco Commission (TC) of Malawi is projecting a 17% increase in volume from the current season compared to what the country’s farmers produced in 2023. But it could have been more, according to the website Malawi 24. “The latest report attributes the decrease in the projected production (in January) from 146 million to 140 million kilograms due to prolonged dry spells in most parts of the country and poor establishment and performance of some dark fire-cured tobacco in the Northern region,” said a spokesman for the Commission. Facebook X Instagram