QUALITY LIFTS PRICES ON FLUE-CURED, BURLEY MARKETS

Caption: Buyers compete for flue-cured leaf at an auction at the Horizon tobacco warehouse at Wilson, N.C., earlier this year. Photo: Christopher Bickers...... .......BURLEY DODGES QUICK-CURE BULLET There was considerable relief among burley buyers when leaf began to arrive at the buying stations. There had been a lot of dry weather during the curing season and there was a fear that it would lead to reduced quality, said Daniel Green, chief executive officer of Burley Stabilization Corporation, which began taking deliveries last week. “Most buyers seem pleased with the quality of the early leaf given the very challenging growing season plagued by a long dry spell. And they expect the later-delivered leaf to be even better due to improved curing conditions late in the season.” Some may have been the side effects of Hurricane Helene, but Green says that as far as effect on burley production is concerned, Helene was not a significant factor. There were certainly torrential rains in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, but little tobacco is grown in those areas anymore. “Burley there makes up a small part of the total crop,” Green says. A national burley crop of 55 million pounds has been projected by USDA. Based on early deliveries, Green thinks it might be a little lower, maybe 50 million pounds, which would be 10% less than projected last month. USABLE LEAF CHARACTERIZES BRIGHT MARKET It was a tough, tough season for the 2024 flue-cured crop, which will be remembered as the crop that could not catch a break, says Rick Smith, president of Independent Leaf Tobacco, a leaf dealer in Wilson, N.C. “It was dry, it was wet, there were hurricanes…it was one thing after another. It’s a miracle that so much of the crop turned out as well as it did.” The crop was short, he says. ”We could have sold a lot more if it had been there. Most everyone came up short. I know I did. We need a barnbuster next year to make up for this”…The quality was surprisingly good. “What was sold was useable,” says Smith. He concludes, “There was nothing about the 2024 crop that you would call normal.”  REALLY GOOD YIELDS FOR DARK “We have a good crop,” says Andy Bailey, dark tobacco Extension specialist. “Delivery to receiving stations has just started. The color is a little lighter on our dark air-cured and burley than we would like. We even see a little of that on our dark fire-cured also.” It could have been worse: “It was so dry during the early part of the curing season in August and most of September.” There are some really good yields despite the heat and sporadic dry conditions. “I have seen some dark fired yields of 3,700 pounds per acre or more in our plots, which is very good.” Estimated volume of dark fire-cured is about 24 million pounds, says Bailey. That is a little short of earlier projections. For dark air-cured, he estimates about 11 million pounds.  REPORT FROM OVERSEAS Leaf shortage a certainty: There is no doubt that there will be a shortage of leaf at the end of 2024, said farmers who attended the recent meeting of the International Tobacco Growers Association. Some of those in attendance predicted that flue-cured tobacco will reach balance in 2025 and burley in 2026. But others were much less optimistic. Chasing higher yields: The tobacco-producing areas of the United States, Brazil and the European have registered the highest yields in recent years, but overall the picture is one of flat performance or even decline. That goes against trends in crops like corn, soybean and cotton. In the United States, commercial growers have achieved the best results, but changes in management practices have not led to the expected yield increases. Elsewhere, in Africa, aspects inherent to small scale growing--including lack of infrastructure, water deficits and inadequate land preparation--have led to much lower productivity. CORRECTION In the November 2024 issue of TFN, the winner of a tobacco award at the N.C. State Fair was mistakenly identified. The item should have read: “The Commissioners Awards given by the N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture for the best tobacco displayed at the N.C. State Fair went to Bruce Whitfield of Hurdle Mills, N.C.” DATES TO REMEMBER Annual Meeting, Kentucky/Tennessee Burley & Dark Tobacco Producer Association, January 16, at Sloan Convention Center. Bowling Green, Kentucky. 9 a.m.--3:45 p.m. Central Time. Annual Meeting, Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina, 10 a.m., EST, Friday, February 7, at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh (in connection with Southern Farm Show). Southern Farm Show, February 5 through 7, N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, starting at 9 a.m. EST each day. Admission is free.

LOOKING BACK OVER A REALLY BAD YEAR

Caption: Wrapping up another crop: A North Carolina farmer harvests the last few stalks of his flue-cured crop near Raleigh. Photo: Christopher Bickers. The leaves have been pulled from the flue-cured plants and the stalk-cut types have been cut and hung on tier poles, and although there may be a few farmers left with tobacco still in the field, the 2024 crop is for all practical purposes complete. It was a year to remember--although many of us would rather not--and following is a final report on the end of burley and dark production plus a report from the N.C. State Fair. BURLEY AND DARK In Kentucky, it was dry early and wet late, says Joe Cain, Executive Director, Kentucky-Tennessee Burley and Dark Tobacco Producers Assn. “But we came out with a decent burley crop considering that it was dry again during harvest,” he says. In that situation, there is a danger of a quick cure, producing leaf that is hard to sell. “Our dark tobacco suffered less from the weather resulting in less disease pressure. We had disappointing contract reductions in 2024, but we will have a dark crop next season. We just don’t know at what level. Contracts and prices will determine how much. Currently I don’t have any information what they will be”…The market may look better for burley. “There certainly isn’t any oversupply of burley in the world so there could be some expansion,” he says…In Tennessee, harvest ended by early November. Curing weather was reasonably good since then. “It had been dry but then we got a couple of rains recently that really helped,” said Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension specialist. Not a lot of the crop remains to be cured, he adds…East Tennessee and western North Carolina suffered savage rain and flood damage from Hurricane Helene. But the loss of tobacco was not extreme because not much burley is grown in these areas anymore…Richmond says the still relatively new variety KT 222 was a success again in 2024. “It has proven to be the highest variety in black shank resistance that we have had in quite a while. It is going to be a popular variety in coming years.” PIEDMONT FLUE-CURED In North Carolina, two men who grow tobacco north of Raleigh stopped to talk to Tobacco Farmer Newsletter in an interview during the Tobacco Stringing Contest at the North Carolina State Fair last October 18: Jonathan Renn, who farms in Franklin and Vance Counties, said 2024 was “definitely” a challenging season. But his area was largely spared from the worst of hurricane damage. There was some wind damage from Hurricane Debbie, “But our problems were mainly caused by too much water. And we had a drought that was a big problem too. Two weather events in one year are too much,” he said. Yield and quality were good considering the conditions. “But they weren’t up to normal.” Tom Shaw, who farms in Vance County, said, “We only made about 60% of a normal crop. It was very dry early and very wet later on. Tobacco doesn’t like wet feet.” But the hurricanes didn’t bother us.” One problem, he said, was that he had to harvest too fast, in order to get it in before the tobacco deteriorated. “We stayed behind the whole time. I finished earlier than I ever have.” The yield was “terrible,” he added. “Maybe 1,500 or 1,600 pounds per acre.” WINNERS FROM THE N.C. FAIR Tie that tobacco! The Maple Hill Loopers won the N.C. State Fair’s Tobacco Stringing on Oct. 13. It was the team’s ninth win. The team is made up of husband and wife Sandy and Ken Jones of Maple Hill and Michael Sunday of Hendersonville. Terrific tips: Brent Leggett of Nashville, N.C., was awarded the Commissioner’s Award for his tobacco. “Hands down, Brent’s entry in the tips category was the best,” said Stan Biconish, superintendent of the tobacco heritage competition. “From su-perior leaf texture to the quality of the leaf and its maturity, his tobacco was a standout.“ REPORT FROM OVERSEAS Why world production is down: Ivan Genov, manager of tobacco industry analysis for the International Tobacco Growers Association, listed the driving forces in the main tobacco-growing countries: “Unfavorable weather patterns in leading markets including Brazil, Zimbabwe and the US were a key contributor to decreased total global sales in 2024.” A few markets registered growth, said Genov, with Malawi, a key country for burley, having a particularly positive year.