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.
