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.