Tobacco Farmer Newsletter: PLANTING BEGINS, SEEDING CONTINUES


A South Georgia farmer preps his land for planting. (File photo).

Setting kicks off: One flue-cured grower in Florida began setting plants Wednesday and another started today, says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. "They're happy with the quality of the plants and are looking forward to continuing to plant through the weekend and next week." In Georgia, soil conditions are improving with some growers applying Telone II now, he says. "Some transplanting will be starting in two weeks in Georgia."

Flue-cured contracting in North Carolina is not finished yet, and this is creating quite a quandary for growers who must hold back on seeding some greenhouses even though seeding is well under way. Most of the uncertainty seems to be coming from the export market. The two major domestic companies--Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds--reportedly were contracting actively at the beginning of the year and may in fact have finished contracting by now. Their contracted acreage is believed to be slightly higher than 2019 . But there is no clear message from leaf dealers.

Much of N.C.'s crop was seeded at the end of February, which is normal, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Exten-sion tobacco specialist. "We've had a really good season so far. We might get some set out by the first week of April. That would be in the southeastern part of the state. Unless we get a cold snap or it gets really wet, we should have a good crop of plants to take to the field."

The search to cut costs: For Butch Glasscock, a flue-cured grower in Amelia Court House Va., west of Richmond, there is only one place he can cut costs in 2020. "That's labor. We are going to try to go with four workers this season instead of five," he says. "That's my plan anyway." Glascock harvests by hand, but mechanization isn't an option because of his scale of operation: He had 50 acres last year and hopes to plant at least that much this season.

End of an era for dark? The dark tobacco sector of the U.S. leaf industry is taking a hit as a result of declining smokeless tobacco sales. This development follows more than two decades of sales growth, said Will Snell, Kentucky Extension tobacco economist, in the Kentucky Agricultural Economic Situation and Outlook. How much has it fallen? USDA estimated that production of the three dark types grown in the U.S. fell nearly 18 percent from 2018 (85 million pounds) to 2019 (70 million pounds).

Profit margins in Kentucky continue to be squeezed by higher labor costs coupled with limited yield gains and stagnant leaf prices, resulting in continued concentration of growers, said Snell. Despite lower production, leaf prices are not expected to change much from last year's levels, given contract price levels and some curing quality issues for burley, he said. "Overall, Kentucky tobacco cash receipts will likely fall below $300 million for 2019, compared to averaging $356 million over the past five years." Lower tobacco production may move the sector to more balanced supply/demand levels this year, he said. "[That] may result in fairly stable contract volumes for the coming year," he said.


	Inman

A new tobacco specialist in South Carolina: Matt Inman has been named Clemson Extension tobacco specialist. He has served as Extension Associate in tobacco at N.C. State University for five years and earned a PhD there. He is stationed at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center at Florence. South Carolina has been without a state tobacco specialist since the passing of Dewitt Gooden in 2015.

OVERSEAS REPORT

13 percent shortfall in Zimbabwe: Flue-cured production in Zimbabwe was projected in an early February estimate to be down 13 percent from the record high production in 2019. This crop has suffered from extremely hot weather. "The earliest estimate of the crop is approximately 225 kilogrammes (about 500 million pounds)," Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chairperson Patrick Devenish told the ZimEye news organization. "Although the irrigated crop is very good in quality, the dryland crop suffered the effects of drought and also the planting season began late because of the late onset of the rainy season. The irrigated crop is of very good quality and the dry land crop--not all of it but quite a lot of it--is suffering as a result of drought. It needs a bit of rain." The auction market had been expected to open in mid March but has been delayed because of the lateness of the crop.

GAP TRAINING MEETINGS THRU MID MARCH

Mar 16, 6 pm, Lafayette, TN

Mar 23, 9 am. Turbotville, PA

Mar 24, 9 am. New Holland, PA

Mar 24, 1 pm. New Holland, PAMar 25, 9 am. Quarryville, PA

Mar 25, 1 pm. Quarryville, PA

Mar 25, 6 pm. Scottsville, KY

Mar 26, 9 am. Quarryville, PA

Mar 26, 1 pm. Quarryville, PA

Mar 26, 6 pm. Sharpsburg, KY

Mar 27, 9 am. Mechanicsville, MD

Mar 27, 10 am. Lexington, KY