tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7713824520244198432024-03-13T07:29:01.710-04:00Tobacco Farmer NewsletterChris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.comBlogger368125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-66245783308354914582024-02-11T18:43:00.001-05:002024-02-11T18:44:55.873-05:00 DARK CONTRACTS ARE DOWN BUT FLUE NUMBERS ARESTABLE<p> </p><p><br /></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-5989620667520421370layout" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_-5989620667520421370column m_-5989620667520421370scale m_-5989620667520421370stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-5989620667520421370text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_-5989620667520421370text_content-cell m_-5989620667520421370content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; 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width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-5989620667520421370text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_-5989620667520421370text_content-cell m_-5989620667520421370content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-5989620667520421370layout" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_-5989620667520421370column m_-5989620667520421370scale m_-5989620667520421370stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-5989620667520421370text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_-5989620667520421370text_content-cell m_-5989620667520421370content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11px;">Daniel Green, executive of the Burley Stabilization cooperative, and Will Snell of the University of Kentucky, were speakers at the recent Burley and Dark Tobacco Producers meeting in Bowling Green, Ky.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-5989620667520421370layout" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_-5989620667520421370column m_-5989620667520421370scale m_-5989620667520421370stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-5989620667520421370text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_-5989620667520421370text_content-cell m_-5989620667520421370content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">There will be</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> at least as many acres of flue-cured this year as last in Georgia and Florida, says </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px;">J. Michael Moore, Extension tobacco specialist for those two states. “We appreciate the higher level of contracting among buyers,” says Moore. “It probably reflects interest in this crop from China.”</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Input strategy for 2014</span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px;">: Shop early for supply, then look for low prices, says Moore.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Georgians expect</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> to go to field around April 7, a little earlier than usual. But that should be enough to gain some benefits in tomato spotted control.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Black shank </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">is a scary prospect for flue-cured growers who want to grow the old standard variety K-326. But Ben Teal of Patrick, S.C., says if you can get it on fresh land, 326 is still an excellent choice. Besides good management characteristics, it produces well on sandy land, he says. He has an advantage since he farms in a part of the tobacco belt in S.C., that has experienced a lot of attrition in recent years. So it is relatively easy to find land for rotation…Teal has used exclusively mechanical harvest for several years and is unlikely to change unless there is some improvement in the availability/cost of labor.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">It looks like</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> the dark types will be way down in planting this spring. “It appears that there will be considerable reduction in contracting of dark air-cured and dark fire-cured,”</span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px;"> says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension dark specialist</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">. Dark </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">wrapper</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> types may take the place of some standard dark plantings. Some burley may also return to the Black Patch because the price differential favors it.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Bad weather on January 18</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> reduced the expected turnout at the Kentucky-Tennessee Burley and Dark Producers (BDTPA) association annual meeting in Bowling Green. Worse yet, because of impeded travel, the panel on tobacco labor in 2024 had to be postponed until the association’s February board meeting. But 25 or 30 farmers were able attend, and some good ideas were exchanged, says Joe Cain, the association’s executive secretary. In other news from the meeting:</span></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> It’s been decided that BDTPA (which is one year old) and the longstanding Council for Burley Tobacco will be brought under the same umbrella later this year. They had been separate.</li><li style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"> New board members are Chris Walker from near Murray, Ky., and John Henning of Breckenridge County, Kentucky. Walker grows burley and dark and Henning grows burley.</li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">GAP TRAINING MEETINGS: </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">For information, call GAP at 865.622.4606, or email </span><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> GAP Connection Training Calendar </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f%3D001mbu3wyymutyxOjXE1g7OfVQvJss-2oE8Eaa9eDw0wt2SGKe0VYb6-e8_TuNYiaSEICb_Lot1d0R_gtujahrHU6yinwrmaMRjDrKDLd6MMdi40VpJREGj_-Wq7qsYZ1q8Bcxf0Ah-X-zGtzqh67OQEeA1ZJ5oRYi07X0Id9oPfCUxXgzRvMCIOA%3D%3D%26c%3D9u9_gWJ1cBDHVhAqt5DHrw7kIJs7frXTLeOSO5n1usb9j7kwvExTaA%3D%3D%26ch%3DGp_qrs9jdRNISolpBxzQCvkK35MZ5vQkXrhl5buDSdnj_UF0n7bDwA%3D%3D&source=gmail&ust=1707780710960000&usg=AOvVaw2Ib-aJN7C_ATcqBl4wsMlG" fg_scanned="1" href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001mbu3wyymutyxOjXE1g7OfVQvJss-2oE8Eaa9eDw0wt2SGKe0VYb6-e8_TuNYiaSEICb_Lot1d0R_gtujahrHU6yinwrmaMRjDrKDLd6MMdi40VpJREGj_-Wq7qsYZ1q8Bcxf0Ah-X-zGtzqh67OQEeA1ZJ5oRYi07X0Id9oPfCUxXgzRvMCIOA==&c=9u9_gWJ1cBDHVhAqt5DHrw7kIJs7frXTLeOSO5n1usb9j7kwvExTaA==&ch=Gp_qrs9jdRNISolpBxzQCvkK35MZ5vQkXrhl5buDSdnj_UF0n7bDwA==" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://shop. gapconnections. com/meetings/calendar</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> or contact your local Extension office. 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width: 602px;" valign="top"><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #888888; font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-center;"></span>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-32141915784368977912024-01-29T16:53:00.000-05:002024-01-29T16:53:25.834-05:00MAXIMIZE YOUR VARIETIES<p> </p><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_panel-row" style="background-color: white; color: black; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr class="" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-866"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; 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text-align: justify;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1705371313723-974" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1705371313783-530" style="width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1700845878565-897" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/412db194-8c09-4fbf-8f18-0738bdfe9aa6.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="561" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1705549043086-737" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1705549043132-816" style="width: 602px;" valign="top"></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1704331671865-374" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1704331942113-998" style="width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1704422567621-455" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1704331758076-177" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Challenge for 2024</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR VARIETIES</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 16px;">The number of new, improved varieties has drastically increased in the last few years, particularly for flue-cured. Now, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">Extension specialists recommend that you treat these varieties like an arsenal in 2024 and arm yourself with as many that fit your needs.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">There could be several.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #222222;">In North Carolina, there will be eight to 10 varieties that will each account for five percent or more of the total crop this year, says Matthew Vann, </span><span style="color: #263238;">N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “High yield and a good disease package will still be important, but some varieties may be chosen mainly for agronomic characteristics.” Vann thinks NC 960 could be a frequent choice this season due to the good experiences of farmers who planted it last year, which was effectively its first season.</span></li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In Georgia,<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: #263238;">J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist, thinks NC 960 could work out well also, along with NC 1226, thanks to their outstanding black shank resistance (see the January I issue of TFN.) He suggested then that disease resistant varieties might be a better choice than chemicals for control of diseases this year.</span></li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In the Southside of Virginia, Stephen Barts, Extension agent in Pittsylvania County, Va., says PVH 2310 and K326 may fit in where rotations are good.</li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In South Carolina, William Hardee, Extension tobacco specialist, says variety decisions should be made on a "per field" basis. He hopes that his farmers have utilized good record keeping to keep track of problem fields. He also recommended spreading the crop throw out by maturity.</li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 21px; font-weight: bold;">R</span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">EPORT FROM OVERSEAS</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">BRAZIL:</span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 37px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;">Weather</span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;">has </span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;">reduced flue-cured yield 20.5%</span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;">All tobacco-growing areas in the south of Brazil were severely affected by weather conditions, according to a mid December report from the Kohltrade leaf company. In addition to hail, excessive rain has diminished quality. There are spots on the leaves due to the roots drowning in excess rain. Farmers were forced to harvest wet fields, and as a consequence, limited curing capacity will produce a higher percentage of mahoganies. Among the two major types:</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Flue-cured--</span>Planted area is up, but the average yield in southern Brazil is estimated to be 20.5 percent lower compared to average crops. Weather patterns are not expected to get better as the season ends, so total green flue-cured volume should be around 475,000 tons.</li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Burley--W</span>eather conditions like the flue-cured area experienced are causing plants with weaker rooting systems to drop in the fields. This has forced farmers to collect and hang underdeveloped plants. Many farmers report leaves are rotting in the barns. The negative impact on green volume is over 20%, and it is estimated that Brazilian production will be around 39,000 tons. Lower yields will affect factory performance.</li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Report on the early market:</span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;"> Small traders had begun purchasing the new crop by mid December at an inflated price. The overall quality of the lower stalk is reportedly poor due to the frequent inclusion of house-burned leaves, which farmers did not appear to be separating out in the grading process….</span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Reason for optimism?: </span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;">In Brazil, rainy crops often result in a good-quality upper stalk. That may happen this year--alkaloid tests in early areas are showing lower nicotine levels, as was hoped…In December, some companies began purchasing flue-cured, while others began purchasing burley as early as November. The cost of green products is expected to rise by 5 to 8%. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">DATES TO REMEMBER</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Southern Farm Show, January 31 through February 2</span><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px;">, N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, starting at 9 a.m. each day. Admission is free.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Annual Meeting, Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina</span><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px;">, 10 a.m., Friday, February 2, at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. A GAP training session will take place immediately afterward.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">GAP TRAINING MEETINGS: </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">For information, call GAP at 865.622.4606</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">, or email </span><a href="mailto:arochkes@gapconnections.com" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">arochkes@gapconnections.com</a><span style="font-size: 16px;"> or contact your local Extension office. All meetings are in English.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1705359946166-836" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1705359946215-416" style="width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1704333707384-313" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/letters/images/icons/680x340_CPE_v2.png" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="20" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1705366171877-455" style="min-width: 100%; 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margin-right: auto; table-layout: auto !important; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="width: 528.8px;" valign="top" width="100%"><div align="center" class="footer-max-main-width" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="footer-layout" style="padding: 16px 0px;" valign="top"></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-26997064274919063412024-01-04T22:26:00.001-05:002024-01-04T22:26:46.660-05:00THE SEEDING SEASON BEGINS<p> </p><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_panel-row" style="background-color: white; color: black; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr class="" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-866"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 0px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1704334605965-468" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1704334606017-403" style="width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1704334667954-773" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1704424809131-662" style="width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1700845878565-897" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/a0ca6c1a-3b72-4ec1-a009-668762295fcf.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="561" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1704331671865-374" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1704331942113-998" style="width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1704422567621-455" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Seeding trays in Georgia last week.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1704331758076-177" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">SEEDING SEASON BEGINS</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">Some greenhouses have already been seeded in Georgia. But J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist, considers now is too early, by quite a bit. “I prefer waiting till later in January to supply transplants after April 7, after the end of the first flight of thrips, which has proven an effective strategy for re-ducing tomato spotted wilt. Patience will definitely work in your favor.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">How to cut greenhouse heat: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">You may be able to cut the heating bill for your greenhouse by delaying seeding until after the coldest weather of January and still have plants ready for transplanting in early April, says Moore. “You can reduce your gas bill significantly this way,” he says. “When you need heat, you need it, but there is certainly no need to heat more than necessary.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Issues with Orondis </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">for black shank control in Georgia in 2023? “There were instances of injury after application of the premix in the transplant water,” says Moore. One way of lessening the problem: “Apply Orondis and Ridomil in the transplant water as the co-pack of the products rather than a premix,” he says.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Varieties versus chemicals?</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> It might be time to rely more on black shank varieties than on chemical control. In Georgia, two relatively new flue-cured varieties might help. “NC 1226 and NC 960 have outstanding black shank resistance and could fit in pretty well here,” says Moore.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Don’t get ahead of yourself</span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px;"> with your greenhouse fertilizer. Some farmers have gotten in the habit of making their initial greenhouse application as late as four weeks after seeding, says </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Matthew Vann, </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px;">N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">“Excellent transplants are best obtained from an initial application of fertilizer to supply 100 to 150 ppm of nitrogen within seven days after seeding plus a second application to supply 100 ppm nitrogen four weeks later,” he says.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 16px;"></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Will broadleaf bow out </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">in the Black Patch of western Kentucky and north central Tennessee? At the peak of Connecticut broadleaf planting a few years ago, the Black Patch produced perhaps 1,000 acres of the type, says Andy Bailey, Kentucky/Tennessee Extension dark specialist. Acreage last year might have only reached 300 acres.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Overall, the yield was good for this type, </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">says Bailey, from at least 1,800 pounds per acre to perhaps 2,000, for a total of perhaps 600 thousand pounds. Unfortunately, the percentage of wrappers was low, and profitability on this type is completely dependent on the amount of wrapper/binder grades produced. Growers producing Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco should strive for at least 50% wrapper/binder grades, but many growers got much less than that. “I have been told by many that the 2023 crop is the last Connecticut crop they wil</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">l plant.”</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">DATES TO REMEMBER</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">51st Tobacco Workers' Conference, January 15 – 18</span><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px;">, at the Convention Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. For more information, go to the official website at </span><a href="http://www.twconference.com/" style="color: #34b3d0; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">www.twconference.com.</a></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Annual Meeting, KT Burley & Dark Tobacco Producer Association </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">/</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The Council for Burley Tobacco</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">, January 18, at Sloan Convention Center. Bowling Green, Kentucky. 9 a.m.--3:45 p.m. Central Time.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Southern Farm Show, January 31 through February 2</span><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px;">, N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, starting at 9 a.m. each day. Admission is free.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="ql-cursor"></span>Annual Meeting, Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina</span><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px;">, 10 a.m., Friday, February 2, at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">GAP TRAINING MEETINGS BEGAN THIS WEEK. </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">For information, call GAP at 865.622.4606</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">, or email </span><a href="mailto:arochkes@gapconnections.com" style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">arochkes@gapconnections.com</a><span style="font-size: 16px;"> or contact your local Extension office. 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margin-right: auto; table-layout: auto !important; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="width: 522px;" valign="top" width="100%"><div align="center" class="footer-max-main-width" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="footer-layout" style="padding: 16px 0px;" valign="top"></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-1105770887332967392023-12-21T14:50:00.002-05:002023-12-27T13:26:14.715-05:00<table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 0px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_6397851942090575609column m_6397851942090575609scale m_6397851942090575609stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609image--mobile-scale m_6397851942090575609image--mobile-center" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_6397851942090575609image_container m_6397851942090575609content-padding-horizontal" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NZdZu05QHaHjeHSaFhjBzB8vgG22uQoT9mlaScHKOmoR1ZfshE1E_YdSVtoIn_b3g530kwILpgxDYUfNk0o-Fmc5OAVhDjBvaZ1GeqVxIWHIg4bUuYm5rmeC1NgdMnrVj45Jva-K8OeTMOL5evMPeA6hbV6ug=s0-d-e1-ft#https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/769185dd-360f-4a2a-b03c-0e90e75161a1.jpg?rdr=true" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="562" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_6397851942090575609column m_6397851942090575609scale m_6397851942090575609stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_6397851942090575609text_content-cell m_6397851942090575609content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic;">Above: A tornado ravaged the processing facilities of the Burley Stabilization Corporation in Springfield, Tn., on December 8. </span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">LAST IMPRESSION OF 2023 TOBACCO:</span></p><h1 style="color: #717a80; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;">ALL MAJOR TYPES CAME UP SHORT</span></span></h1><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">The quality of 2023 flue-cured was very good. "Every pile offered for sale was sound usable tobacco, very desirable leaf," says Rick Smith, president of Independent Leaf Tobacco, a leaf dealer in Wilson, N.C. “Unfortunately, there is not enough of it. We are 50 million pounds short of the anticipated volume.” As a result, the price was strong. “There were a lot of dollars chasing not enough volume.”</span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The secondary market price</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> was especially good, says Smith, who buys at the N.C. auctions. “The average was only a little short of the contract price,” says Smith. “I am not sure what the average ended up being, but it held pretty well up till the end: The last pile I saw sold went for $2.25.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The quality of the N.C. flue-cured crop</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> seems to have appeqaled to buyers. "We had plenty of orange leaf," says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. "But there wasn't a lot of bright leaf, so manufactures loooking for that may have been disappointed."</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">A good bit of the burley crop </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">has been delivered to its buyers, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">says Joe Cain, the executive director of the new </span><a href="mailto:KYTobaccoGrowers@outlook.com" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Kentucky Burley</a><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><a href="mailto:KYTobaccoGrowers@outlook.com" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">& Dark Tobacco Producers</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">Association. "</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">The quality is decent, though we don’t have the color we really wanted. But the curing situation of a few weeks ago has improved thanks to weather conditions. We have had some rain. A few farmers are leaving their tobacco in the barn longer than usual to help get the color.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_6397851942090575609column m_6397851942090575609scale m_6397851942090575609stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_6397851942090575609text_content-cell m_6397851942090575609content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The dark types of the Black Patch</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> had a production shortfall too. There was a lot of angular leafspot (ALS). Some of the dark fire-cured crop here never got harvested due to ALS damage. “Some that did get harvested shouldn't have,” says Extension tobacco specialist Andy Bailey “I would estimate fields that were a complete loss and not harvested amounted to at least 30%. There was maybe another 25% that was obviously damaged but still harvested.” Dark fire-cured is much more vulnerable to ALS than darkair0cured. Burley and Connecticut broadleaf are rarely affected by it.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Variety choice doesn’t help much</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> with ALS, says Bailey. “Some varieties do better than others, but none are resistant. And some of the more tolerant varieties are highly vulnerable to black shank.”But there is one situation where a variety might help with ALS. “If you want to plant dark in a field with none or very low black shank, PD7309 might be a good strategic choice against ALS. It fares reasonably well in the presence of ALS. But it has no resistance to Race One black shank, although it is resistant to Race zero.” Don’t take a chance with a field with any history of black shank. You may not see ALS every year but if you have black shank, you are going to see it almost every year.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The quality of N.C. flue-cured </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">seems to have appealed to buyers. "We had plenty of orange leaf," says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. "But there wasn't a lot of bright leaf, so manufactures looking for that may have been slightly disappointed." </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">There is one new flue-cured variety for 2024, he says. It’s PVH 1940, and it’s early and fast ripening.</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">A tight burley supply situation</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> became tighter when a thunderous tornado struck the Burley Stabilization Corporation's central facility in Springfield, Tn. The offices and receiving warehouse were largely destroyed leaving much of the tobacco in the warehouse subject to the elements. But the farmers got one small bit of good fortune: This tornado was not accompanied by torrential rains as one normally expects and in fact there was no rain for several days thereafter. So the cooperative was able to save some of the leaf, although a report is yet to come.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Hats off to BSC</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">: Within three days, they had rerouted deliveries aimed for the Springfield receiving station to the station in Glasgow, Ky., so farmers would not experience long delays in selling their leaf. That is not an unalloyed blessing since some of the Springfield farmers are quite some distance from Glasgow. BSC leaders hope to have Springfield functioning again in time for next season’s market opening.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Meet new specialists at winter county meetings</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">: In the Virginia meetings, a new molecular assay will be introduced, which will, when it’s fully functional, be able to identify high and low black shank pathogen levels in soil. Virginia’s still-new Extension tobacco pathologist, Zeng Yuan , will make the presentation. She has been part of the staff for 15 months. In North Carolina, the new Extension tobacco pathologist, Daisy Ahumada (will tell about the new formulation of Orondis that may help in black shank control. She joined the NCSU staff in June.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_6397851942090575609column m_6397851942090575609scale m_6397851942090575609stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 301px;" valign="top"></td><td align="center" class="m_6397851942090575609image_container m_6397851942090575609content-padding-horizontal" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 10px 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" height="353" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NYw5oBSMVYvuhmo_IX54XPOZ5RkY31-qXGbJV2ULNz0Y0Hj-_vSTCd128S9xW5niJUxeb9jb5ADWp7mCNtIQvetf7Dmj8uyI6roVlpwor3IpkC9QeA0wio73TaGEntjYU8VeT732gviOrGBFrapX1_c0MwYsA=w271-h353" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="271" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609image--mobile-scale m_6397851942090575609image--mobile-center" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr></tr></tbody></table></td><td align="center" class="m_6397851942090575609column m_6397851942090575609scale m_6397851942090575609stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 301px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609image--mobile-scale m_6397851942090575609image--mobile-center" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_6397851942090575609image_container m_6397851942090575609content-padding-horizontal" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 20px 10px 10px;" valign="top"><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_6397851942090575609column m_6397851942090575609scale m_6397851942090575609stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_6397851942090575609text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_6397851942090575609text_content-cell m_6397851942090575609content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">DATES TO REMEMBER</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">51st Tobacco Workers' Conference, January 15 – 18</span><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px;">, at the Convention Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. For more information, go to the official website at </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.twconference.com/&source=gmail&ust=1703258692672000&usg=AOvVaw1237gqmF100a-MhLP3qNFD" fg_scanned="1" href="http://www.twconference.com/" style="color: #34b3d0; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">www.twconference.com.</a></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Southern Farm Show, January 31 through February 2</span><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px;">, N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, starting at 9 a.m. each day. Admission is free.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Annual Meeting, Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina</span><span style="color: #1a191a; font-size: 16px;">, 10 a.m., Friday, February 2, at the N.C. 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpokLpr9Iv2khF9krOsikVTftjHj5v95bqWCALA6ILi24X1yEWjX-YXht0-khXR9N5TQBz6wvASv-zXnzbzkWslo_KM2wYTwOX5P9cH-G5uzhs6AGQ_IM4j6KBJBaZ__qjF8l2JMcrIZ7ay8nDJ9ZldACAok7woqhArEjqRtBDYo8N9-bk9YzAx_FwKky/s320/BSC%20Tornado%2023.jpeg%202.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-50710607727637537962023-12-05T12:20:00.001-05:002023-12-05T12:20:22.599-05:00COULD BURLEY LOSE SOME OF ITS LUSTER DUE TO LOW HUMIDITY?<p> </p><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_panel-row" style="background-color: white; color: black; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr class="" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-866"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 0px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1700809162867-383" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1701708701131-858" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1701708701182-675" style="width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1700845878565-897" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/6db3c478-4b37-4a05-944d-a62ec1dd622a.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="562" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1700445387637-938" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; text-align: justify; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1700445387694-846" style="text-align: center; width: 602px;" valign="top"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1700445387746-322" style="table-layout: fixed; text-align: justify; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px; text-align: left;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Dry weather is interfering with taking down and stripping the burley that remains hanging in the barns, like this one in the Kentucky Bluegrass. USDA reported that 76% of the Kentucky crop had been stripped by November 24.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">In Tennessee, USDA’s recent production estimate of 4.6 million pounds of burley seems credible, says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. “That would be in the general range of what we have had the last few years,” he says. Farmers had a very good crop in the field, but some may have been delayed in stripping because of very dry conditions that made it difficult to get the leaf in case. “But we have gotten some rains that last couple of weeks.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Kentuckians are having </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">the same problem. “We had a good crop coming out of the fields but now there is a fear that it might cure up light,” </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">says Joe Cain, the executive director of the new </span><a href="mailto:KYTobaccoGrowers@outlook.com" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Kentucky Burley</a><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><a href="mailto:KYTobaccoGrowers@outlook.com" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">& Dark Tobacco Producers</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> Association (KBDTPA). “</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">We have had some dry weather with no fogs or rain.” Most of the crop is in the barn now.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1700445387746-322" style="table-layout: fixed; text-align: justify; width: 100%;"><tbody></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1697328284675-104" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; text-align: justify; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1697425322649-668" style="text-align: center; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1697328284785-854" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px; text-align: left;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Disappearance of burley</span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 16px;"> has left East Tennessee looking a lot different. It used to be that if you drove through the countryside in the eastern part of Tennessee in the growing season, you would frequently come across burley patches. No more, says Richmond. “We have maybe five counties that are significant in burley, but usually there are just four or five growers in each.” In 1982, there were 4,100 growers in Greene County, which borders North Carolina. This year, there might have been eight.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Letters from Readers</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Two Opinions on Why H2A Wage Rates are Unsustainable</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">The biggest cost on the farm is labor, which appears to be on an upward trend [via H2A program rates]. It is unsustainable. N.C. is approaching $16 for differential wage rates. It seems very interesting that we all have rallied for change, and now when we get change, it includes not one good thing for the farmer. Every aspect of this change has a negative impact for the family farm. How did they change the rules? And why are North Carolinians paying over a dollar an hour more than bordering states South Carolina, Georgia and Florida?</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Rodney Jackson, Autryville, N.C.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">I feel that the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">H2A</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> labor cost is the main threat to the future of American tobacco production. I could easily grow many more acres if I brought in migrant labor, but I don’t see how I could generate enough income to make it worth it. We use all local labor now. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">The H2A program is a problem, financially as well as culturally. </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Anthony McGary, Breckinridge County, Ky. </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"><span class="ql-cursor"></span>Editor's Note: </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">If you have a thought you would like to share, please feel free to email it to me at chrisbickers@gmail.com.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">DATES TO REMEMBER</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">51st Tobacco Workers' Conference</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">, January 15 – 18, at the Convention Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. For more information, go to the official website at </span><a href="http://www.twconference.com/" style="color: #48a199; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">www.twconference.com</a><span style="font-size: 16px;">.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Southern Farm Show, </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">January 31 through February 2, N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, starting at 9 a.m. each day. Admission is free.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3c3a3a; font-size: 8px; font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="color: #3c3a3a; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Annual Meeting, Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina,</span><span style="color: #3c3a3a; font-size: 16px;"> 10 a.m., Friday, February 2, at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout-margin" data-cpeid="w-1701708277562-273" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="layout-margin_cell" style="padding: 0px 20px;" valign="top"><table bgcolor="#d9d9d9" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--feature layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1701708277562-936" style="background-color: #d9d9d9; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1701708277562-533" style="width: 562px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--feature text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1701708277562-176" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--float-right scale image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1701712331764-161" style="table-layout: fixed;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_spacer hide" height="1" style="height: 1px; line-height: 1px; padding: 0px;" valign="top" width="15"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" src="https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/letters/images/sys/S.gif" vspace="0" width="15" /></td><td align="right" class="image_container scale stack" style="padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 0px;" valign=""><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/a989b8d6-3ac8-4bf3-a1c8-dbfc2e65749c.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="200" /></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Tobacco farmer leads Kentucky agriculture: </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">A former burley grower has been elected Agriculture Commissioner in Kentucky. Jonathan Shell (photo) of Lancaster in Garrard County grew up on a burley farm that at its peak produced 200 acres of tobacco. Shell, a Republican, will take office January 2. He succeeds Ryan Quarles, who completed his term limit of eight years after being elected twice.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--sidebarRight layout--1-column layout--divided" data-cpeid="w-1699037335300-731" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1699037335300-868" style="width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1699037335300-835" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; 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color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div lang="en-US"><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 0px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody></tbody></table><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" src="https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/TFjbUxJNp6sjRNMkIf_7vJ0ikarY6w4gJElgSFmoQp6DejgomLlbUZp22D1cmV2QYyAnihJKts_R1hnvjsKcqmgx6oVMBzevtZ2MGDnV1hgYM_utiIchNkKH_NCWpdKkB559beZ1vuwvUIfMTio4dEMa=s0-d-e1-ft#https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/a2fdf436-892f-4e1e-8e87-9e5d04d37e72.jpg?rdr=true" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="562" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Workers from the Oxford (N.C.)Tobacco Research Station sweep up some of the last flue-cured tobacco produced this season. Reportedly high in quality, it was gathered, then looped, cured and sold at a demonstration auction at the North Carolina State Fair (Photo by Christopher Bickers).</span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold;">A CROP TO BE THANKFUL FOR</span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">You know, I wonder </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">if we might look back on the 2023 </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">flue-cured </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">crop some day and think it was one of the the best of the Twenty First Century. Maybe not, but it was a good one. Here is how </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> Matthew Vann, </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px;">N.C. Extension tobacco specialist, characterized it. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">“On average, in North Carolina, we had a solid crop from a yield and quality standpoint, and it gives us good momentum for 2024. </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px;"></span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">2023 was not without its challenges, with adverse weather a major factor. But our crop stood up against heat and drought very well, thanks to some timely showers." It is predicted that the Southeast will have above average rain this winter, he says. "That is good news," says Vann. "It’s dry across the state now, and we need some ponds to fill back up!"</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Late in the flue-cured market,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> prices were steady, and quality remained good. A wide variety of grades was coming to the market. “Farmers are selling their pickings as well as upperstalk grades,” said one warehouseman. “Some low quality tobacco left over from earlier in the season is also being brought to market.” It appeared that any sound tobacco from this crop found a home somewhere.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">A good burley crop i</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">s also headed for market, but as it stands now, none will be sold at auction. The only auction that operated last season will not operate at all in 2023-24, says its owner, Jerry Franklin of Danville, Ky., had moved his Farmers Warehouse from Danville to Springfield two seasons ago. But this year, he was outbid in his effort to rent the Springfield warehouse again, and he was unable to find a suitable replacement. Now, his advice is to use up all the contracts that you have access to. But he is afraid there is some burley out there that is not attached to a contract. Rankin may be able to help: He still has some access to cigarette manufactures and is willing to take as much uncontracted tobacco there as he can. Note though that it wouldn't be sold on auction. Call Rankin if you are interested (</span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px;">859 319 1400) and watch this space: There is a talk that a major burley broker may be able to organize some sort of marketing strategy. I will keep you posted.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">MORE FROM THE OCTOBER</span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">PRODUCTION REPORT FROM USDA</span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">2023 estimate, percentage change from 2022</span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">FLUE-CURED: </span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> <wbr></wbr> <wbr></wbr> </span></p><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">North Carolina—248.6 million pounds, no change.</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Virginia—30.72 million pounds, up 5.8%.</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Georgia--12.6 million pounds, no change.</span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">South Carolina--13.34 million pounds, up 14.6%. </span></li><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Total U.S. 305.2 million pounds, up less than one percent. </span></li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">BURLEY:</span></p><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Kentucky--</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">55.35 </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">million pounds, up 5.7%.</span></li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px;"> Pennsylvania--2.53 million pounds, down 22.7%</li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px;"> Tennessee--4.5 million pounds, up 7.4%</li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px;"> Virginia--420 thousand pounds, down 16%.</li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px;"> North Carolina--240 thousand pounds, down 12.7%.</li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>Total US burley--63 million pounds, up seven percent.</li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">FIRE-CURED: </span></p><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Kentucky--22 million pounds, down 28.7%</span></li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px;">Tennessee--16 million pounds, down 20.3%</li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px; text-align: justify;">Virginia 220,000 pounds, down 33.3%</li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px; text-align: justify;">Total US fired-cured--38.3 million pounds, down 25 percent.</li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">DARK AIR-CURED</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">:</span></p><ul><li style="margin-left: 15px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Kentucky--9.99 million pounds, down 34.7%.</span></li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px;">Tennessee--3 million pounds, down 68% <wbr></wbr> </li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px; text-align: justify;">Total US--13 million pounds, down 47 percent.</li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">PA SEEDLEAF:</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><ul><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px; text-align: justify;">Pennsylvania--9.6 million pounds, up less than one percent. </li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">SOUTHERN MARYLAND:</span></p><ul><li style="font-size: 16px; margin-left: 15px; text-align: justify;">Pennsylvania--135,000 pounds, down 41 percent.</li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">ALL TOBACCO U. S.:</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> 429.4 million pounds, down four percent.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">SPOTLIGHT</span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">WOULD ADDITIONAL IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON FOREIGN BURLEY HELP?</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">By Jim </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Starkey, retired agricultural economist</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">A response to "</span><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Competing with imports for the domestic market</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">," TFN November 1 2023</span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 22px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">When the burley [Tariff rate] quota was originally set, it was set at a very restrictive level compared with imports at the time. It did not allow for any new countries over the original ones originally included in the quota. This means that current major world producers like Mozambique are excluded. At the time only Brazil and Malawi utilized a significant part of their quotas. I haven't seen the current numbers so do not know whether this has changed but I don't know why it would have. As I pointed out earlier, new producers cannot import into the U.S. and I doubt there has been significant expansion of production and sales from the countries that have quotas. That imports are higher this year than last is an irrelevant comparison as the lower levels last year are probably due to production shortages abroad last year which limited countries sales to the U.S. to less than their traditional levels.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">The fact that world burley production is expanding while U.S production is declining suggests the world market may be limited for high quality, high price/cost burley; the countries which are expanding produce lower quality, lower priced tobacco. I don't believe additional import restrictions would change that fact or result in any significant increase in U.S. Burley production.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; width: 391.297px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" src="https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/RuWN7Sl_DZ2PPpUT1_zggbks03uCdkZtmBx0ZZhZDvY6fbf0q50L9axbcnnZvkSByW_rs362CbLXCE4kijaKLLe81bTQW4TT_4HYzSmlBq9tqr-vfwGmVOjIs6KV2U7K7R70bSkzbOt3-jkZV3fUF-h0=s0-d-e1-ft#https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/67ff448b-c68e-4cef-bd91-7283d7c68b8d.jpg?rdr=true" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="351" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#d9d9d9" style="background-color: #d9d9d9; margin: 0px; width: 210.703px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;">A NOTE TO READERS</span></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">If you haven't signed on to receive this newsletter regularly, or if you need to change an address or add a friend or family member name to the list, please email a subscription request to </span><a href="mailto:chrisbickers@gmail.com" style="color: blue; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">chris bic kers @ gmail.com</a><span style="font-size: 18px;">. 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width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; width: 602px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></blockquote></div>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-33409024281621698602023-11-06T23:47:00.001-05:002023-11-06T23:47:43.822-05:00<table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_panel-row" style="background-color: white; color: black; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr class="" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-866"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1687312855454-025" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1687312855491-577" style="width: 600.857px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1698874742528-720" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1698874742590-017" style="width: 600.857px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1698874742642-510" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" height="371" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/35194596-dbf0-4345-99ff-e88c0afed430.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="556" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1693610890412-361" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1695691494038-622" style="width: 600.857px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1687313287679-721" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">The supply at flue-cured auctions was short, but not as short as shown at the annual "mock auction" at the N.C State Fair on October 20, auctioneered by Ted Hinson. </span><span style="color: #121212; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Photo courtesy </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">NCDA&CS.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1697328284675-104" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1697425322649-668" style="width: 600.857px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1697328284785-854" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 25px; font-weight: bold;">SHORT SUPPLY OF FLUE-CURED</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 25px; font-weight: bold;">KEEPS LATE-SEASON PRICES STRONG</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Buyer demand </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">is definitely keeping the price up at the American Tobacco Exchange auction warehouse in Wilson, N.C. “We are seeing the best prices since we started conducting live sales here years ago,” says Tommy Faulkner, </span><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 16px;">auction manager</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">. “Prices are high for all grades. The range is about $1 to $2.30 per pound. Averages per grade have remained about the same since the beginning of auctions”</span><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 16px;">…Now, v</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">olume is down, he says. “Our sales are running about two thirds the volume they were earlier.” But ATE will continue to sell as long as there is tobacco that needs a home. “I suspect we will sell right up till Thanksgiving,” says Faulkner.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The situation is a little different</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> in Western North Carolina. The crop is just about complete, and Old Belt Tobacco Sales of Rural Hall, N.C., will hold its final sale on November 7. “Our sales volume is down from last year,” says Dennis White, owner of the Old Belt warehouse. “It was a short crop: There weren’t enough plants, then considerable replanting was needed. And it ended up being late.” Another factor was that receiving stations made very few rejections, at least from the Piedmont crop. So there wasn’t that much to sell but demand was strong as in the East, so prices were very good, says White. . “Good orange Leaf brought $2.30 a pound, bale after bale. Good second quality went for $2.20 to 2.25, and third quality brought $2.10.” The last little bit of flue-cured in the area was harvested by October 29, White says.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">In fact, it appears that all of this crop in N.C.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> had been harvested</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> by Halloween, says </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Matthew Vann, </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px;">N.C. Extension tobacco specialist</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">. "In fact, I'm willing to bet that north of 90% was finished by the time the State Fair ended [October 22]." Intense cold the night of November 1 probably killed any plants that were still in the field. Growers continue to report favorable marketing opportunities for their tobacco, Vann says. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Tobacco specialists appointed:</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> The N.C. Extension tobacco team has two new members--</span><a href="https://cals.ncsu.edu/entomology-and-plant-pathology/people/daherna5/" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Daisy Ahumada</a><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> plant pathologist who will cover corn and cotton, along with tobacco; and</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;"> </span><a href="https://cals.ncsu.edu/agricultural-and-resource-economics/people/jeffrey-dorfman/" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Jeff Dorffman</a>,<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> agricultural economist, who will be providing expertise in the area of tobacco forecasting and outlook, similar to the recently retired Blake Brown.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">SPOTLIGHT</span></p><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">WHAT THE COMING YEAR HOLDS FOR BURLEY</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Derived from 2023 Tobacco Update (with some editing)</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">By </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Will Snell, Kentucky Extension Ag Economist</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">While burley demand is shrinking</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;"> worldwide as blended-cigarette sales decline, the </span><a href="http://www.universalcorp.com/Resources/LeafProduction/World_Leaf_Production_August_2023.pdf" style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">August 2023 Universal Leaf</a><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;">estimated that Africa will go from a burley crop totaling 278 million pounds in 2022 to 379 million pounds in 2023 and 445 million pounds in 2024. World burley production is forecast in that same report to increase by more than 40% in 2024 vs. 2022, with U.S. burley production remaining stagnant in 2024 vs. 2023.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">On the trade front,</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;"> tight global supplies are moving limited supplies of U.S. burley overseas. But U.S. burley </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">exports</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;"> nevertheless will remain at negligible levels (13 million pounds in 2022). </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Imports</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;"> of foreign burley into the U.S. remain a challenge for the domestic burley sector (73 million pounds in 2022). So far in 2023 (through June), U.S. burley imports are 57% higher compared to the same period last year.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">In recent years,</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;">U.S. manufacturers and dealers have imported more burley leaf than U.S. burley growers have actually produced, resulting in import use by domestic manufacturers remaining at over 50%. </span><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;">Tobacco organizations are re-viewing policy options to address this trade imbalance.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">On the product side, </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;">U.S. cigarette sales continue to slump as consumers switch to alternative nicotine products. After falling 8.7% in 2022, U.S. cigarette production is down 8% so far in 2023 with consumers shifting to non-premium brands amid inflationary pressures on smoker purchasing decisions.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--sidebarRight layout--1-column layout--divided" data-cpeid="w-1699037335300-731" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1699037335300-868" style="width: 390.554px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1699037335300-321" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/67ff448b-c68e-4cef-bd91-7283d7c68b8d.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="351" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1699037335300-835" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#d9d9d9" class="column column--sidebar column--2 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1699037335300-930" style="background-color: #d9d9d9; width: 210.304px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--feature text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1699037335300-934" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Sidebar: Competing with imports for the</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">domestic market</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;">In recent years, U.S. manufacturers and dea-lers imported more burley than U.S. burley growers have produced. This has resulted in import use by domestic manufacturers remain-ing at over 50%. </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;">One possible solution:</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;"> Im-port quota restrictions were put in place in 1996 when U.S. ciga-rette production hit re-cord levels. 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width: 506.286px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-423" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-612" style="width: 506.286px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="footer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-166" style="color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="footer_container"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="footer-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; table-layout: auto !important; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="width: 506.286px;" valign="top" width="100%"><div align="center" class="footer-max-main-width" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="footer-layout" style="padding: 16px 0px;" valign="top"></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-17364576684965871112023-10-16T10:44:00.003-04:002023-10-16T10:44:40.209-04:00HARVEST OF THE 2023 CROP IS NEARING COMPLETION<p> </p><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_panel-row" style="background-color: white; color: black; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr class="" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-866"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1693610890412-361" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1695691494038-622" style="width: 600.667px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1695866993816-123" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/97695767-62b3-47c9-8066-605945d81884.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="561" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1687313287679-721" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Tying up the 2023 flue-cured crop: The North Carolina State Fair featured an old-time tobacco-looping contest at the fair’s Heritage Circle on October 13. The leaf--freshly harvested--was provided by the nearby </span><span style="color: #5f6368; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Oxford Tobacco Research Station and was among the last flue-cured tobacco harvested this year.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="color: #121212; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Photo by Christopher Bickers.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1697328284675-104" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1697425322649-668" style="width: 600.667px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1697328284785-854" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">The field season</span><span style="font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"> will shortly come to an end, with this crop almost entirely harvested now, except in the more northern sections of the Tobacco Belt and in the Piedmont. I surveyed Extension tobacco specialists and county agents to get a picture of what tobacco remains where in the states where tobacco remains in the field. My report appears below. But first, let me share with you the highlights of USDA's October Crop Report, divided by type and showing the projected volume for 2023 compared by percentage to 2022.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: black; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">FLUE-CURED: </span>305.2 million pounds, up less than one percent. </li><li style="color: black; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BURLEY: </span>63 million pounds, up seven percent.</li><li style="color: black; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">FIRE-CURED: </span>38.3 million pounds, down 25 percent.</li><li style="color: black; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">DARK AIR-CURED</span>: 13 million pounds, down 47 percent.</li><li style="color: black; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">PA SEEDLEAF:</span> 9.6 million pounds, up less than one percent. </li><li style="color: black; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">SOUTHERN MARYLAND:</span> 135,000 pounds, down 41 percent. </li><li style="color: black; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ALL TOBACCO U. S.:</span> 429.4 million pounds, down four percent.</li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Let me crunch these numbers</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> a little and I will provide my analysis in a future issue.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">STATE BY STATE REPORTS</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FLUE-CURED</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">In </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">North Carolina</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">, t</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">he 2023 season is winding down,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist, and almost all the crop is out of the field</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">. “I’ve spoken to a number of County Agents across the tobacco belt in the last week," Vann says. "</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">The majority east of Raleigh tell me their growers are finished. West of Raleigh we probably have about two weeks left, but some are done. We’ve got to be 80-85% finished. It appears the weather will hold and frost shouldn’t be an issue." So far this seems like a good crop. "It is my opinion that this season was the one we’ve been looking for. Most farmers in N.C. are reporting a higher yield this season and relatively few devastating pest problems, compared to recent seasons. In addition, the market seems to be strong at the current time. Hopefully, this gives us some momentum and a positive mindset for the 2024 season."</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">In </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Virginia, </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">h</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">arvest of flue-cured in the Southside is nearly complete, says Stephen Barts, Extension agent in Pittsylvania County, Va. “As of October 11, less than 10 percent remained in the field," he estimated. “The large majority of farmers have finished. There will probably be a little harvesting going on to the end of October, but very little”...The weather conditions were challenging in Virginia this year, he said. “No one ever really plans on weather like we had this year. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">We had drought early followed by excessive moisture and unseasonably cold temperatures the week of Fathers Day then we got back into drought conditions."</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> The quality has generally been good and in some areas excellent. "Yield is going to be a big issue for us. It will definitely be below average. My guess is that we are going to be 10% or maybe 15% below the five-year average of 2,450 pounds.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BURLEY</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">In </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Tennessee, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">m</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">ost farmers have finished harvest or are finishing up now, says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. “Any who haven’t finished are anxious to get this season behind them. We are close to last year’s burley volume. It may come in at four to 4.5 million pounds.” There was some frustration among farmers with ongoing disease problems like mold and angular leafspot.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;">In </span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Kentucky, </span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;">h</span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;">arvest appears to be over</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> says </span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;">Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">. “</span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;">I can’t imagine any burley is left in the field. Most of it is in the barn now. Some of our growers have started stripping.” Buying stations will open in November.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">DARK & WRAPPER</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">In the </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Black Patch</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> of Kentucky and Tennessee, harvest is all but complete, says Andy Bailey, Extension dark tobacco specialist for Kentucky and Tennessee. “We might have a little still out in the field, maybe 3%. Most years we go till about October 20, but </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I don't</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> know if we are going to make it this year. (As of October 11) Bailey estimated that perhaps 97% had been harvested. “We are stripping early crops now,” he said. “Nothing has been marketed yet. That will start next week when we start marketing Connecticut broadleaf”…By the way, the color is looking good on the Connecticut production. “It benefited from being harvested and out of the field before the storms in August…</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Volume</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> in the Black Patch by type, according to Bailey:</span></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Dark fire-cured will probably be down in volume at least 25% from 2022. USDA has projected all dark fire-cured production this year at 38 million pounds, but Bailey doesn’t think it will amount to more than 30 million pounds.</li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Dark air cured volume has been projected by USDA at 12.4 million pounds but Bailey thinks it will probably not be over 10 million;</li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Connecticut broadleaf may have been planted on 500 acres in the Black Patch this year and if it did well and we have a 2,000 pound/acre average yield, we may have a million pound production, says Bailey. “Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a lot of wrapper tobacco in some crops so its price will be lower than it might have been.”</li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--sidebarRight layout--1-column layout--divided" data-cpeid="w-1695694956697-537" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1695694956697-780" style="width: 390.427px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1695694956697-627" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/67ff448b-c68e-4cef-bd91-7283d7c68b8d.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="350" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#d9d9d9" class="column column--sidebar column--2 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1695694956697-865" style="background-color: #d9d9d9; width: 210.24px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--feature text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1695694956697-703" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">What lies ahead for the dark types?</span><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" class="indent-0" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">--Following decades</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;"> of expansion, U.S. snuff sales were down 5.5% in 2022 and are de-clining by over 5% so far in 2023.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">--Sale volumes</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;"> for the U.S. smokeless to-bacco category are indi-cated to be up by more than 4% over the past twelve months. But this includes the rapidly ex- panding nicotine pouch sales (up over 50% so far in 2023).</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">--These products </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;">re-quire</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px;"> significantly less Kentucky & Tennessee dark tobacco. </span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1694729000121-421" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1694729000169-892" style="width: 600.667px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1695695203510-571" style="table-layout: fixed; 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height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="561" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1687313287679-721" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; display: block; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11px; font-style: italic;">caption: Buyers are bidding up prices for scarce tobacco at auctions this year. This photo shows a sale from a few years ago at the Old Belt Tobacco Sales warehouse in Rural Hall, N.C. File photo taken by Christopher Bickers.</span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #403f42;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><b>"Prices [are] as strong as I've ever seen," says one N.C. Warehouseman</b></i></span></span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Sales of flue-cured tobacco</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> at the four auction warehouses were vigorous in September, and there seems every reason to think this will continue through October.</span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">In the </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">N.C. Eastern Belt</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> market town of Wilson, prices on auction have been very good lately “The prices are as strong as I have ever seen them on auction,” says Tommy Faulkner, </span><span style="color: #190000; font-family: "Book Antiqua", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Palatino LT STD", Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">auction manager at American Tobacco Exchange in Wilson. “We have mostly Leaf on the floor now and we’re getting $2 to $2.20 to $2.30 for it.” It is clear that this crop just isn't big enough to meet the demand. Why the shortfall? A lot of things happened to this crop, starting with a short supply of plants. “Then, too much adverse weather contributed to making it short crop. But what we are selling now is good tobacco.” Sales on the Wilson market began on August 16, and there have been seven so far. Faulkner thinks American Tobacco Exchange will hold sales on into November.</span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Also in the </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">N.C. </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Eastern Belt,</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Kenneth Kelly, owner of Horizon auction warehouse in Wilson, says </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">all qualities and all stalk positions are selling well. “Even prices for rag tobacco are up substantially,” he says. “Right now, most of what we have to sell is Leaf, but there are still some Lugs and Cutters on offer.” One thing Kelly has noticed is that the very best quality leaf isn’t making it to the auctions this year. “It is being absorbed by the primary companies,” he says...He thinks a November end of sales is possible.</span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">At the single auction warehouse in the </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">N.C. Old Belt</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">, auction deliveries at the Old Belt Tobacco Sales in Rural Hall (near Winston-Salem) are running about three weeks late. Only three sales have been held so far. There is still plenty of potentially good tobacco in the field. “So if the frost holds off, we may well be holding sales till close to Thanksgiving,” says Dennis White, owner of the Old Belt Tobacco Sales. The sales so far have gone very well. “Most of the Leaf we have moved has brought at least $2.30 a pound, and even pickouts have brought $1.35 a pound. What has been brought to this warehouse so far has been good-bodied, good orange leaf, and we are seeing prices close to contract prices.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">HARVEST UPDATE</span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">In </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Florida and Georgia,</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> harvest is complete and marketing is nearing its end. USDA estimated the Georgia crop at 12.6 million pounds, says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. Some sources in the trade think it might be up to two million more. But even the higher figure would reflect a relatively low yield. “At this point, 2,000 pounds per acre would appear a realistic yield estimate,” he says. Moore estimates Florida production at 1.5 to 1.75 million pounds.</span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">In </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">South Carolina</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">, harvest was complete a couple weeks ago, </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">says William Hardee, S.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “Everything is out of the barn, and has been selling good.” Overall, this is an above average crop, he says. “The exception might be the small amount that was harmed by Idalia. There were reductions in yield and quality in those areas.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">In </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Kentucky</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">, harvest is nearly complete, says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. A handful is still cutting. "We probably have 85 percent or more that has been cut.” Curing is well under way. “We have had many foggy mornings, especially in the low-lying areas, which helps.</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> A few farmers have started stripping. Everything is moving at a good pace.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">In </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Tennessee</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">, </span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 16px;">Rob Ellis</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">, </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Research Center Director at the Highland Rim AREC in</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Springfield, says his staff finished cutting the fire-cured, dark air-cured and Connecticut tobacco on the station grounds this week. “And it looks like quite a bit of the tobacco out in the county (Robertson) has been cut.: Curing weather has been good,, although there were thunderstorms this week that may have slowed things down. Ellis thinks the local production should be at least average and maybe above…</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Note:</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> There is only one burley grower left in the county.</span></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">How far had the different types </span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> progressed as of</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">September 24, according to USDA-NASS?</span></p><ul style="color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">(Burley/Dark)</span> KY--85% harvested; TN--75% harvested; NC--62% harvested.</li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">(<span style="font-style: italic;">Flue-Cured) </span>VA--90% harvested; NC—73% harvested. SC, GA and FL have completed or substantially completed harvest.</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--sidebarRight layout--1-column layout--divided" data-cpeid="w-1695694956697-537" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1695694956697-780" style="width: 390.427px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1695694956697-627" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/67ff448b-c68e-4cef-bd91-7283d7c68b8d.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="343" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td align="center" bgcolor="#d9d9d9" class="column column--sidebar column--2 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1695694956697-865" style="background-color: #d9d9d9; width: 210.24px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--feature text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1695694956697-703" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">A Final Thought:</span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Is Connecticut Broadleaf in the South For Good?</span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 22px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">The jury is still out on the viability of Connec-ticut broadleaf in the South. It doesn’t fit well on every farm in Tennessee but there are plenty of burley farms where it can work just fine, says Daniel Green, chief executive officer of </span><a href="https://rocketreach.co/" style="color: #2d3133; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Burley </a><a href="https://rocketreach.co/" style="color: #2d3133; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Stabiliza-tion</a><a href="https://rocketreach.co/" style="color: #2d3133; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> Corp</a><b>oration</b><span style="font-size: 12px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">in Springfield, Tn. “It’s a high risk/high reward crop,” he says. “You have to trade off a certain amount of yield in order to target quality.”</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1694729000121-421" style="min-width: 100%; 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color: black; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr class="" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-866"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1687312855454-025" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1687312855491-577" style="width: 600.667px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1693610959636-293" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1693610959688-843" style="width: 600.667px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1693610910587-819" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/1e93d5d9-0408-4485-80cb-f4c396d13f28.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1693610890412-361" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1693617834700-764" style="width: 600.667px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1687313287679-721" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Angular leafspot destroyed this dark fire-cured tobacco in Kentucky in September.</span><span style="font-size: 22px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">In western </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Kentucky</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> and north central </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Tennessee</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">, angular leafspot (ALS) continues to wreak havoc on the dark types. “Many farmers are destroying heavily infected fields,” says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension dark specialist, “If the disease has gotten in the top of the plant, there’s not much to do but harvest it soon or work with your crop insurance agent”…How much has been lost? The USDA September estimate for fire-cured is 38 million pounds, which Bailey says is about what he would have expected if ALS hadn’t broken out. “As it is, I will be surprised if we end up with 30 million pounds,” he says. The USDA projection for September places dark air-cured production at 12.6 million pounds. ALS losses for dark air-cured won’t be as heavy as for fire-cured since much of the dark air-cured crop is grown in areas where angular leafspot is less. Still, Bailey says, “We might not produce over 10 million pounds” of dark air…Bailey attributes much of the ALS outbreak to a number of intense rain events during the growing season. “Some crops that have suffered the worst damage from ALS have had over 30 inches of rainfall since July 1,” he says. “If the bacteria that causes ALS is present on tobacco leaves, heavy rains can drive the bacteria into the leaves”…Of the other types grown in this area, ALS tends to affect Connecticut Broadleaf quite a bit less than it affects dark tobacco, and it is almost never seen on burley.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">In </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Georgia and Florida</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">, the quality of the tobacco offered has been good, the price paid has been reasonable, but there just has not been enough of this crop to sell. “We will definitely come up short of expectations," says J. Michael Moore. “As of August 1, the size of the crop was estimated at 14 million pounds. Now USDA’s estimate is 12.6 million pounds, which seems credible. “That is quite a loss in production. Weather problems all season caused production problems."…Things farmers would like to forget about Hurricane Idalia: One farmer had 200 acres that was waiting to be stripped when the storm blew in. “Idalia stripped it. There was none to harvest.” On another farm, the roof of a storage shed was blown off, rendering the tobacco inside drenched and unusable….Since Idalia, growers in Georgia and Florida have hurried to get any leaf that was salvageable out of the field, with considerable success: Moore knows of only two growers who are still harvesting. The two Georgians should be done some time next week, he says…“We will be selling this crop until it runs out,” says Moore. That will be soon, possibly by the end of September.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">In </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">North Carolina</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">, the end of the season is drawing near, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “All indications are that growers are harvesting as fast as they can in most places. I think there’s a good chance we might finish sometime in early October. I'm not overly concerned about a late crop this year.” If harvest ends before October 12, it would be the first time it has ended before the North Carolina State Fair in several years, he noted….One problem in the field: “We have seen some brown spot in isolated areas, possibly caused by many days of heavy dew and or high humidity, says Vann...USDA projects flue-cured production in N.C. at 237 million pounds. But Vann is just optimistic enough to think growers might exceed that volume. “Our yield appears better than in a number of years,” he says.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Crop progress report </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">from USDA-NASS (as of September 10) (</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Flue)</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> GA--94% harvested; SC--93% harvested; NC—73% harvested; VA--90% harvested. </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">(Burley/Dark)</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> KY--64% harvested; TN--55% harvested; NC--37% harvested.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">What the September crop projection </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">from USDA tells us. Following are estimates based on USDA’s September 1 survey (expected pounds with percentage change from last year’s final, arranged by state and type):</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Flue-cured</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">North Carolina—237.3 million pounds, down 6%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Virginia--29.4 million pounds, up slightly.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Georgia--12.6 million pounds, no change.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">South Carolina--12.1 million pounds, up slightly.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">All U.S.</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">--291.5 million pounds, down 3%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Burley</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Kentucky--53.2 million pounds, up 5%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Tennessee--4.35 million pounds, up 4%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Pennsylvania--2.75 million pounds, down 15%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Virginia--420,000 pounds, down 16%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">North Carolina--240,000 pounds, down 11%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">All U.S.--</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">60.96 million pounds, up 4%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Fire-cured</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Kentucky--22 million pounds, down 28%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Tennessee--15.8 million pounds, down 1%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Virginia--220 thousand pounds, down 33%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">All U.S.--</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">38 million pounds, down 25%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Dark air-cured</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Kentucky--9.88 million pounds, down 35%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Tennessee--2.53 million pounds, down 73%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">All U.S.--</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">12.41 million pounds, down 50%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Pennsylvania Seedleaf</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Pennsylvania--9.6 million pounds, up 1%. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Southern Maryland</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">Pennsylvania--132,000 pounds, down 42%.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Tobacco, All types:</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">·</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">Total US--413 million pounds, down 7 percent</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">REPORT FROM OVERSEAS</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Southern Brazil's tobacco production</span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;"> for the 2022/2023 harvest reached 605,703 tons. The figures were finalized this week by the Brazilian Tobacco Growers' Association (AFUBRA) and were obtained through surveys carried out during the harvest with tobacco growers. By type: Flue-cured, 551,586 tons; Burley, 46,469; and Galpao, 7,649 tons. Compared to the previous season, plantings increased 6.1% from 246,590 hectares to 261,740 hectares. Production grew from 560,181 tons to 605,703 tons, an increase of 8.1%. The average price paid to tobacco growers in 2021/2022 this season was R$18.12, a variation of 6.5%...A slight increase in plantings is expected for next season.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">A strong finish helped Malawian</span><span style="color: #231f20; font-size: 16px;"> burley growers sell substantially more tobacco by the end of this year’s market than the year before. Through the market close on August 4, 120 million kilograms of tobacco had sold for US$282.6 million, according to the Malawian Tobacco Commission (TC), compared to $182 million on sales of 85 million kilograms in 2022. 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color: black; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr class="" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-866"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1693610959636-293" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1693610959688-843" style="width: 600.667px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1693610910587-819" style="table-layout: fixed; 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color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">A Georgia tobacco field after Idalia blew through. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Photo: Josh Dawson, Lowndes County, Extension agent.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><h1 align="center" style="color: #717a80; font-size: 26px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2d3133; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="color: #403f42; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">A crop report for September 1</span></h1><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">FLUE-CURED</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">GEORGIA-FLORIDA</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">It was a situation Georgians don’t like to even think about: A hurricane coming in before Labor Day on a tobacco crop that was late already. The result, </span><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 16px;">says J. Michael Moore, Georgia-Florida Extension tobacco specialist</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">: Tobacco in Georgia and Florida took a savage pounding from Hurricane Idalia, and growers will lose substantially in terms of fewer leaves to harvest, interruptions in curing power and worst of all, potential loss of quality in the leaf that managed to stay on the stalk. “Growers who had good crops with significant leaf still in the field will see declines in their yield and quality in the next few days,” he says. He doesn’t have an estimate yet on total losses in the two states.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">SOUTH CAROLINA</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Idalia passed through South Carolina. But its effect on the state’s tobacco could be described as a “near miss.” First off, much of the crop had been harvested. At the time of the hurricane, harvest in South Carolina was 75 to 80 percent complete, says William Hardee, S.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “We got a lot of rain from the storm, four to 12 inches depending on where you were.” Marion and Horry Counties seemed to have had the most. “ There will be some drowned tobacco in the low areas. “ Wind didn’t seem to be much of an issue. “I noticed where I was that most of the wind activity was up in the trees rather than down at ground level. But with the weaker storms, it usually takes a day or two to really see if we are getting that quick ripening response in the plant. ” There was a loss of power in some areas, but the outage only lasted a few hours,” he says. Tropical storms are never a good thing for a tobacco crop, “but growers came out as good as you could hope for." Overall, this season has been a mixed bag with the weather, says Hardee. "It depended on where you are in the state and the timing/amount of rainfall received. I think we generally have a crop of decent yield and quality, but some areas have certainly fared better than others.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">NORTH CAROLINA</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Tar Heel tobacco growers benefited from a lot of luck when Idalia came though. It rained on a number of areas in N.C. but tobacco wasn’t major in any of them. "We missed Hurricane Idalia big time," says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. "The rain was the main thing with us, and we were glad to have it." Carolinians are well along in harvest." I have heard that a number of growers are stripping their crop already. I would guess that we are over half finished by now." Growers gave been lucky in the field too. "We haven't had any out-of-the-ordinary disease or insect problems. This has been as good a year for disease and insect management as we have had in years."</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">VIRGINIA</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">In Charlotte County in south central Virginia, certain areas have been dry. But the county got some needed rain this past week, says Joanne Jones, county Extension agent. Burley harvest has just gotten started, while flue-cured and fire-cured harvest is well along…Connecticut broadleaf leaves are thin, and the weight will be down. There are two or three growers, and they made a point of cutting and spearing the stalks, then getting it quickly on a scaffold wagon so that it never let it touch the ground…Charlotte County produces a wide range of tobacco. Ranked by acreage: Flue 437; Burley 70; Dark fired 10.2; Cigar 13.5; Dark air-cured 8; Maryland 8.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">BURLEY</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">TENNESSEE</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">A strong market for burley in a few months appears to be in the offing, says Daniel Green, chief executive officer of the </span><a href="https://rocketreach.co/" style="color: #2d3133; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Burley Stabilization Corporation</a> <span style="color: #2d3133; font-size: 16px;">(BSC) </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">in Springfield, Tn. “That’s because there is a worldwide shortage of burley due to bad weather </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">that lowered production </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">in some of the other burley-producing countries. Additionally, the number of farmers willing to grow burley is declining [in light of] strong profitability from alternative crops.” By Green’s calculation, demand for this crop will be around 70 million pounds. He thinks American farmers won’t deliver more than 50 million pounds. BSC raised its contract price this year to nearly $2.50 a pound. That seems likely to wind up looking like a stroke of genius if the supply falls this short of demand. “We have seen some of our old export customers who had gone away coming back to us,” says Green. One factor in our favor: South American burley is much more expensive than a few years ago.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #717a80; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">KENTUCKY</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;">Burley is well into harvest. “We are probably close to 50 percent harvested and in the barn,” says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. “Most of the crop looks good but there has been too much rain and wind in some places. We did have heat and high humidity in some areas last week. Pearce says there is little cured leaf, so quality can’t be judged, but he believes that it will be good. There has been none of the angular leafspot that plagues dark tobacco in the Black Patch, largely because burley is not nearly as susceptible to the disease as dark. There has been a little black shank and a lot of tomato spotted wilt virus. But the spotted wilt, though widespread, is not severe, says Pearce. “All in all, we have a definite potential of a good crop.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">DARK & WRAPPER</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">BLACK PATCH</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">There’s been an awful lot of angular leafspot on dark tobacco in Western Kentucky and north </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">Central Tennessee in the last month. “We had a disaster because of this disease in 2016,” says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension dark specialist. “This does not quite rise to that level, but it is the worst since then.” He says it is worst on the earlier set dark fired crops--in May--while tobacco set in June—the later crop—hasn’t been hurt as much.” Angular leafspot is a bacterial disease that usually appears only after severe weather. That is certainly what happened here: The westernmost part of the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">production area received 7.5 to 12 inches of rain on July 19, then more frequent rains through mid-August. “Probably 25 percent of our dark fire cured crop and some of our dark air-cured was severely damaged by the water, mostly by drowning, from the July 19 rainfall. Angular leaf spot may have damaged another 25 percent of the dark crop since then. 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table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1687312763674-373" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648174-278" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="right" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;">August II 2023</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#4C8F4C" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-756" style="background-color: #4c8f4c; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-379" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><div class="spacer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-283" style="height: 30px; line-height: 30px;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#4C8F4C" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-446" style="background-color: #4c8f4c; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-968" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><div class="spacer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-438" style="height: 24px; line-height: 24px;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1687312855454-025" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1687312855491-577" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1691685130392-716" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1691685130439-633" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1687312990052-747" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/10cde45a-30ad-4ba1-bd83-44cf1e46a9c7.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1687374436643-839" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1687374436685-257" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1687313042338-222" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Wind-blown tobacco in a field outside Kinston NC. This picture is from a past crop, but the current crop has taken hard hits from wind and rain.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1688590807939-366" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1688590807983-227" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1687313287679-721" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><h1 style="color: #717a80; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">SUMMER WINDS TOUGH ON TOBACCO</span></h1><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Harvest is rapidly progressing </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">in Georgia and Florida, says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. “It’s been a long hot summer. We had a beautiful crop in June, but water and wind have set it back, mainly by damaging root systems and leaching fertilizer. Now we are seeing less leaf to harvest, and the leaves weigh less, so that it won’t weigh as much.” This crop will be lighter than hoped, he believes. Tomato spotted wilt virus has been worse than average this year, says Moore. “About 35 percent of our plants are showing symptoms”…Receiving stations have been accepting tobacco for three weeks. “Growers seem pleased with the demand,” says Moore. “Prices seem good”…Georgia/Florida farmers have suffered some wind damage this season. “We sure didn’t need that,” says Moore. “Some fields have been blown over several times.” That damages the root system, causing problems harvesting,. “You can stand the plants back up, but cost of production is increased due to extra labor required to set the plants back up and to remove the crooked stalks that wind up in the harvested tobacco.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;">The </span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">North Carolina</span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;"> crop looks pretty good on the whole,” says Matthew Vann, </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 16px;">N.C. Extension tobacco specialist</span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;">. “The heat in the last month has definitely taken a toll. But we have had rain. If the heat abates, it looks like this could be a good crop.</span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;">I’m optimistic”…The stalk on this crop is shorter than usual. “Frequently we see only 18 leaves on a stalk instead of 23”… There have been several intense wind events in North Carolina this season. Two of the biggest were a windstorm in the Sand Hills in June and a tornado in Edgecombe and Nash counties in July. Both caused significant damage, but such events were not widespread, Vann says” …There have been some soilborne diseases like black shank but not nearly as much as last season.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Tennessee</span><span style="color: #717a80; font-size: 16px;"> tobacco had been on pace for above-average production until wind and rainstorms early this month, says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. It hit hard in the northeast. The UT tobacco program had four tobacco tests at the research center in Greeneville, says Richmond. “Winds forced all of it to lay over, and I am afraid it will be a total loss”…Most wrapper tobacco still in the field had been topped when the wind came so it was less vulnerable to wind than it would have been before topping. But wind can still be a problem for this type because it is so easy to blow over.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;">A report from</span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> Kentucky</span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;"> explains what makes the Connecticut type</span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;">different from the types traditionally grown in the Southeast. One of the major differences is that the profit a farmer makes from CBL is more dependent on the </span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">quality</span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;"> of the leaf than on the </span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">yield</span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;">, says Caleb Perkins, tobacco research assistant at the University of Kentucky. “For this crop to be profitable, at least 50 percent of the leaves need to be wrapper/binder quality,” he says. “High quality leaves can bring $4 to $7/lb based on current market prices.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Many factors can prevent CBL leaves</span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;"> from achieving wrapper/binder quality. “Damage to leaf quality can occur from harvesting, insects, pesticides, weather and diseases caused by various pathogens.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">It’s a short season crop.</span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;"> Connecticut Broadleaf harvesting takes place nine to 10 weeks after transplanting. “So this tobacco is harvested rather immature compared to dark air-cured or burley standards.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Late-season frogeye leaf spot </span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;">has been the greatest limitation to CBL production when it is grown in Kentucky and Tennessee, says Perkins. “Infections occurring late in the season can result in green spot or barn spot, which will greatly diminish wrapper yields. Frogeye leaf spot normally shows symptoms late in the growing season, at the time when Connecticut Broadleaf is being harvested.” So symptoms will not typically be visible while the tobacco is in the field, he says. “They will become visible as green spots when the tobacco has cured.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Foliar fungicides labeled</span><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 16px;"> for frogeye leaf spot can be used to prevent or reduce the amount of green spot in the cured leaf when applications are made properly in the field, he says.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">An aid in diversification:</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> CBL may eventually have a role to play for Conner Stonbach of </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">Tipton Hill in the mountains of Western </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">NC. He says he and his father have thought about growing it. “We haven’t done it yet but we want to try it,” says Stonbach, who adds, “I am all about diversifying.” Last year he grew some Maryland tobacco [see TFN August I 2023]. But neither Connecticut broadleaf or Maryland air-cured competed well with burley. “We got a better price this year thanks to a good contract from Burley Stabilization. We potentially could make the most money we ever have on tobacco in 2023.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Auction sales of flue-cured</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> begin on Wednesday at three warehouses. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">They are:</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><ul style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: black; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Horizon Ltd., 1723 Goldsboro St. So., Wilson, N.C. Live & silent auctions. Contact Kenneth Kelly at 252 292 8822. Starting time 9 AM.</li><li style="color: black; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">American Tobacco Exchange, 10 AM, 2101 Miller Rd., Wilson, NC. Live auction. Contact auction manager Tommy Faulkner at 910 585 2708. Starting time 10 AM </li><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">Coastal Piedmont, 1291 Johnston Parkway, Kenly, N.C. Auction sales. </span><span style="color: black;">Contact switchboard at 919 284 0504</span><span style="color: black;">. Call for starting time.</span></li><li style="color: black; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Old Belt Tobacco Sales <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> in Rural Hall, N.C</a>. will announce its first sales date soon. </li></ul><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">REPORT FROM OVERSEAS</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Record sales in Zimbabwe:</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Through July 28, with only a few cleanup sales remaining, 293.1 million kilograms of tobacco [almost all flue cured] had been sold since the market opened in March. It was a record, said the government, exceeding the previous record of 259 million kilograms set in 2019. The price was a respectable US$3.03 per kilogram.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Agronomist's plea in Zimbabwe: </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Don't</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> overplant. Zimbabwean farmers are already preparing for the 2024 season, and an agronomist with Mashonaland Tobacco Company, Lazarus Gatawa, has urged growers not to plant more area than they can manage. “It is advisable to plan to grow a hectarage that you have full inputs on and to use the correct plant population,” he said. The hectares that a farmer grows should be positively related to barn capacity and efficiency.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">IN PASSING</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">Tobacco lost two good men in the last 30 days: </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Tommy Bunn</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> of Raleigh and </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Jerome Vick </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">of Wilson NC. Tommy had been an executive for 20 or so years of the US Tobacco Cooperative and before that the leader of the Leaf Tobacco Growers Association. He was by all odds one of the most astute observers of the tobacco economy that I ever interviewed. Jerome was a successful farmer in the heart of flue-cured country and was powerfully committed to the betterment of the situation of tobacco farmers. Parenthetically, they were both good friends of mine, and I will miss them greatly, as will the whole tobacco community.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1689715818387-256" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1690577633819-380" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1690577622387-570" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/8f783896-c452-4358-8082-77990eb273d4.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; 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font-size: 12px; padding: 4px 0px;" valign="top"><a href="http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=nge&rmc=VF19_3GE" style="color: #5d5d5d; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today." border="0" hspace="0" src="https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/letters/images/CTCTFooter/Logo_Blue_Orange_2022.png" vspace="0" width="160" /></a><div class="footer-cta-text" style="font-size: 9px; line-height: 2;"><a href="http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=nge&rmc=VF19_3GE" style="color: #5d5d5d; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Try email marketing for free today!</a></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-13395388303017128902023-07-29T22:06:00.000-04:002023-07-29T22:06:12.403-04:00WHAT FARMERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE PROGRESS OF THIS YEAR'S CROP<p> </p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1687312855454-025" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1688490113708-558" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1689381083495-884" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1687312990052-747" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/f2bb6f7f-2a20-484f-b9ee-c6415702ad30.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1687374436643-839" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1687374436685-257" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1687313042338-222" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">Rising from the rubble: The research station in Princeton KY, noted for its tobacco research, took a direct hit from a tornado the night of December 11, 2021, and it was substantially leveled. There was some fear that the facility might not be rebuilt, but the University of Kentucky showed its commitment to tobacco research by spending the money needed to restore it. Shown above is one of two new fire-cured tobacco barns that have been built. Restoration of the tobacco facilities at the station is expected to be complete by the end of the year. Photo courtesy of University of Kentucky.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1688590807939-366" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1688590807983-227" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1687313287679-721" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Harvest is in full swing</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> in South Georgia, says Brant Clifton, Statesboro GA, who is growing 127 acres of flue-cured this year. “We had a real good start. It got really wet from May 15 to four weeks ago. On this farm, I had 12 inches of rain during that time.” There was some leaching, he says, and a little of the crop drowned. “Some wasn’t quite drowned, but it flowered out real short. It will make a crop but it won’t have much weight.” Now, South Georgia is on the dry side and could use a little water.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Dodging a bullet on plants:</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> There was a serious possibility of a critical shortfall in plants in Georgia, but Clifton, who buys his plants from a commercial provider, avoided it. “We had good plants all season. But there were absolutely no extra plants to be had.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Another casualty of tobacco’s troubles:</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> Shiny McLimore of Owensboro KY has operated a commercial plant business for nine years. But a declining market is forcing him to close down Green Leaf Seedlings. “Business this year was down to a sixth of its peak,” he says. “There just doesn’t seem to be a need any more for commercial plants.” He produced burley and dark plants and sometimes vegetable seedlings. “I didn’t want to do this but it is like anything else in business—if it isn’t generating adequate income, you can’t continue it.” He is growing 11 acres of dark fire cured this year and may continue that.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">To the east, in the Bluegrass, </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 16px;">burley grower Hoppy Henton of Versailles KY says, “The crop here looks great. It could be one of the best crops we have ever had.” The area didn’t get any flood damage, he noted (see below).</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">The prospects are good for burley</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> on Stonbach Farms in Tipton Hill NC near Asheville. “If we get one more good rain, this will be a good crop,” says Conner Stonbach. “We got it planted the first week of June. Then we went three or four weeks with no rain. Then we got four inches in the last two weeks. Since then, our loamy soils close to the river have done well. But the tobacco on our clay soils--at the top of the mountain--have grown slower. The tobacco there is knee high now.” The Stonbachs are among the last tobacco growers in mountainous Western North Carolina.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">A holiday from burley:</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> In 2022, Stonbach and his father grew exclusively Southern Maryland tobacco, thanks to a contract available from a small cigarette company in Kentucky. “The crop looked beautiful in the field, but we lost a little at harvest,” Stonbach says. “The buyer wanted the tobacco cut green. It got a little brittle, and there was some breakage. We had to be careful handling it.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Maryland doesn’t weigh as much as burley.</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> “It is not a thick leaf,” Stonbach says. "Our yield was 1,850 pounds an acre, which is low compared to what we get on burley here.” Offsetting that was the fact that the buyer provided the seed and sent a truck to pick the leaf up. “We like Southern Maryland. We might grow it again.” But they went back to all burley this season because of an attractive contract from the burley cooperative in Springfield TN.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">A very promising dark crop</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> in the Black Patch saw its prospects dimmed after nearly a foot of rain fell in parts of Western Kentucky on Wednesday July 19, says Andy Bailey, Extension dark tobacco specialist for Kentucky and Tennessee. “There were reports of 11.4 inches falling in Mayfield and west,” he says. And that wasn’t all: The community of Cuba KY in the southwest corner of the state reported “ping-pong ball sized hail.” There was some wind damage also. One estimate suggested that 25 percent of the crop west of Mayfield and Murray had been heavily damaged.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Looking forward, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">there will still be problems with crooked damaged stalks, which will interfere with sucker control and harvest. “If you are in this situation, you may need to forgo the standard manual dropline applications of contacts and local systemics, and just spray MH plus a local systemic over the top” says Bailey. “Unfortunately, you can damage crooked tobacco by just driving through it.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">More projections from the July 12 Crop Production report from USDA. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Following are the USDA's plantings projections of tobacco plantings in 2023, with a percentage comparison to 2022:</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">FLUE-CURED: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">North Carolina,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> 110,000 acres, down four percent from last year. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Virginia, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">11,000 acres, down 5 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Georgia,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> 6,400 acres, up 6 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">South Carolina, 5</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">,400 acres, down 6 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">United States</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">, 134,300 acres, down four percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">BURLEY: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Kentucky,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> 29,000 acres, up 3 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Tennessee,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> 3,000 acres, up 11 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Pennsylvania,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> 1,100 acres, down 15 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Virginia, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">210 acres, down 8 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">North Carolina</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">, 110 acres, down 15 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">United States</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> 35,370 acres, up nine percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">FIRE-CURED: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">13,600 acres, down 16 percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">DARK AIR-CURED:</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;"> 3,700 acres, down 8 percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">CIGAR FILLER: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">Pennsylvania Seedleaf (Only Pennsylvania plantings declared in this survey). 3,600 acres, up four percent. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">SOUTHERN MARYLAND: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">(Only Pennsylvania plantings declared in this survey). 60 acres, down 40 percent. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">ALL TOBACCO: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">United States, 193,180 acres, down four percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #39364f; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;">DATES TO REMEMBER</span></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;">August 9. Bluegrass Tobacco Tour, 9 AM, at the Plant and Soil Sciences Field Lab, 2951 Agronomy Rd., Lexington KY. For more information: Call </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 16px;">(859) 257-5110.</span></li><li style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">August 10. Dark Tobacco Twilight Tour, 5:30 PM, at West Farm, Murray State University, in Murray KY. For more information, (270) 625-1560.</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1689715818387-256" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1690577633819-380" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1690577622387-570" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/8f783896-c452-4358-8082-77990eb273d4.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1689392495114-348" style="min-width: 100%; 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height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1672109822818-789" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675720520256-777" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1675720369913-178" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/780adea1-78a7-4437-8016-4b7037869362.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="divider" data-cpeid="w-1687315496722-864" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="divider_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top" width="100%"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="divider_content-row" style="height: 1px; table-layout: fixed; width: 560.4px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#007300" class="divider_content-cell" height="1" style="background-color: #007300; border-bottom-width: 0px; height: 1px; line-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 0px;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" src="https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/letters/images/1101116784221/S.gif" style="display: block; height: 1px; width: 5px;" vspace="0" width="5" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-6224320817380568382023-07-14T23:47:00.002-04:002023-07-29T22:08:33.083-04:002023 TOBACCO CROP GETS A QUICK START But in Pennsylvania, Blue Mold poses a threat<p> </p><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_panel-row" style="background-color: white; color: black; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-866"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1688490113708-558" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1689381083495-884" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1687312990052-747" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/ce551140-bcf7-428d-a310-be3a5ec6f2a5.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1687374436643-839" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1687374436685-257" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1687313042338-222" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">What blue mold looks like on young tobacco: Yellow spots </span><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">appear </span><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">on the upper leaf surface while corresponding moldy growth can be seen on the lower leaf surface. Photo courtesy of University of Kentucky,</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1688590807939-366" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1688590807983-227" style="width: 600.4px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1687313287679-721" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">In Pennsylvania, after a dry start,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"> the rain has really opened up the last 2 ½ weeks, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;">says Jeff Graybill, PA agronomy Extension educator.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"> There have been some very heavy downpours. So far, the crop is growing well. Earlier, transplanting had been delayed during the dry period because farmers wanted to wait for rain. “As a result, some of the crop didn’t get set until the second or second week of June,” says Graybill. “That is late for us but not terribly late. This crop has every prospect of good yield and quality.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">But that bright outlook</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"> could be dashed by blue mold. “We started to see blue mold in the field about two weeks ago,” says Ben Green, manager of agronomy at Lancaster Leaf. Some degree of control can be obtained with the chemicals Manzate, Orondis and Presidio. “Whatever you use, it needs to be applied on a preventive basis,” says Green. </span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> Pennsylvania farmers should have started spraying preventively three to four weeks after transplanting, he says. Blue mold is catastrophic for Connecticut broadleaf, which goes for wrapper in cigars. Blue mold causes holes in a tobacco leaf, said one source, and a cigar wrapper leaf needs to be perfect.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">Pennsylvania is very diverse again</span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> this year in terms of the tobacco types it produces. Graybill estimates that the state is growing 3,500 acres of Pennsylvania seedleaf (the traditional type grown in this state), maybe 1,500 acres of burley, maybe 750 or 1,000 acres of Connecticut broadleaf and 500 acres each of Maryland and Green River. Among those, Connecticut is up some while Burley and Maryland are down, he says. There was demand for more production of Pennsylvania seedleaf and Connecticut broadleaf, says Graybill, but growers couldn’t be recruited to grow it.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">In North Carolina, burley </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;">has largely disappeared from the northwest corner of the state. “To my knowledge there are only three tobacco growers left in this area, and none are growing burley,” says farmer Robert Wurth of Lansing, N.C., near the point where N.C., Virginia and Tennessee come together. “All three are growing Connecticut broadleaf, although not a lot.” The Connecticut crop is growing very unevenly, says Wurth. “It’s been too dry at some times early on, then extremely wet to the point of drowning at other times. The strange weather has affected fertilizer uptake and seems to have caused problems with bug control.” The worst pest problem so far has been the yellow cucumber beetle. There have been quite a few of them, but no flea beetle damage so far, which is a great improvement over last season. “If the weather will fair up, and remain fairly dry over the next couple of weeks, we may end up with a fairly good crop,” Wurth says.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">In Tennessee, there are grounds for optimism,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"> says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. “We are off to a great start. The whole crop was set out on time or a little early, and it looks real good now.” Earlier, the greenhouse season went well too, and the supply of plants seemed adequate. “Everyone with a contract seems to have gotten enough plants to fill it,” Richmond says. The crop is progressing well in the field and Connecticut broadleaf growers will begin harvest next week. The only problems Richmond has seen so far have been some black shank in cigar wrapper fields and a little target spot popping up here and there…Plantings are about the same as last year in Tennessee, says Richmond. “I think we had a small increase in burley plantings, maybe 100 acres. Dark planting may be down because of contract cuts, and Connecticut broadleaf may be down a little also.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">Tobacco looks good in the Black Patch</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;">. A few areas in Western Kentucky had big storms last Saturday and Sunday, </span><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 14px;">says Andy Bailey, Extension dark tobacco specialist for Kentucky and Tennessee. “T</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;">hree and a half to six inches fell in some areas. There was some water damage. We saw some ‘flop’ or wilting. There is not much to do about it—you just have to leave it alone.” But this didn’t affect a big part of the crop. Generally, all the tobacco in the Black Patch looks good, says Bailey. It went to the field in a timely manner. “A few fields were planted June 30 but most of our tobacco had been planted by June 20”…Harvest of Connecticut broadleaf in the Black Patch began on the eleventh. “It is a short season crop but that is still early,” says Bailey.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">A dark grower near Owensboro KY </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;">reports that there has been some strong wind and rain in his vicinity recently. “There was very little rain in May and June, but then it blew up hard in the past few weeks. Still, the tobacco is standing up and has a good color.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">In Kentucky, 10 percent of tobacco</span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> was blooming and the condition in the field was mostly good through July 10, according to USDA-NASS. The whole crop is believed to be set now. In S.C., 57 percent had been topped by that date while in Georgia, 77 percent had been topped and nine percent had been harvested.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">A near six percent drop</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14px;"> in flue-cured volume for the season? That’s what USDA says in its first production projection of the year. By state, flue-cured growers are projected to produce: N.C.—233.1 million pounds, down 6.5%. VA—27.6 million pounds, down 4.9%. GA—13.44 million pounds, up 8.8%. SC—10.8 million pounds, down 6.8%. All U.S.—284 million pounds, down 5.8%. Other types will be projected in USDA’s August survey.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #39364f; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;">DATES TO REMEMBER</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 8px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "Lucida Typewriter", monospace; font-size: 8px;">o</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "Lucida Typewriter", monospace; font-size: 9px;"> </span><span style="color: #39364f; font-size: 14px;">July 19. </span><span style="color: #1e0a3c; font-size: 14px;"> NC State Tobacco Field Day, </span><span style="color: #6f7287; font-size: 14px;">9 AM to 12 PM at </span><span style="font-size: 14px;">the Upper Coastal Plain Research Station, 2811 Nobles Mill Pond Rd, Rocky Mount, NC. Lunch will be provided.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "Lucida Typewriter", monospace; font-size: 8px;">o</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "Lucida Typewriter", monospace; font-size: 9px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 22px;">July </span><span style="font-size: 14px;">25 Corn-Soybean-Tobacco Tour, 8 AM, at University of Kentucky AREC, 1205 Hopkinsville St., Princeton KY.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "Lucida Typewriter", monospace; font-size: 8px;">o</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "Lucida Typewriter", monospace; font-size: 9px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14px;">July 27. The 2023 Virginia Southern Piedmont AREC Field Day will be held at the research center at 2375 Darvills Rd., Blackstone, VA. Registration begins at 4:30 PM with dinner at 5, followed by tours of research field trials. An on-farm tour of research plots will be held the following day. It will begin in South Hill at approximately 8 AM and </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;">head west toward Danville. Registration forms can be found at </span><a href="https://tinyurl.com/3cwssfj5" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/3cwssfj5</a><span style="font-size: 14px;">. More infor-mation? Call </span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 14px;">434 818-5538.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "Lucida Typewriter", monospace; font-size: 8px;">o</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "Lucida Typewriter", monospace; font-size: 9px;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;">August 9 Bluegrass Burley Tour at Spindletop in Lexington KY.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "Lucida Typewriter", monospace; font-size: 11px;">o</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, "Lucida Sans Typewriter", "Lucida Typewriter", monospace; font-size: 9px;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14px;">August 10 Dark Tobacco Twilight Tour, 5:30 PM, at West Farm, Murray State University, in Murray KY.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1689392495114-348" style="min-width: 100%; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtHXHuHINHMqCtD6HG9tok0LE463nqbfmGOAB7x6HN9nADEfu5c5G_DksGo06Sl8jNxcOkNupzy1P5eCdc2hC-m-nRLjiilFN5U3lEqX7DkBPciYK-_6n1n3VlflKdc7A6I3dqdillK4CQbLvrQL_IgMpqb2EYaxSyt2UilazNfOitkVP2EUtLMkEtLCH/s3776/IMG_1335%20(1).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3020" data-original-width="3776" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtHXHuHINHMqCtD6HG9tok0LE463nqbfmGOAB7x6HN9nADEfu5c5G_DksGo06Sl8jNxcOkNupzy1P5eCdc2hC-m-nRLjiilFN5U3lEqX7DkBPciYK-_6n1n3VlflKdc7A6I3dqdillK4CQbLvrQL_IgMpqb2EYaxSyt2UilazNfOitkVP2EUtLMkEtLCH/w640-h512/IMG_1335%20(1).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Wind-damaged tobacco in South Georgia, June 22. Photo: J. Michael Moore.</span></i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">First item of business: </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Harvest has begun.</span><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">A few farmers in Florida, South Carolina and north Carolina reportedly began gathering this past week.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Weather derailed a great crop: </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">The tobacco was “beautiful” in Georgia and Florida during the state tobacco tour in mid June, says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. “But then we got 10 to 12 days in a row where it rained. And it was a hard rain too--it came down two or three inches at a time and the drops were the size of cups.” The rain contributed to erosion and some damage to the roots. Some tobacco was drowned. “That which wasn’t has come back reasonably well,” Moore says. </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">But hail and wind</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> caused even worse damage in some areas, especially the wind. “It is almost impossible to machine harvest tobacco which is badly wind-blown.” There is not much of an alternative. “Our growers are not set up for hand harvesting.” One grower told Moore that he set his windblown tobacco back up and topped it and suckered it, all at the same time. It cost him $750 per acre. “And then the next storm that came through blew it over in the other direction!” says Moore.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">So what are the prospects</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> in Georgia/Florida? Moore is staying optimistic that a quality crop may still be achievable. “But it is clear that some contracts won’t be filled,” he says.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">How much acreage was planted in Georgia?</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> Moore isn’t sure since planting ended prematurely due to a shortage of plants. “Once we ran out of plants, we quit,” he says.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; white-space-collapse: collapse;">The crop in South Carolina looks good</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; white-space-collapse: collapse;"> so far, says William Hardee, S.C. Extension tobacco specialist. It got off to a bit of a slow start because of a cool spring, but it has really taken off the last two weeks. Farmers are finishing topping, and a few have started harvesting. One sour note: There are significant levels of tomato spotted wilt in some areas. “On average, I am seeing levels of 10 to 15 percent but in some isolated cases, it has been as high as 40 percent,” says Hardee. “Weather conditions have also been ideal for target spot development. Growers are making fungicide applications and hoping to start cropping soon to promote air circulation.”</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; white-space-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; white-space-collapse: collapse;">There is a wide range of maturity</span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 18px; white-space-collapse: collapse;"> in tobacco across North Carolina, says </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px; white-space-collapse: collapse;">Matthew Vann, </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 18px; white-space-collapse: collapse;">N.C. Extension tobacco specialist</span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 18px; white-space-collapse: collapse;">. “In the East, some farmers have started barning, while in the West some are still laying by. But in general this crop looks pretty good, especially considering some cooler temperatures we had earlier in the season.” One problem may have arisen because of the cold: “Target spot has really flared out, and it is as serious as I have seen it in my time in North Carolina,” he says. Control measures you can use leave something to be desired. There is a cultural practice--harvesting to let the air in the canopy and let the leaves dry—and a chemical application of the chemical Quaddris. But the reentry period can be a problem.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; white-space-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Field day gets rained on,</span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 18px;"> but central Tennessee crop is in good shape: Rob Ellis</span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">, </span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 18px;">Research Center Director at the Highland Rim AREC in</span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: #404040; font-size: 18px;">Springfield, says the crop on the center grounds is in excellent shape. "We started topping last week," he says. "We began setting out the first week of May. We got rains that divided the cr0p into two parts. But both did well. Even the later planted got plenty of rain. We finished setting the second week of June." It was getting a bit dry late in June, but then an inch and a half of rain fell around lunch time during the </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">Tobacco, Beef, and More Field Day at the center on June 29." Ellis called off the afternoon activities because of the downpour but didn't feel too bad about it. "We had growers in our county who really needed it." Now, he rates the local crop at least average and maybe a little above average.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The center in Springfield</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;"> is doing tests on four different types: burley, dark air-cured, dark fire-cured and Connecticut broadleaf. All four types are in the field now, with Connecticut the farthest ahead. “We thought if we could get it out early, we might be able to ‘catch’ the humidity and get a better color,” Ellis says. </span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Crop progress </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">according to USDA-NASS and Extension (as of</span><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">July 3) (</span><span style="font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">Flue)</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> GA--62% topped; SC--58% topped; </span><span style="font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">(Burley)</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> KY--97% planted; TN--94% planted, 5% topped; NC--48% planted.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #39364f; font-size: 24px;"><b>DATES TO REMEMBER</b></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222;">July 11 & 12. T</span><span style="color: black;">he 2023 SC Tobacco Tour begins with supper in Georgetown at 6:30 PM on July 11 at the River Room Restaurant, </span><span style="color: #646473;">801 Front St. </span><span style="color: black;">The tour will begin on July 12 at 9 AM in Georgetown County. It will include lunch at the Pee Dee REC and end in Sumter County around 3:30. Register at </span><a href="https://form.jotform.com/231344605453148" style="color: #1155cc; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">form.jotform.com/2313 44605453148</a><span style="color: #1155cc;">. </span><span style="color: black;">More information? Call 843-222-8701 or email </span><span style="color: #263238;">hardee@clemson.edu</span>.</li></ul><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #39364f;">July 19. </span><span style="color: #1e0a3c;">2023 NC State Tobacco Field Day, </span><span style="color: #6f7287;">9 AM to 12 PM at </span>the Upper Coastal Plain Research Station, 2811 Nobles Mill Pond Rd, Rocky Mount, NC. Lunch will be provided.</li></ul><p style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></p><ul style="background-color: white; color: #403f42; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">July 27. The 2023 Virginia Southern Piedmont AREC Field Day will be held at the research center at 2375 Darvills Rd., Blackstone, VA. Registration begins at 4:30 with dinner at 5, followed by tours of research field trials. An on-farm tour of research plots will be held the following day. It will begin in South Hill at approximately 8 AM and <span style="color: #222222;">head west toward Danville. Registration forms can be found at </span><a href="https://tinyurl.com/3cwssfj5" style="color: #1155cc; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">tinyurl.com/3cwssfj5</a> .More information? 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width: 600px;" valign="top"><div style="height: 30px; line-height: 30px;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#4C8F4C" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395layout" style="background-color: #4c8f4c; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_883021419699576395column m_883021419699576395scale m_883021419699576395stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><div style="height: 24px; line-height: 24px;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_883021419699576395column m_883021419699576395scale m_883021419699576395stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_883021419699576395text_content-cell m_883021419699576395content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_883021419699576395column m_883021419699576395scale m_883021419699576395stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395image--mobile-scale m_883021419699576395image--mobile-center" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_883021419699576395image_container m_883021419699576395content-padding-horizontal" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" src="https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/a-UHcEGH9XEs8EawVgybX722sze8PuSBPNz6CBK3ktmL67z3a0WMoxbL2AG-I_lUFY1-5zE5ZVyDgbTRD2LBFsfQZ4GLTDpPI3pREE39oxspNIRnF8e8ibd5Cp4iTmjDs1A2cSk2RDwwyEELKXhV2RMx=s0-d-e1-ft#https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/1a15c16e-31eb-484d-80e4-77c0d4e7b694.jpg?rdr=true" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_883021419699576395column m_883021419699576395scale m_883021419699576395stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_883021419699576395text_content-cell m_883021419699576395content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic;">Loading the transplanter for nearly the last time in 2023: Workers prepare to set out some of the last burley plants on a farm in the Bluegrass of Ohio. File photo by Christopher Bickers.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_883021419699576395column m_883021419699576395scale m_883021419699576395stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_883021419699576395column m_883021419699576395scale m_883021419699576395stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395image--mobile-scale m_883021419699576395image--mobile-center" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_883021419699576395image_container m_883021419699576395content-padding-horizontal" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="CToWUd" data-bit="iit" src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/ztHOPUhwYpUFV4Ec36-HATKwgHd1DiyosGyP9ZZwhgMtawAWAI_NsHv8q0xhNx-lZwrp83mHce50LWP-KzJPwcvTlB-L0eXt4g43NqITMtxz_8izBq7-d0HnYXyk=s0-d-e1-ft#https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/letters/images/icons/340x340_CPE_v2.png" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="10" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #888888;"></span><span style="color: #888888;"></span><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_883021419699576395column m_883021419699576395scale m_883021419699576395stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_883021419699576395text_content-cell m_883021419699576395content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 19px; text-align: justify;">In </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;">Kentucky</span><span style="font-size: 19px; text-align: justify;">, 85 percent to 95 percent of the expected acreage has been transplanted, thanks in part to a dry spell that allowed good progress in the field. “Now, we are in a wetter pattern,”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px; text-align: justify;"> says Bob Pearce, Kentucky tobacco Extension specialist.</span><span style="font-size: 19px; text-align: justify;"> “It has been rainy in the last week after a dry spell.” The crop is in good shape now, he says. “We have had no major problems yet.” Burley plantings in the state may decline some but probably not much. Dark growers looking for a substitute after cuts in contracts by dark buyers are in some cases turning to burley, says Pearce.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">The last of </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Tennessee’s</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> tobacco was going to the field at a fast pace in mid June. “Most of our tobacco has been transplanted,” says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. It might have been a little farther along but some farmers had to pause because of an earlier spell of dry weather. “They wanted to avoid transplant shock.” The tobacco that is now in the field is looking generally good. “We have had some rains recently and soil conditions are good,” Richmond says.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">In the </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Black Patch</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> of Kentucky and Tennessee, transplanting has been going well. Almost too well in some areas: Some of the dark tobacco is so far ahead in development that growers are slowing down their transplanting, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px;">says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 8px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">. “If you don’t, there’s a danger that you might have to harvest too much at one time at the end of the season.” That can put pressure on facilities and labor…</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px;">It has been very dry in the last two weeks, says Bailey. “But we are getting some rain this week.</span>”</p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">In </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Virginia</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">, the flue-cured crop is all planted. “We have been on the dry side, but we had significant rains last week, and the crop looks good now,” says Stephen Barts, Extension agent in Pittsylvania County, Va. “But we are about two weeks behind where we should be.” That was partly because at the end of May, there was a period of cool mornings that slowed growth. “But it is growing well now.” There have been no developments that would cause concern. Close to half of the flue-cured has been laid by…The Virginia Southside also grows some dark and broadleaf, and those crops are growing well also. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">At times since the buyout,</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> Pittsylvania County has had a number of burley growers. “But the demand is gone and we are down to one burley grower,” says Barts. “He has four or five acres.” A comeback of burley isn’t likely. “Burley isn’t a good fit under our conditions,” says Barts. “Our growers generally grew burley alongside flue-cured, and the labor needs of the two types frequently clashed. Also, farmers here weren’t able to get con-sistent good grades. Finally, burley didn’t yield well in the high temperatures that the Southside gets in the summer.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Crop progress </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">according to USDA-NASS and Extension (as of</span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">June 20): </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">KY </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">Burley/dark—9% planted; </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">VA </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">Burley--90% planted; </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">NC </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">Burley-</span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">-</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">84% planted; </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">SC—9</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">% topped</span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">; GA</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">–11% topped;</span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;"> VA </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">Flue--95% planted.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">NEWS FROM OVERSEAS</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">In </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Zimbabwe</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">, leaf sales have exceeded the record. But farmers are unimpressed...The crop currently being marketed here has set a record for tobacco volume sold in a single season--and the market still has a few sales to go. According to the Associated Press, the Zimbabwean government announced in mid June that 261 million kilograms of tobacco [almost all flue cured] had been sold since the market opened in March. The previous record of 259 million kilograms was set in 2019. But growers found little cheer in the news. “This is a momentous achievement for the sector [as a whole], but the benefits to farmers are minimal,” said George Seremwe, president of the Zimbabwe growers association. “It is worrying that most farmers are heavily indebted. We would be happier if this tobacco success story translates to improved livelihoods for farmers.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">DATES TO REMEMBER</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #58595b; font-size: 9px;"> </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 19px;">The 2023 Tobacco, Beef, and More Field Day will be held June 29 starting at 8 AM at the UT Highland Rim Research & Education Center in Springfield, TN. A trade show will be held in the morning. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: 19px;">More information? Go to </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f%3D001rZ6qwd_RGY-TdLNqPF4kLjcLQXfED1VRU0oLLoQMIOf02RqMylZ1llCWMu03GJUXeTKUHPfcqn9ptT-FjAGjZUI6WVisLhxnp8ZAQuDNb5ylJf9fu9QBmwrKBFLUL8dBou7PVYltyr8RZZL3Q--ZDduzqk7KooKz%26c%3DrAUm55mVC1Dcpfv3fRTd6TTrHDPUISoKT9uNFFWhK4A12BTZgfqAMw%3D%3D%26ch%3DSnGlmBLQbPDDfk62lmxaS2nCDQ2aFCkTtZ4P7JHOAPAvlKsP88VBJA%3D%3D&source=gmail&ust=1687468215302000&usg=AOvVaw1MpmCOnuN4yOz4akd9PgNp" fg_scanned="1" href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001rZ6qwd_RGY-TdLNqPF4kLjcLQXfED1VRU0oLLoQMIOf02RqMylZ1llCWMu03GJUXeTKUHPfcqn9ptT-FjAGjZUI6WVisLhxnp8ZAQuDNb5ylJf9fu9QBmwrKBFLUL8dBou7PVYltyr8RZZL3Q--ZDduzqk7KooKz&c=rAUm55mVC1Dcpfv3fRTd6TTrHDPUISoKT9uNFFWhK4A12BTZgfqAMw==&ch=SnGlmBLQbPDDfk62lmxaS2nCDQ2aFCkTtZ4P7JHOAPAvlKsP88VBJA==" style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">highlandrim. tennessee. edu</a><span style="font-size: 19px;"> or call </span><span style="color: #58595b; font-size: 19px;">Rita Hall at 615-382-3130.</span></li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222;">T</span><span style="color: black;">he 2023 SC Tobacco Tour is scheduled for July 11 and 12 starting with supper in Georgetown at 6:30 PM. The tour will begin </span><span style="color: black;">on July 12 </span><span style="color: black;">at 9 AM in Georgetown County. It will include lunch at the Pee Dee REC around noon and end in Sumter County around 3:30. Register at </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f%3D001rZ6qwd_RGY-TdLNqPF4kLjcLQXfED1VRU0oLLoQMIOf02RqMylZ1llCWMu03GJUXbZCGoGf-SpScWczhwdOC4TxqIyrSlkqgTAxLflMeAV7inumeRUCUk2AiR4Fyu2mvIqcW_ZlhZq8jfQLb53ZYTwyhOtIwIW8ozYEdNf2_uSc%3D%26c%3DrAUm55mVC1Dcpfv3fRTd6TTrHDPUISoKT9uNFFWhK4A12BTZgfqAMw%3D%3D%26ch%3DSnGlmBLQbPDDfk62lmxaS2nCDQ2aFCkTtZ4P7JHOAPAvlKsP88VBJA%3D%3D&source=gmail&ust=1687468215302000&usg=AOvVaw10NKAslpn-b7JRNVjicJO6" fg_scanned="1" href="https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001rZ6qwd_RGY-TdLNqPF4kLjcLQXfED1VRU0oLLoQMIOf02RqMylZ1llCWMu03GJUXbZCGoGf-SpScWczhwdOC4TxqIyrSlkqgTAxLflMeAV7inumeRUCUk2AiR4Fyu2mvIqcW_ZlhZq8jfQLb53ZYTwyhOtIwIW8ozYEdNf2_uSc=&c=rAUm55mVC1Dcpfv3fRTd6TTrHDPUISoKT9uNFFWhK4A12BTZgfqAMw==&ch=SnGlmBLQbPDDfk62lmxaS2nCDQ2aFCkTtZ4P7JHOAPAvlKsP88VBJA==" style="color: #1155cc; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">form.jotform. com/231344605453148</a><span style="color: #1155cc;">. </span><span style="color: black;">More information? Call 843-222-8701</span>.</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_883021419699576395content-padding-horizontal" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top" width="100%"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 1px; table-layout: fixed; width: 560px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#007300" height="1" style="background-color: #007300; border-bottom-width: 0px; height: 1px; line-height: 1px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px;"><img alt="" border="0" class="CToWUd" data-bit="iit" height="1" hspace="0" src="https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/prjVWi9agcvHo6wWwSY0NoWHiaFTUW1GFE88HIUk5LrHN5aeEIX3D6pJtDlEPNI6Dvf_Ou5XHLexQ1ajT_5sVXHMGfcLsqoinYvkNDmXc8HzvBff2Y637Q=s0-d-e1-ft#https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/letters/images/1101116784221/S.gif" style="display: block; height: 1px; width: 5px;" vspace="0" width="5" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395image--mobile-scale m_883021419699576395image--mobile-center" style="table-layout: fixed; 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text-align: center;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395scale" style="table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 1156px;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td class="m_883021419699576395column m_883021419699576395scale m_883021419699576395stack" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; width: 1156px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; table-layout: auto !important; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; text-align: center; width: 1156px;" valign="top" width="100%"><div style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%; text-align: center;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td style="margin: 0px; padding: 16px 0px; text-align: center;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_883021419699576395footer-main-width" style="table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 580px;"><tbody><tr><td style="color: #5d5d5d; margin: 0px; padding: 4px 0px; text-align: center;" valign="top"><span class="m_883021419699576395footer-column"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="m_883021419699576395footer-column" style="text-align: left;">Bickers Editing Service<span class="m_883021419699576395footer-mobile-hidden"> | </span></span><span class="m_883021419699576395footer-column" style="text-align: left;">903-9 Shellbrook Ct.<span class="m_883021419699576395footer-mobile-hidden">, </span></span><span class="m_883021419699576395footer-column" style="text-align: left;">Raleigh, NC 27609. 919 789 4631.</span></div></span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-39391437723949028582023-05-09T22:29:00.000-04:002023-05-09T22:29:25.413-04:00 PLANTING REPORT IN THE NORTHERN END OF THE TOBACCO BELT, THE LAST OF THIS CROP IS HEADED TO THE FIELD<p> </p><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_panel-row" style="background-color: white; color: black; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr class="" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-866"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1667509475816-618" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1679534074754-773" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1680700094711-931" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/3cc3b9b9-0d39-42bf-a348-534601f8de19.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Photo: Transplanting flue-cured in North Carolina, File photo by Christopher Bickers.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">In Virginia,</span><span style="font-size: 22px;"> transplanting got going last Friday in Charlotte County, says Joanne Jones, Charlotte Extension agent. “But it is just starting,” she says. “Most of the crop is still in the greenhouse.” Charlotte County growers grow flue-cured, burley and dark varieties. Flue-cured will be the leading type this year, with perhaps as many as 200acres. Burley acreage may be up a little, but Jones doesn’t have an estimate yet for this type. In Charlotte County, near the northern limit of tobacco production in the Old Dominion, burley is grown largely by Amish farmers. Dark types will probably be planted on 10 to 15 acres, she says.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 22px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">In Kentucky,</span><span style="font-size: 22px;"> a small percentage of the state’s tobacco is in the ground, according to the USDA’s Crop and Production Report. Setting will ramp up as weather permits. The majority of the week was cool and dry through much of the state, then the weekend brought some scattered rain and storms. The average height of tobacco transplants is rated as 20 percent less than two inches, 45 percent two to four inches, and 35 percent larger than four inches. Transplant supplies are 99 per-cent adequate and one percent short as setting begins.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">In the Black Patch, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 22px;">very little of the burley and dark tobacco has been planted. “But what I have seen in the field looks good,” says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. The greenhouse season went well, with no major issues, he says. “We have good plants though not a big supply”…There will probably be a reduction in dark plantings since major buyers cut contracts, in some cases substantially. Connecticut broadleaf will be down also, for the second season. But burley will be up in the Black Patch. “</span><span style="font-size: 22px;">I expect to</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 22px;"> see more burley grown in western Kentucky</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 22px;"> than there has been in several years,” says Bailey.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">In Tennessee,</span><span style="font-size: 22px;"> there have been no issues in the green-house, says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. “Most of our growers started taking plants to the field late last week or this past week,” he says. “I expect everyone will be planting early next week and perhaps we will finish two weeks or so from now”…The excitement over KT 222 continues to grow for the new (and probably last) hybrid from the Kentucky-Tennessee breeding program. Out of several strengths, Richmond said the best may be its excellent black shank</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 22px;">resistance: 10 out of 10 to race 0, nine out of 10 to race 1.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">In North Carolina,</span><span style="font-size: 22px;"> Eastern Belt farmers got off to a really good start. "We got some cool weather, some rainfall, so when it got dry this week, our crop did real well," says </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 22px;">Norman Harrell, Wilson Extension Director ...About 80% of the crop has been set out, he says. There was definitely no surplus of plants, H</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 22px;">arrell says, but there was some creativity: "One of our farmers did a second seeding of one greenhouse to provide some extra plants." Most of those plants are still in the greenhouse but Harrell says this tactic looks like it will provide some extra plants if needed.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><h1 align="justify" style="color: #717a80; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 22px;">In South Carolina,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal;"> it took Ben Teal of Patrick just a week--starting around April 15--to set out his small flue-cured crop. He farms in the northwest corner of the state’s tobacco area. “As of now,” he says, “I am optimistic: We have a good stand and are off to a good start.” The only problem so far has been some strong wind last week. He had enough plants to cover his needs, unlike some other S.C. growers…He has been hand harvesting his crop but plans to go 100% mechanical next year due the difficulty of finding local labor for an operation of his scale…Teal elected to plant 30 acres this year, the same as in 2022.</span></h1><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">Crop progress </span><span style="font-size: 22px;">according to USDA-NASS and Extension (as of</span><span style="font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: 22px;">May 8): </span><span style="font-size: 22px; font-style: italic;">GA</span><span style="font-size: 22px;">–96% planted; FL--100% planted; </span><span style="font-size: 22px; font-style: italic;">SC—</span><span style="font-size: 22px;">35% planted</span><span style="font-size: 22px; font-style: italic;">; NC </span><span style="font-size: 22px;">Flue-</span><span style="font-size: 22px; font-style: italic;">- </span><span style="font-size: 22px;">62% plant-ed; </span><span style="font-size: 22px; font-style: italic;">VA </span><span style="font-size: 22px;">Flue-- 19% planted; </span><span style="font-size: 22px; font-style: italic;">VA</span><span style="font-size: 22px;"> Fire-cured--19% plant-ed, </span><span style="font-size: 22px; font-style: italic;">VA </span><span style="font-size: 22px;">Burley--10% planted; </span><span style="font-size: 22px; font-style: italic;">KY </span><span style="font-size: 22px;">Burley, dark—2% planted.</span></p><h1 align="justify" style="color: #717a80; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></h1><h1 align="justify" style="color: #717a80; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 22px;">And in Canada, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 22px; font-weight: normal;">the 2023 greenhouse season has been characterized by very few warm days and many cool and cloudy ones, according to the Canada Tobacco Research Foundation. “Nevertheless, most greenhouses have good seed germination and seedling uniformity,” the found-ation says. “Seedlings between farms vary in size depending on the type of production method being used and when seeding was started.”</span></h1><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 22px;">Because of a surgical procedure I am having, I expect to have difficulty using a telephone for a few weeks. If you need to communicate with me {from now until June 1}, better use my email address: chrisbickers@gmail.com. Thanks.--Chris.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1672109822818-789" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675720520256-777" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1683638056359-728" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/4b3f7ba3-7b2a-4a2a-a739-23cb2767fc42.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672689230533-016" style="table-layout: fixed; 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margin-right: auto; table-layout: auto !important; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="width: 800px;" valign="top" width="100%"><div align="center" class="footer-max-main-width" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="footer-layout" style="padding: 16px 0px;" valign="top"></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-14161299342707772372023-04-24T20:45:00.004-04:002023-04-27T22:15:18.513-04:00PLANTING NEARLY COMPLETE IN GRORGIA<p> </p><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="background-color: white; color: black; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table bgcolor="#008000" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648170-395" style="background-color: green; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648170-738" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><div class="spacer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648169-026" style="height: 30px; line-height: 30px;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#4C8F4C" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648173-453" style="background-color: #4c8f4c; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648170-776" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><div class="spacer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648170-727" style="height: 16px; 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color: #403f42; display: block; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="center" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p align="center" style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial Black", Gadget, sans-serif" style="color: #bf5300; font-size: 48px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>TOBACCO FARMER</b></span></span></p><p align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #bf5300; font-family: verdana; font-size: 37px;"><b>NEWSLETTER</b></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648174-078" style="min-width: 100%; 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margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;">April II 2023</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#4C8F4C" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-756" style="background-color: #4c8f4c; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-379" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><div class="spacer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-283" style="height: 30px; line-height: 30px;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#4C8F4C" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-446" style="background-color: #4c8f4c; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-968" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><div class="spacer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-438" style="height: 24px; line-height: 24px;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1667509475816-618" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1679534074754-773" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1680700094711-931" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/0a6f449b-5e9c-4f5f-bb84-bb27f2a93fe4.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-style: italic;">In the Piedmont of North Carolina, a planting crew sets flue-cured tobacco in this file photo from a past season. Photo by Christopher Bickers.</span></p><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 25px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Transplanting in Georgia</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> was spread out considerably</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> in Georgia because of rain events, but J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist, thinks substantially all will be complete by the end of the month. "We have had a good transplanting season and the plants that are in the field look very good.” Some of the crop has been in the field four weeks.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">There aren’t many problems</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> in the field except for tomato spotted wilt. “We will still have losses to this disease but I believe our farmers took the control measures they needed to,” Moore says. There is nothing you can do to control TSWV after the crop is transplanted.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Every plant produced in Georgia</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> will be taken to the field (see TFN March I). “And it still won’t be enough acres to service the contracts we have signed.” That was made worse by some very late requests for more contracted acres by companies. “As I understand it, plants are short everywhere,” says Moore.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">But as of today, </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">the outlook in the Deep South is good. “We are looking forward to producing a high quality crop that buyers will pay top dollar for,” he says.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">At the other end</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> of the tobacco belt, burley growers in Kentucky are still seeding greenhouses. </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">Mild temperatures and dry conditions characterized most of the week, but a cold front passed through accompanied by some patchy frost. Greenhouse seeding is ahead of last year at 87 percent complete. Seeded transplants remain in mostly good condition. The average height of transplants is rated at (41 percent) less than 2 inches, (42 percent) 2-4 inches, and (17 percent) larger than 4 inches.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Crop progress according to USDA-NASS </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">(through April 23): </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">GA</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">–72% planted; </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">SC—</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">19% planted</span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">; NC--</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">24% planted; </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">VA</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">-Flue--2% planted, </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">VA</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> Fire-cured 1%--planted. </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">KY</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">—87% seeded.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Guano or bat manure: </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">Organic tobacco farmers have shown an interest in using Peruvian seabird guano or bat manure for organic seedling production. Based on results of recent N.C. testing, the Peruvian seabird guano seems to be a better choice.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">If you use seabird guano,</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> closely monitor alkalinity levels in the waterbed closely and correct when necessary. Both organic products produced smaller seedlings and a lower percentage of usable seedlings than 16-5-16 in one study, but in another study, the seabird guano and 16-5-16 produced similar percentages of usable transplants.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">The shrinking burley base:</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px;">The Council </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px;">for Burley Tobacco </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px;">(CBT), which is responsible for the collection and investment of the Kentucky burley checkoff funds, has noted a sharp decline in those funds. "Over the last several years, we have watched as the check-off funds continue to decrease," says Darrell Varner, a burley grower and CBT president. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px;">Ten years ago,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px;"> in the 2012-2013 season, CBT received $142,794.44 in check-off funds from 13 buyers, says Varner. "As we come to the close of the 2022-2023 marketing season, the checkoff funds total is $39,852.82."</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">With China’s return </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">to the U.S. market in 2021, exports in 2021 increased, says Blake Brown, recently retired N.C. Extension economist. But China's purchase of tobacco from the U.S. decreased in 2022. And unfortunately, the China market in the future will be particularly volatile and susceptible to changes in U.S. relations.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">In other tobacco news:</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">MORE DETAILS FROM</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">THE USDA PROSPECTIVE PLANTING REPORT</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Here are</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;"> state-by-state projections of plantings of the minor types.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">--FIRE-CURED: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">Kentucky 8,100 acres, down 17 percent; Tennessee 6,300 acres, no change; Virginia 200 acres, up 33 percent</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13px;">.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">--DARK AIR-CURED</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">: Kentucky 5,000 acres, down 14 percent; Tennessee 3,400 acres, down eight percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">--CIGAR FILLER: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">Pennsylvania. 2,600 acres, up four percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">--SOUTHERN MARYLAND: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">P</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">ennsylvania--100 acres, no change</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13px;">.</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">NEWS FROM OVERSEAS</span></p><p align="justify" style="font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px;">In Malawi, the tobacco market (selling mostly burley) opened on April 12. The average sales price at auction rose from $1.8 per kilo to $1.88 per kg during the early sales days. Farmers were reportedly very happy with the price rise. In Zimbabwe, the tobacco market (selling mostly flue-cured) opened in early March. According to the Tobacco Industry & Marketing Board, through April 20 (Day 29), the average sales price was US$ 2.99 per kilogram.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1682382941640-405" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1682382941688-747" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1682382917144-916" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/f8ec87c4-72ed-4069-a306-25aae1be3d45.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1682382901547-510" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1682382901595-141" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1675889534683-764" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/7323556f-5b93-4c36-8a1c-c99959f11b89.png?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1672109822818-789" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675720520256-777" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1675720369913-178" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/780adea1-78a7-4437-8016-4b7037869362.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1675889527402-157" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675889527453-456" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672689230533-016" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="Farm Family Life Museum" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/5de12e95-8c90-469b-aabf-6432b061891e.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="559" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1672689213891-320" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1672689213939-796" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672688898378-443" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/dd865c52-3cec-4bfe-a174-b9935c3276ee.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1681705563890-438" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1681705563945-462" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1681705563997-857" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/e1d85f55-03ea-452c-af70-e871b629f8f8.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-82051509523927158992023-04-06T20:21:00.002-04:002023-04-06T20:26:06.542-04:00PLANTING BEGINS IN THE DEEP SOUTH<p> </p><p><br /></p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648174-078" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648174-260" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648174-278" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="right" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><br /></p><p align="right" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: right;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>April 5 2023</b></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#4C8F4C" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-756" style="background-color: #4c8f4c; color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-379" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><div class="spacer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-283" style="height: 30px; line-height: 30px;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#4C8F4C" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-446" style="background-color: #4c8f4c; color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-968" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><div class="spacer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-438" style="height: 24px; line-height: 24px;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1667509475816-618" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1679534074754-773" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1680700094711-931" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/62ca6a41-a49c-4914-9bc2-1b17bc80dc2c.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">A Florida planting crew sets flue-cured tobacco in this file photo from a past season.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Georgia:</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> Transplanting should get going this week, says </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 19px;">J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist</span><span style="font-size: 19px;">. “We had rains last week, but the fields are drying out well, so planting conditions should be good,” he says. Temperatures in the 90s are expected by the end of this week. Plants look good in the greenhouse. Disease is generally absent in them. “We could have used more plants in the greenhouse. As it is, we will not have enough plants to meet our contracts.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">South Carolina:</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px;"> SC farmers will be ready to begin transplanting this week or the next, says </span><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 19px;">William Hardee, S.C. Extension tobacco specialist</span><span style="color: #222222;">.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px;"> “We’ve had some significant rainfall recently, so we’re hoping soils will dry out quickly.” Farmers have had a pretty good year in the greenhouse, though weather conditions early on after seeding were conducive to some fertilizer salts injury, and there was some pythium later on.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">THE NEW USDA PROSPECTIVE PLANTING REPORT-</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">-which predicts the plantings that tobacco farmers intend in 2023 as indicated by a USDA survey--projects four percent less flue-cured acreage and nine percent higher burley acreage for 2023. Tobacco of all types was projected down two percent. Details follow:</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">FLUE-CURED </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">North Carolina,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;"> 110,000 acres, down five percent from last year. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">Virginia, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">11,000 acres, down 9 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">Georgia,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;"> 7,000 acres, up 17 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">South Carolina, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">7,000 acres, up 21 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">United States</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">, 135,000 acres, down four percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">BURLEY </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">Kentucky,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;"> 31,000 acres, up 11 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">Tennessee,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;"> 3,000 acres, up 11 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">Pennsylvania,</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;"> 1,000 acres, down 33 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">Virginia, </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">210 acres, down 16 percent. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">North Carolina</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">, 160 acres, no change. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">United States</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;"> 35,370 acres, up nine percent.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">FIRE-CURED </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">14,600 acres, down 10 percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">DARK AIR-CURED</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;"> 8,400 acres, down 12 percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">CIGAR FILLER: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">Pennsylvania Seedleaf (Only Pennsylvania plantings declared in this survey). 2,600 acres, up four percent. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">SOUTHERN MARYLAND: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">(Only Pennsylvania plantings declared in this survey). 100 acres, no change. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">ALL TOBACCO: </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;">United States, 197,070 acres, down two percent.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 19px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">In other tobacco news:</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Will more H-2A candidates be available?</span><span style="font-size: 19px;"> Earlier this year, it came to the attention of the Burley and Dark Tobacco Producers Association that H-2A visa interview spots at U.S. Consulates on Mexico were limited. “We reached out to our Congressional delegation asking for support in opening interview opportunities at more Consulates,” the association said in its recent newsletter. </span><span style="font-size: 17px;">“We understand interview spots were increased.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;">A new sucker control chemical for organic:</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"> Pure-Tac is a fatty alcohol produced and marketed by Drexel Chemical Company and is </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 19px;">the first fatty alcohol product to receive EPA/ USDA “For Organic Production” approval</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;">. Pure-Tac is residue free and can be used on all tobacco types grown in organic and PRC culture. It should be available at traditional retail out-lets. For more information visit </span><a href="http://www.drexchem.com/" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">www.DrexChem.com</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px;"> or contact your local Drexel Chemical Company representative.</span><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;">Correction: </span><span style="font-size: 19px;">The phone number for Labor Services International listed in the last issue should have read </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 21px;">252 </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 21px;">557</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 21px;"> 9528.</span><span face="Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1679528763205-321" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1679528763254-751" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1679509869921-480" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1680574857195-718" style="color: black; 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min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675889527453-456" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672689230533-016" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="Farm Family Life Museum" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/5de12e95-8c90-469b-aabf-6432b061891e.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="559" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1672689213891-320" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1672689213939-796" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672688898378-443" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/4b3f7ba3-7b2a-4a2a-a739-23cb2767fc42.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-38692482326202033712023-03-24T15:16:00.001-04:002023-03-24T15:16:30.159-04:00GROWERS GEAR UP ON THE NORTHERN TIER<p> </p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1679533867537-968" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1679533867580-221" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1679533725223-603" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/176eddbf-4914-48ca-b88c-f7bd19ddeaec.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table bgcolor="#4C8F4C" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-446" style="background-color: #4c8f4c; color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-968" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><div class="spacer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648175-438" style="height: 24px; line-height: 24px;"> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1667509475816-618" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1679534074754-773" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic;">Locking down labor: Elaine Trujillo of Henderson, N.C., explains the services her company—Labor Services International, an organization that helps agricultural employers obtain labor through the H2A program--offers to farmers and other H2A users. Here, she chats with Darren Wallace of Rose Hill, N.C. One challenge for 2023: The </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">new adverse effect wage rule, she says. For more information on LSI, call </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">252 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">557</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"> 9528</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222;">,</span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1679528763205-321" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1679528763254-751" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1679509869921-480" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Dark production takes a hit in the Black Patch</span><span style="font-size: 16px;">. Contracted acreage will apparently fall 10% to 55% below last season, depending on the buyer, says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension dark specialist. But bur-ley plantings may be up. “Burley supply has reached rock bottom worldwide, and the price offerings for 2023 look pretty good. If this keeps going, I could imagine that we might see more burley grown in Western Kentucky than we have had in the last 10 years”…Connecticut broadleaf is still grown in Western Kentucky but not nearly as much…“Most of our greenhouses were seeded around the 15</span><sup style="font-size: 16px;">th</sup><span style="font-size: 16px;">, and seed coats are starting to crack on trays seeded five to seven days ago...“We have had a few shortages or production problems on some varieties this spring. Seed of DT 558 dark, KT 222 burley and Tennessee 90 burley varieties may all be in short supply,” says Bailey.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Most burley growers in Tennessee</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> are seeding greenhouses or thinking about it, says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. “We had very cold weather for four days over the last two weeks. It got into the low 20s. I hope our growers delayed seeding to hold down on their heating bills. It is hard to tell about acreage just yet, he says. “But burley prices do seem to be better”…There is considerable interest in KT 222, the new—and probably last—burley variety from the Kentucky-Tennessee breeding program. It is a large, high-yielding hybrid with an erect growth habit similar in maturity to KT 215 and has high resistance to both race 0 and race 1 black shank.g or thinking about it, says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. “We have had very cold weather for four days over the last two weeks. It got into the low 20s. I hope our growers delayed seeding to hold down on their heating bills. “It is hard to tell about acreage just yet,” he says. “But burley prices do seem to be better”…There is considerable interest in KT 222, the new—and probably last—burley variety from the Kentucky-Tennessee breeding program. It is a large, high-yielding hybrid with an erect growth habit similar in maturity to KT215 and has high resistance to both race 0 and race 1 black shank.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Tillage</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">of flue-cured fields</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">in Southside Virginia </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">has been slowed because </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">of rain, </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">says Stephen Barts, Extension agent in Pittsylvania County, Va. “This is the last of March, and not much land preparation has been done.” There have been no other major issues. About the only problem has been that fumigators have had a hard time because of the weather...Most of the greenhouses here were seeded at the end of February and beginning of March, says Barts. Farmers will likely go to field in late April and early May, he says. “We expect acreage to be flat compared to last year, if not indeed an increase—that’s if all the plants in the greenhouse make it into the field.” A couple of Pittsylvania growers announced they werre quitting in the offseason, but some remaining growers may increase plantings to make up the difference. "There seems to be more optimism here than in several years,” says Barts.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Temperatures in Kentucky were down</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> into the teens for several mornings last week and daytime highs were in the 40s causing heaters to run more than normal. Fortunately, no reports of cold injury have been reported yet for greenhouses that were seeded, says Bob Pearce, Kentucky tobacco Extension specialist. Seeding in greenhouses is about 60% complete with the remaining greenhouses expected to be seeded in the next week to 10 days. Transplanting will probably begin in Kentucky in early to mid-May, he says. “Growers will be hard pressed to equal last year’s plantings. We can reasonably expect acreage to be down 10%,” says Pearce. “A few growers have indicated they will quit growing tobacco this season, and I haven’t heard of many growers planning to increase acreage who could make up the difference.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Spray drift is becoming more of a problem in Canada,</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> says the Canadian Tobacco Research Foundation. Seedling injury in greenhouses from spray drift in the field is 0appearing more often. </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">Action plan: </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Awareness of what is going on near the greenhouse and taking appropriate measures with vents and fans to minimize the entry of outside air.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">In other tobacco news:</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">A new fungicide</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">: Theia from AgBiome blocks fungal and bacterial pathogens with multiple modes of action. It was approved by EPA last year. It can be applied on flue-cured and burley with a zero day pre-harvest interval and it</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> targets Pythium and collar rot</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">. </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Another fungicide from AgBiome, still relatively new, is </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">Howler, which delivers broad-spectrum activity and resistance management. </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Target pests for Howler include target spot, brown spot and Phytophthora</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 16px;">.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-167" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1679509870395-204" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-580" style="table-layout: fixed; 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color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1675889527402-157" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675889527453-456" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672689230533-016" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="Farm Family Life Museum" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/5de12e95-8c90-469b-aabf-6432b061891e.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="559" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1672689213891-320" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1672689213939-796" style="width: 600.17px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672688898378-443" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/dd865c52-3cec-4bfe-a174-b9935c3276ee.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-20293027153941733572023-03-09T16:02:00.000-05:002023-03-09T16:02:16.665-05:00PLANTS ENJOY A MILD WINTER SEASON<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1675718601600-317" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675807034745-364" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672805621859-255" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/18589f45-21b2-4ec9-9327-133de4a1337e.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1667509475816-618" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1667509475866-611" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">Plants growing in a Kentucky greenhouse in a file shot by Christopher Bickers.</span></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-167" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675043261816-752" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-580" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">In North Carolina, most farmers have finished seeding their green-houses, says </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Matthew Vann, </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 18px;">N.C. Extension tobacco specialist.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> “We have had a good growing season with few negative issues. </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">As early as this crop was seeded, and if conditions hold, we may see earlier planting dates across the state.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">This situation is not entirely benign</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">. It may affect the pressure from pests. “We didn't have the </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">normal winter </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">weather to help control pests that we usually do,” says Vann. “In particular, since we didn’t get hard weather to kill thrips in native vegetation, we could see increased infestation of tomato spotted wilt virus later.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">You can get valuable information </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;">on thrips and TSWV intensity from the web link “Tobacco Thrips Flight and TSWV Intensity Predictor,” available from the </span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 18px;">North Carolina State Climate Office. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">In Georgia,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> plants are growing quite rapidly, says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. “Everyone is thinking about going to the field a little early.” It still is considered wise to transplant after April 7 to avoid exposure to thrips and subsequent tomato spotted wilt virus. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Farmers in the two Deep South states </span><span style="color: #500050; font-size: 18px;">will set out every plant produced in the two states this year. But that may not be enough, says Moore. “There were some later contracts that were signed too late for greenhouses to be seeded.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Transplanting will likely get going</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> in earnest in March in Florida and the last week of March in Georgia, Moore says. “We would sure like transplanting to be complete by May 1.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The shortage of Admire Pro</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> is definitely a concern for Georgians and Floridians, says Moore. He advises seeking out generic imidacloprid, which will give comparable results if you use it according to label instructions.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">A database for Kentucky tobacco farmers:</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> Joe Cain, Executive vice president for the Kentucky Burley & Dark Tobacco Producers Assn., says you can gain membership into the new association by writing him at </span><a href="mailto:kytobaccogrowers@outlook.com" style="color: #48a199; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">kytobaccogrowers@outlook.com</a><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 18px;">. He will be particularly grateful if you would help him set up a database of growers by including your e</span><span style="font-size: 18px;">-mail address, cell phone number, and your type(s) of tobacco. Growers of all types of tobacco, including wrappers, are eligible to join. “And not just growers are invited,” Cain says. “The association will take as members plant producers and seed producers and other related industries.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">There has been some interest</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> in the association from ‘new’ tobacco growers, says Cain. But they are not exactly new—they are getting back into burley because barns and equipment are readily available.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The Kentucky association</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> accepts members from other states, says Cain. So far, there are members from Southern Indiana and Tennessee, with smaller representations from Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">UPCOMING GAP MEETINGS</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Mon Mar 13, 6 pm CST, Glasgow, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 14, 9 am CST, Murray, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 14, 6 pm CST, Lafayette, TN.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 21, 9 am EST, Quarryville, PA.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Wed Mar 22, 9 am EST, New Holland, PA. </span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1678328490266-832" style="min-width: 100%; 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color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1675889527402-157" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675889527453-456" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672689230533-016" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="Farm Family Life Museum" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/5de12e95-8c90-469b-aabf-6432b061891e.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="559" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1672689213891-320" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1672689213939-796" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672688898378-443" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/dd865c52-3cec-4bfe-a174-b9935c3276ee.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-23985469758847245972023-03-09T15:57:00.000-05:002023-03-09T15:57:51.862-05:00WHY FARMER NUMBERS KEEP FALLING<p> </p><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-8198046536930925921scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-8198046536930925921layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_-8198046536930925921column m_-8198046536930925921scale m_-8198046536930925921stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-8198046536930925921image--mobile-scale m_-8198046536930925921image--mobile-center" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_-8198046536930925921image_container m_-8198046536930925921content-padding-horizontal" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" src="https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/2bzPRORdvAjXnzvtjs-ZaMjwvamjaAUj0Bj5AVMyJSEh10N-q4TAvbD-fGBhRg9-ezW3x9i82sqVs6fiAA6W6a2BTByaOWIygnoW3-K5LybOUJg9SrTo760hLl_o7vY9rztiMPZ6n0rKMGLoF9vV2hwx=s0-d-e1-ft#https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/bd6ecc0b-dc0d-470a-b202-1704283175ca.jpg?rdr=true" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-8198046536930925921layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_-8198046536930925921column m_-8198046536930925921scale m_-8198046536930925921stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-8198046536930925921text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_-8198046536930925921text_content-cell m_-8198046536930925921content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;">A scene from the first annual meeting of the Kentucky Burley & Dark Tobacco Producers Association which took place January 19 in Bowling Green.</span></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-8198046536930925921layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_-8198046536930925921column m_-8198046536930925921scale m_-8198046536930925921stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-8198046536930925921text" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="m_-8198046536930925921text_content-cell m_-8198046536930925921content-padding-horizontal" style="color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><br /><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The current grower base</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> for flue-cured tobacco in the United States is simply not sustainable, said </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">Jonathan Renn, a farmer near Winston-Salem, N.C., at the annual meeting of the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina. In a brutally candid “President’s Message” Renn, who is president of the association, said, “</span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Fewer farms growing more acres is not a healthy model for the industry. I am concerned by the large numbers of growers telling TGANC that they have already exited or will come to that determination very soon. Farm foreclosure and massive liquidation of tobacco-specific assets means retirement-aged growers are seeing accumulated net worth vanish. We call on all purchasers to help us reverse these issues and work with us to restore profitability to tobacco farmers.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Having said all that, Renn acknowledged</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> that there is some hope that the upcoming American crop may enjoy some rebound in market demand. “{Although} one company is reportedly making significant reductions in its [flue-cured] contracts, other information suggests planted acres could trend upward this season,” said Renn. But he said that this might be the right occurrence for the wrong reason. “We are convinced that this has more to do with the extremely limited current global inventories than anything else. What we need is real demand and multi-year contracts to offer longer-term stability.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"></span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">If U.S. flue growers are resigned</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> to grow less tobacco, that tobacco must provide increased returns, said Renn. “The guiding principle of all business is net margins. As growers, we are losing confidence and optimism in long-term sustainability. I know purchasers grow tired of our persistent advocacy to increase prices. But we are an industry in crisis and the only action that will save is to restore profitability. And that, my fellow growers, is always about price.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The problem of contraband: </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">The illicit trade in cigarettes accounts for a large proportion of the total cigarettes market, said Renn. “Whoever is making these non-compliant, not-taxed products isn’t shopping for leaf in places like Wilson, N.C. “If we’re going to preserve our domestic and export markets for the long-term, then governments around the world must crack down illicit trade before it becomes the leading cigarette seller in the world.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Looking for orders from China: </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">It would really help flue-cured growers if China would return to the American market on a substantial basis, said Renn. “TGANC has written directly to the Chinese on many occasions during the five years since to express our appreciation for past business and to encourage in every way that we know how for them to please return to our market,” said Renn. “We held discussions with their representatives this past October while they were here and having dialog with CST.” It is the sense of TGANC that China desires U.S. full-flavor leaf. “We understand CTI resumed purchases in the past season and even issued some direct contracts in 2022,” said Renn. “It is our hope to see them expand intentions in 2023 and beyond.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Tobacco Associates (TA)</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> will hold its 76th Annual Meeting on Thursday, March 2, 2023, at the Johnston County Agricultural Center, 2736 NC Hwy. 210, Smithfield, NC 27577. from</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> 10 a.m. till Noon. Speakers will include Mercedes Vázquez, CEO of the International Tobacco Growers Association, will report on global leaf markets and trends; Darryl Jayson, Senior VP/Chief Analytics Officer – TMA; Bobby Wellons, Agricultural Marketing Specialist – USDA/ AMS Cotton & Tobacco Programs; and Hank Mozingo, President of Tobacco Associates.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">UPCOMING GAP MEETINGS</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 7, 1 pm CST, Russellville, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Mon Mar 13, 6 pm CST, Glasgow, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 14, 9 am CST, Murray, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 14, 6 pm CST, Lafayette, TN.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 21, 9 am EST, Quarryville, PA.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Wed Mar 22, 9 am EST, New Holland, PA. </span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-8198046536930925921layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_-8198046536930925921column m_-8198046536930925921scale m_-8198046536930925921stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 9px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top" width="100%"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="height: 1px; 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width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_-8198046536930925921image_container m_-8198046536930925921content-padding-horizontal" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="CToWUd a6T" data-bit="iit" src="https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/KrSC9HhO9g3uvyiK0eZTX6ZAtNHXy2Dhiim79WJ0T9hhnuCG-CVTM1E7iTf5DAMSiubr25Wx2YdS3dpOb7y1h2S-6B0pSZJ5LWnUiqPzZuBLbEWqhvmqxlVY7dj3yW310TMGRdNW_ziIJFqIzLvHpIKD=s0-d-e1-ft#https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/4b3f7ba3-7b2a-4a2a-a739-23cb2767fc42.jpg?rdr=true" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px;" tabindex="0" width="560" /><span style="color: #888888;"></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #888888;"></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #888888;"></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #888888;"></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="color: #888888;"></span></td></tr><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-8198046536930925921scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 1156px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="m_-8198046536930925921layout" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="m_-8198046536930925921column m_-8198046536930925921scale m_-8198046536930925921stack" style="margin: 0px; width: 1156px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px;"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; table-layout: auto !important; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; width: 1156px;" valign="top" width="100%"><div align="center" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 16px 0px;" valign="top"></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-74418760511471489842023-02-10T21:20:00.000-05:002023-02-10T21:20:05.086-05:00THE STARS OF THE FARM SHOW: DISEASE-RESISTANT VARIETIES<p> </p><table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_panel-row" style="background-color: white; color: black; table-layout: fixed; text-align: center; 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font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="footer_container"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="footer-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; table-layout: auto !important; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="width: 792px;" valign="top" width="100%"><div align="center" class="footer-max-main-width" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="footer-layout" style="padding: 16px 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="footer-main-width" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 580px;"><tbody><tr class="" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-866"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 622px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 15px 10px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1675718601600-317" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675807034745-364" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672805621859-255" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/adeea44a-031f-48dc-a6b1-96fe5606c8ba.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1667509475816-618" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1667509475866-611" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 17px; font-style: italic;">A bunch of new to fairly-new flue-cured varieties are on the market, and many could help farmers in the battle to beat declining yields. At the Southern Farm Show, Paul Sodoma (right) of GoldLeaf Seeds told Adam Mitchell of Surry County, N.C., about GoldLeaf’s new variety GL 365.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">A strong market for seed: </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">Seed companies may have had the best experience among exhibitors at the show. It was if farmers still weren’t sure of what equipment they will need to grow this crop, but they were sure of what seed they wanted to plant. Among the comments from companies:</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Sam Baker of Cross Creek Seed said he approached the show with apprehension that farmers would be so pessimistic about this crop because of the increased cost of inputs that they would be reluctant to maintain their plantings. “But our farmers seem to be buying roughly the same amount of seed as last year,” he said. “Right now, we might be looking at flat acreage for 2023.” Cross Creek has a strong variety in CC 145. “It has good black shank and Granville wilt resistance and good yield and quality.”</li><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646;">Kimberly Foley said the farmers who visited the Foley Seed and Service exhibit showed a lot of optimism and were indeed quite cheerful about the upcoming crop. Foley’s new PVH 1920 variety might almost have been too much of a draw—supplies had sold out by the end of the first day of the show. But </span><span style="color: #222222;">more is coming in before the end of the sowing season.</span> PVH <span style="color: #464646;">1920, which was developed in partnership with Profigen, features very good resistance to Granville wilt and medium resistance to black shank. “We believe has a place all over the flue-cured-growing area but it will be best suited to the Eastern Belt of North Carolina,” said Foley.</span></li><li style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">GoldLeaf Seeds had a hot new variety of its own on display at the show. “GL 365 could be the ‘latest and greatest’ of the high-black-shank-resistant varieties currently coming on the market,” says Marion Hawkins III, president of GoldLeaf. “GL 365 is the second highest black shank resistance variety based on a three-year average in the North Carolina Official Variety Test with a 94% survival rate.”<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-167" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675043261816-752" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-580" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">In other news from the show,</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina held an economic panel discussion that covered the outlook in 2023 for the major tobacco types as part of its annual meeting:</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold;">FLUE-CURED</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">What’s causing flue-cured yields to slide?</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;"> Jonathan Renn, Surry County, N.C., farmer and president of the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C., told the association’s annual meeting that he identifies seven factors in the d</span><span style="font-size: 18px;">ownward trend in N.C. flue-cured yield. They are:</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Target spot--It is becoming quite prolific and can wreck yields by as much as 400 pounds per acre.</li><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Extended harvesting--We leave the crop in the field longer so that it is overripe at harvest, depleting yield.</li><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Dry leaf systems--By passing the cured leaf through tumblers and picking lines to remove NTRM, as much as 200 pounds per acre of such waste can be reduced. It used to be delivered to auction.</li><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Cultivation Practices--Many farmers have reduced nitrogen levels to achieve a particular type of finished cure. N makes weight, so we can expect some yield reduction. In addition, less MH is being applied, and that too has an effect on tonnage.</li><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Weather--This factor is beyond our control. But certainly weather accounts for 10% or greater in crop impact on a typical season and when we experienced major weather events it can be much greater. For example, we recorded Hurricane Ian in 2022 as well as early October frost. Weather easily diminished the crop by 20 million pounds.</li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold;">BURLEY</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The quality of 2022 burley</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;"> in the U.S. turned out slightly better than expected, according to buyers, "but it was still sub-par,” says Will Snell, Kentucky Extension ag economist. “Prices will end up higher, but profitability will be lower given lower yields and inflated input prices.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Adequate supplies of burley</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;"> have been accessible to tobacco companies in recent years. That is in part because of a shrinking market composed of ample lower-priced leaf alternatives and the introduction of many new “nicotine” products that contain limited or no tobacco leaf.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">But burley supplies </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">in the world market are extremely tight relative to anticipated demand, Snell says. “So I would anticipate that burley buyers will be offering the remaining growers an opportunity to increase their burley pounds in 2023 to accommodate tight inventories.” This could happen even as the decline in domestic cigarette volume accelerates and burley leaf exports plummet to negligible levels.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Contract pricing for 2023 burley</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;"> will be crucial for production. “Frankly, without significant price increases across the board for the 2023 crop, I would expect a continued rapid exit of burley growers,” says Snell</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 24px;">. </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">A continued attrition</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;"> among growers is likely this year. The last official count from the 2017 Ag Census indicated that around 2,600 farms were growing tobacco in Kentucky in 2017. “I would anticipate this number will hover around 1,000 farms when the 2022 Census data becomes available,” he says. “Less than 1,000 farms will likely remain in the industry in 2023.”</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold;">DARK & WRAPPER</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The outlook for dark </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">has changed abruptly, and not for the better, says Snell. Smokeless tobacco product sale volumes continue to grow, but after many years of good sales, traditional snuff product sales have been significantly affected by the rapid expansion of alternative smokeless products…which do not contain dark tobacco leaf.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Consequently, contract volumes </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">for dark fire-cured</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">for 2023 may be lowered to as manufacturers adjust inventory levels. “[This] may cause growers to consider cigar-style tobaccos as a viable substitute,” says Snell.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">ASSOCIATION HONORS</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #464646; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"></span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Awards for 2023: </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">TGANC conferred a number of awards again this year. They were: </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">Outstanding Director—</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">David Hinnant, Wilson County. </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">Farm Family of the Year—</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">Stuart Pierce Farms, Hertford County. </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">North Carolina Lifetime Century Member—</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">Rick Smith, Wilson, </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">Distinguished Service Award—</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">David Zimmerman, President, Southern Farm Show. </span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">Extension Service Award—</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 18px;">Ramsey Lewis, NCSU tobacco breeder.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">Watch for more reporting on the Southern Farm Show in the next issue of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">DATES TO REMEMBER</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">GAP TRAINING MEETINGS, FEBRUARY AND MARCH</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">For more information, call GAP at 865.622.4606 or contact your local Extension office. All meetings are in English. No charge.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Thu Feb 9, 9 is EST, Yadkinville, N.C.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Thu Feb 9, 6 pm CST, Cadiz, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Mon Feb 13, 4:30 pm CST, Franklin, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Feb 14, 2 pm CST, Mayfield, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Feb 14, 5 pm EST, Abingdon, VA.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Feb 21, 10 am CST, Hartsville, TN.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Wed Feb 22, 10 am CST, Hopkinsville, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Thu Feb 23, 10 am EST, Mt Sterling, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Mon Feb 27, 6 pm EST, Madison, IN.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Feb 28, 9 am EST, Shelbyville, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Feb 28, 6 pm EST, Cynthiana, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Wed Mar 1, 9 am EST, Seaman, OH.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Wed Mar 1, 6 pm EST, Maysville, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Thu Mar 2, 6 pm EST, Lancaster, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Fri Mar 3, 10 am CST, Hardinsburg, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 7, 1 pm CST, Russellville, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Mon Mar 13, 6 pm CST, Glasgow, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; 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font-size: 12px; padding: 4px 0px;" valign="top"><a href="https://app.constantcontact.com/pages/campaigns/email-details/details/activity/d19ebb62-3917-40b9-bac0-6be4f75f3b97#" style="color: #5d5d5d;">Update Profile</a> | <a class="footer-about-provider" href="https://www.constantcontact.com/legal/customer-contact-data-notice" style="color: #5d5d5d;" target="_blank">Constant Contact Data Notice</a></td></tr><tr><td align="center" class="footer-text" style="color: #5d5d5d; font-size: 12px; padding: 4px 0px;" valign="top">Sent by <a href="mailto:chrisbickers@gmail.com" style="color: #5d5d5d; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">chrisbickers@gmail.com</a> <span class="footer-column">powered by</span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr></tr></tbody></table><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-28975885854527753502023-02-04T23:12:00.000-05:002023-02-04T23:12:25.523-05:00SHOW TIME APPROACHES<table bgcolor="#FFFFFF" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_panel-row" style="background-color: white; 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width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/51050b9a-1eef-43cf-9588-009a32dc53e2.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1667509475816-618" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1667509475866-611" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">The Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina will hold its annual meeting for 2023 on the last day of the Southern Farm Show, as it did last year (above).</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-167" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1675043261816-752" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-580" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The Southern Farm Show</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> is back in Raleigh this week with as much up to date tobacco equipment and supplies as you are likely to see anywhere. Sad to say, there has been still more attrition among the exhibitors since the 2022 Show. But those who are coming look like good ones. Below is list of exhibitors who are seeking the business of tobacco farmers (derived from the Southern Farm Show website).</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> The Show</span><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">will take place February 1 through February 3 at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, starting at 9 a.m. each day. Admission and parking are free. And at the end of the three days, plan on attending the Commissioner's </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Breakfast</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> at 8 am and the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina meeting at 10 am, both in the </span><span style="color: #251b07; font-size: 18px;">Holshouser Building, both on Friday</span><span style="font-size: 18px;">.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #190000; font-family: "Arial Black", Gadget, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">SOUTHERN FARM SHOW EXHIBITS OF </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #190000; font-family: "Arial Black", Gadget, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-style: italic;">SPECIAL INTEREST TO TOBACCO FARMERS</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Palatino LT STD", Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">Jim Graham Bldg.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: black; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">222 Evans Mactavish Agricraft.</li><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">227 Kelley Mfg. Co. Agricultural equipment. </li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">302 Hardee by EVH Manufacturing Co. Sprayers. </li><li style="color: black; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">704 @8720 Agri Supply. Agricultural materials.</li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">Kerr Scott Bldg. </span></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">1002 TriEst Ag Group. Fumigation supplies. </li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">1104 GoldLeaf Seed Co. Tobacco seed.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">1107 Flue Cured Tobacco Services. Curing controls.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">1015 Yara North America. Fertility products.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">1116 Cross Creek Seed. Tobacco seed.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">1120 BeltWide Inc. Transplant technology. </li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">1201 Carolina Greenhouse & Soil Company.</li><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #190000;">1202 Reddick Equipment Company Inc. </span><span style="color: #3c3a3a;">Spray equipment. </span></li><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #190000;">1213 H&H Farm Machinery. </span><span style="color: #3c3a3a;">“Building sprayers your way since 1978</span><span style="color: #190000;">.”</span></li><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3c3a3a;">1306 Foley Seed and Service.</span><span style="color: black;"> a family owned tobacco seed</span> company.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">1311 Transplant Systems. Greenhouse systems.</li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 22px;"> </span><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">Exposition Bldg.</span></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">3127 (& 8609) Benchmark Buildings & Irrigation. Trans-planters/irrigation.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">3135 Southern Container Corporation of Wilson. Bale sheets and packaging. </li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">3306 Tobacco Growers Association of N.C.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">3311 Flame Engineering. Weed control with flame.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">3520 First Products Inc. Fertilizer boxes.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">3605 MarCo Mfg. Tobacco machinery.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">3712 Suretrol Manufacturing. Curing Control. </li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">Scott Tent</span></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">1315 Drexel Chemical Company. Sucker control chemicals.</li><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #190000;">7034 (&8012) Coastal AgroBusiness. A</span><span style="color: #3c3a3a; font-weight: bold;"> f</span><span style="color: #3c3a3a;">ull-service agricultural solutions provider.</span></li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold;">Outdoors</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">8204 EquipAg. Tobacco spray equipment. </li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">8217 Granville Equipment. Tobacco and Hemp Machinery. </li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">8301 De Cloet SRL. Tobacco machinery.</li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">8516 Mobilift of Burlington, N.C. Forklift sales and service. </li><li style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">227 Kelley Mfg. Co. Agricultural equipment.</li></ul><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">In other tobacco news:</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The new Kentucky Burley & Dark Tobacco Producers Assn. </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">got off to a strong start when it held its first annual meeting in Bowling Green, Ky., on January 19. Just short of 100 growers and others gathered at the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">University Plaza Holiday Inn </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">in Bowling Green, Ky., to track a course for the future of burley and dark. The discussion was fruitful. Executive vice president Joe Cain said he sensed</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> a definite “atmosphere of hope” for the future among the farmers he talked to at the meeting. “Of course, some weren’t as positive as others</span><span style="font-size: 18px;">."</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Where the association must go--</span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Al Pedigo of Scottsville, who was elected president at the meeting, said, “The new association is all about bringing producers together to strengthen our efforts to improve the long-term viability and profitability of the tobacco industry for all tobacco producers. We want to do this by banding together to address the critical issues we are facing.” All this is admittedly a tall order. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">Some of the most important short-term challenges in Kentucky are high input costs, scarce and expensive labor and contracts that need to be written earlier to allow better plan better planning, said Cain.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">See you next January. T</span><span style="font-size: 18px;">he association’s plan now is to hold its next annual meeting in late January of 2024, probably again in Bowling Green.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Officers</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> of the Burley and Dark Tobacco Producer Association for 2023 are: Al Pedigo, Scottsville, chairman; Darrell Varner, Versailles, vice chairman; </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">Penny Greathouse, Midway, secretary; and Jason Wade, Springfield, treasurer.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">What to do if you can’t find Admire Pro? </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">Supplies of the insecticide Admire Pro are reportedly coming up short. But there are some alternatives, says </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">Matthew Vann, </span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 18px;">N.C. Extension tobacco specialist.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> “Consider generic imidacloprid products, or materials with other active ingredients, like Platinum, Durivo and Verimark.”</span><span style="color: #263238; font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">The biggest thing, says Vann, is that “growers need to look at the product labels and understand what the appropriate application rates are for each product. There is variation.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">It appears that Telone II </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">will be hard to get too. “The major alternative to Telone II will be materials based on chloropicrin (Pic Plus, Pic 100, etc.),” We've been told there's an ample supply of chloropicrin this year.” Telone II (1,3-D soil fumigant) is one of the major nematicides that’s applied in advance of transplanting.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">UPCOMING EVENTS</span></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Breakfast with the Commissioner,</span> Friday, February 3, <span style="color: #251b07;">Holshouser Building, N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh N.C. Tickets available for $35 each </span>at <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/18th-annual-breakfast-with-the-commissioner-tickets-465942104377" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">www.eventbrite.come/18th-annual-breakfast-with-the-commissioner-tickets-4659 42104377</a>. For more information, call the<span style="color: black;"> Tobacco Farm Life Museum at 919-284-3431.</span></li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="color: #3c3a3a; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina</span> annual meeting, 10 a.m., Friday, February 3, Holshouser Building at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.</li></ul><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">GAP TRAINING MEETINGS, FEBRUARY AND MARCH</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">For more information, call GAP at 865.622.4606 or contact your local Extension office. All meetings are in English. No charge.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #190000; font-family: "Book Antiqua", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Palatino LT STD", Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://shop.gapconnections.com/training/event?id=4174" style="font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">GAP</a><span style="font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> TRAINING MEETING DATES</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Wed Feb 1, 9 am EST, New Bern, N.C.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Fri Feb 3, 1:30pm EST, Raleigh, N.C.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Mon Feb 6, 9 am CST, Dixon, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Feb 7, 8 am CST, Springfield, TN.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Wed Feb 8, 9 am CST, Dover, TN.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o </span><a href="https://shop.gapconnections.com/training/event?id=4185" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size: 18px;">Thu Feb 9, 9 is CST, Owensboro, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Thu Feb 9, 9 is EST, Yadkinville, N.C.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Thu Feb 9, 6pm CST, Cadiz, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o </span><a href="https://shop.gapconnections.com/training/event?id=4187" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size: 18px;">Mon Feb 13, 4:30pm CST, Franklin, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o </span><a href="https://shop.gapconnections.com/training/event?id=4178" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size: 18px;">Tue Feb 14, 2pm CST, Mayfield, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o </span><a href="https://shop.gapconnections.com/training/event?id=4199" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size: 18px;">Tue Feb 14, 5pm EST, Abingdon, VA.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Feb 21, 10 am CST, Hartsville, TN.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Wed Feb 22, 10 am CST, Hopkinsville, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o </span><a href="https://shop.gapconnections.com/training/event?id=4190" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size: 18px;">Thu Feb 23, 10 am EST, Mt Sterling, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Mon Feb 27, 6 pm EST, Madison, IN.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Feb 28, 9 am EST, Shelbyville, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Feb 28, 6 pm EST, Cynthiana, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Wed Mar 1, 9 am EST, Seaman, OH.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Wed Mar 1, 6 pm EST, Maysville, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Thu Mar 2, 6 pm EST, Lancaster, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o </span><a href="https://shop.gapconnections.com/training/event?id=4169" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size: 18px;">Fri Mar 3, 10 am CST, Hardinsburg, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o </span><a href="https://shop.gapconnections.com/training/event?id=4198" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size: 18px;">Tue Mar 7, 1 pm CST, Russellville, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Mon Mar 13, 6 pm CST, Glasgow, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 14, 9 am CST, Murray, KY.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 14, 6pm CST, Lafayette, TN.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o Tue Mar 21, 9 am EST, Quarryville, PA.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">o </span><a href="https://shop.gapconnections.com/training/event?id=4196" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size: 18px;">Wed Mar 22, 9 am EST, New Holland, PA. </span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-566" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-461" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1672109822818-789" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1672110719799-544" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-971" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container" style="padding-bottom: 10px; padding-top: 10px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/dd865c52-3cec-4bfe-a174-b9935c3276ee.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="582" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1663874776284-405" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1663874776319-315" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1672110036433-670" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: bold;">VISIT OUR EXHIBIT AT THE SOUTHERN FARM SHOW, SPACE 1015.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: bold;"></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1672689213891-320" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1672689213939-796" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672689230533-016" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="Farm Family Life Museum" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/5de12e95-8c90-469b-aabf-6432b061891e.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="559" /></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672688898378-443" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/780adea1-78a7-4437-8016-4b7037869362.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr data-cpeid="w-1662248648178-971"><td align="center" class="shell_panel-cell shell_panel-cell--systemFooter" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_width-row scale" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 792px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="shell_width-cell" style="padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="shell_content-row" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="shell_content-cell" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 115, 0); padding: 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-423" style="min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-612" style="width: 792px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="footer" data-cpeid="w-1662248648177-166" style="color: #5d5d5d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="footer_container"><table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="footer-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; table-layout: auto !important; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="width: 792px;" valign="top" width="100%"><div align="center" class="footer-max-main-width" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 100%;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="footer-layout" style="padding: 16px 0px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="footer-main-width" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 580px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="footer-text" style="color: #5d5d5d; font-size: 12px; padding: 4px 0px;" valign="top"><span class="footer-column">Bickers Editing Service<span class="footer-mobile-hidden"> | </span></span><span class="footer-column">903-9 Shellbrook C</span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-771382452024419843.post-45702608481234848912023-01-26T14:11:00.002-05:002023-01-29T22:29:30.388-05:00A NEW GROWER ASSOCIATION IS BORN IN KENTUCKY<p> </p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1672805621729-679" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1672805621797-774" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="image image--padding-vertical image--mobile-scale image--mobile-center" data-cpeid="w-1672805621859-255" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="image_container content-padding-horizontal" style="padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><img alt="" class="image_content" data-image-content="" src="https://files.constantcontact.com/00fa69d3101/3761ac28-7519-42a2-964e-57a4b3df976e.jpg?rdr=true" style="display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="560" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1667509475816-618" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1667509475866-611" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-745" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic;">The Holiday Inn University Plaza in Bowling Green, KY where the first annual meeting of the new growers association will be held January 19.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-167" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1671681674464-468" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="text text--padding-vertical" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-580" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" class="text_content-cell content-padding-horizontal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #403f42; display: block; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.2; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 10px 20px;" valign="top"><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The first annual meeting</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> of the Kentucky Burley & Dark Tobacco Producer Association will be held at the Holiday Inn University Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Bowling Green, KY on January 19. This will be a joint meeting with the Council for Burley Tobacco, and it will be held in conjunction with the KY Commodity Conference. There is no fee to attend, but you should reserve a seat at lunch. Email K</span><a href="mailto:KYTobaccoGrowers@outlook.com" style="color: #48a199; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">YTobaccoGrowers@ outlook.com</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">What you will find in Bowling Green: </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">A program designed to help tobacco growers take control of their</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> future. It will begin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning with presentations by Will Snell, Ky. Extension ag economist, and </span><span style="color: #190000; font-size: 18px;">Daniel Green, chief executive officer of Burley Stabilization Corporation on the current tobacco economy. Andy Bailey and Robert Pearce, both Kentucky Extension agronomists, will catch you up on research that can make a difference on your farm. There will be talks on GAP Connections and Federal Crop insurance, among other subjects, and the program will conclude a discussion by a farmer panel made up of Graham Boyd, executive VP, and Jonathan Renn, president, of the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina; Darrell Varner, president, of the Council For Burley Tobacco, and Al Pedigo, president of the Burley and Dark Producer Association. Adjournment should take place at 3.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The Annual Breakfast with the Commissioner</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> will be held on Friday, February 3, </span><span style="color: #251b07; font-size: 18px;">in the Holshouser Building at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh NC during the Southern Farm Show. </span><span style="color: #251b07; font-size: 18px;">Tickets can be purchased for $35 each </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">at </span><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/18th-annual-breakfast-with-the-commissioner-tickets-465942104377" style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">www.eventbrite.com/e/18th-annual-breakfast-with-the-commissioner-tickets-465942104377</a><span style="font-size: 18px;">. Cal</span><span style="font-size: 18px;">l </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;">Michael </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;">Rhodes, Executive Director, Tobacco Farm Life Museum, at 919-284-3431.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3c3a3a; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina</span><span style="color: #3c3a3a; font-size: 18px;"> will hold its 2023 annual meeting at 10 a.m. Friday, February 3, in conjunction with the Southern Farm Show. The venue will be the Holshouser Building</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. It will end with lunch around 12. There is no charge, and registration is not required.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The Southern Farm Show </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">will take place February 1 through February 3 at the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, starting at 9 a.m. each day. Admission is free. A list of tobacco-related exhibitors will appear in in the next TFN issue.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">In other tobacco news:</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Some products are short already</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">, according to the N.C. Extension tobacco team. Of most concern:</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">·</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> Admire Pro (imidacloprid), a key insecticide for early season flea beetle, aphid and thrips suppression as well as suppression of tomato spotted wilt virus.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">· </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> Telone II (1,3-D soil fumigant), one of the major nematicides that’s applied in advance of transplanting.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">There are alternatives to both. Watch this space for suggestions in the next issue of </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;">Tobacco Farmer Newsletter</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;">.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">The problem may get bigger.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> “Supply chain issues continue to plague us. The downstream ramifications have a lot folks worried about cost.”</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Tight burley supplies</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> made for a promising season one year ago, but declining margins and unfavorable weather led to lower production again, says Will Snell, University of Kentucky agricultural economist. The value of Kentucky’s tobacco crop in 2022 may end up at around $250 million.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">A sign of the times:</span><span style="font-size: 18px;"> Dark tobacco may prove to have accounted for half or more of the total value of Kentucky’s tobacco crop last year. “Dark tobacco continues to benefit from stable smokeless tobacco sales coupled with virtually non-existent foreign competition,” says Snell.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">A better price, please! </span><span style="font-size: 18px;">say Brazilians. The Brazilian tobacco growers association (AFUBRA) are in price negotiations this week, and they are determined that their price should go up. Benício Werner, president of AFUBRA, said before the price meeting, “What we hear from the main market researchers is that…it will still be a year of demand (in 2033). We are noticing that instead of having a 1% to 3% drop in consumption, the drop (in 2022) was only 0.2%, indicating that cigarette factories will need more tobacco.” In addition, the good quality of the production ought to be reflected in better prices. “Most (of our) farmers are producing the quality tobacco that the international market is asking for. We need to observe this because a country that exports 85% of its tobacco must be concerned” with quality.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">GAP TRAINING MEETINGS IN JANUARY.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">For more information, call GAP at 865.622.4606 or contact your local Extension office. All meetings are in English. No charge.</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"> </span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;">Tue, Jan 24, 9 am EST. Williamston, NC</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;">Wed., Jan 25, 9 am EST. Louisburg, NC</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;">Thu. Jan 26, 9 am EST. Greenville, NC</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;">Mon. Jan 30, 9 am EST. Lillington, NC</span></p><p align="justify" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 18px;">Tue. Jan 31, 9 am EST. Goldsboro, NC</span><span style="font-size: 24px; font-style: italic;"> </span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="layout layout--1-column" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-566" style="color: black; min-width: 100%; table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="column column--1 scale stack" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-461" style="width: 600px;" valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="divider" data-cpeid="w-1662248648176-931" style="table-layout: fixed; width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" class="divider_container" style="padding-bottom: 9px; padding-top: 9px;" valign="top" width="100%"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="divider_content-row" style="height: 1px; table-layout: fixed; width: 588px;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#006900" class="divider_content-cell" height="1" style="background-color: #006900; border-bottom-width: 0px; height: 1px; line-height: 1px; padding-bottom: 30px;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" src="https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/letters/images/1101116784221/S.gif" style="display: block; height: 1px; width: 5px;" vspace="0" width="5" /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Chris Bickershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13320664566039798090noreply@blogger.com0