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.