EARLY JULY TOBACCO HIGHLIGHTS: FIRST HARVEST, FIRST HURRICANE

Harvest has begun in Florida and Georgia, like in this south Georgia field just before Hurricane Elsa arrived. Photo by J.M. Moore. Special Report: An unexpected market for used flue-cured barns has emerged. Because of new government regulations, the Mid East country of Turkey must now produce any flue-cured or burley it needs, though they now have no equipment. They need to ac-quire bulk barns quick, and they like the ones they have seen here in America. They want to buy barns—preferably used—from Am-erican farmers. If you are interested, get details from the open letter from the Turkish leaf dealer Star Agritech International at the end of this column. FLUE-CURED Georgia/Florida: Harvest has begun in the Deep South and should be going full blast in two or three weeks, says J. Michael Moore, Extension tobacco specialist for the two states. It's a beautiful crop, he says. "We have had an excellent growing season, and we have the opportunity for good yields." But there is an obstacle: The first hurricane of the season. Hurricane Elsa may reach the Florida and Georgia tobacco growing counties by Tuesday and/or Wednesday, says Moore. “Tobacco which has not already received a full chemical sucker control program may benefit from an application of flumetralin (Prime+, Flupro, Drexalin Plus) alone prior to the storm to hold sucker growth until the remain- ing applications of contacts.” MH can be applied when weather condi- tions are better, he adds. South Carolina: The crop (all flue-cured) looked good at the beginning of July. “A few farmers have started harvesting this week,” says Matthew Inman, South Carolina tobacco Extension specialist. “It was generally where they got good rains early.” At least half the crop has been topped, he adds. North Carolina: An opposing opinion on the condition of the Eastern Belt crop--A flue-cured grower near Wilson, N.C., thinks TFN painted too rosy a picture in the last issue about the crop in that area. “We have a sorry crop of tobacco, the worst that has ever been in eastern North Carolina. It is at least 25 percent short. We got too much rain.”   Virginia: A "Million Dollar Rain" fell over most of the flue-cured growing area on the night of July 1 and 2, says David Reed, Virginia Extension tobacco specialist. "I call it million dollar because some tob-acco in areas like Pitt, Halifax, and Charlotte counties were very dry. But now the crop there should pick up"...Connecticut broadleaf con-tinues to be a viable type in Virginia. "We have about 200 acres," says Reed. It's no fluke, he says. "Our soils are well suited to the type. The best results seem to come on farms where Virginia dark fire-cured has been grown." BURLEY & DARK Tennessee: The crop is varied. Some is suffering—in some cases badly—from too much rain in the early season followed by dry weather, the later set burley seems to be doing well says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. “But generally the crop is off to a good start.” He noted that tobacco at the Greeneville research center looks very good…Much of the Connecticut broadleaf in the state will be topped next week, he says. Kentucky; Transplanting of the dark types ended in the week just ended, says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. There was quite a bit of resetting because of earlier unfavorable weather. Some has already been irrigated once. Burley had been 94 percent set by June 27, according to USDA, and it was expected to be 100 percent by now except perhaps for some stragglers …The Connecticut broadleaf crop in Kentucky has been planted…The still relatively new wrapper type Pennsylvania 41 continues expansion in the Black Patch. “We have gone from around 100 acres to 500 acres in three years,” says Bailey. Much is grown by Amish and Mennonites, some of whom grew it before in Pennsylvania. Virginia: Dark setting was completed this past week, and all but stragglers among burley growers appear to be finished too. Pennsylvania: Blue mold has been found in burley fields near Oxford, Chester County. No word if farmers are treating for it yet. TOBACCO EVENTS SUMMER 2021 A Tobacco Field Day will be held in North Carolina July 21 at the research station in Oxford, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. For more information, contact mcvann@ ncsu.edu. A field day will be held on July 25 displaying the tobacco research at the Southern Piedmont Center, 2375 Darvills Rd., Blackstone VA. It will go from 9 a.m. to lunch. The Kentucky Corn, Soybean, and Tobacco Field Day will be held July 27, at the University of Kentucky Research Center, in Princeton, Ky., 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  Kentucky’s Dark Tobacco Twilight Tour will be held August 12 at 5:30 p.m. on the West Farm of Murray State University, 615.Robertson Road No., Murray, Ky.   AN OPEN LETTER TO USA TOBACCO FARMERS From Star Agritech International Dear Farmers, Star Agritech International is a leading Tobacco supplier in the world and has a worldwide presence with an office on every continent. Our HQ is located in Istanbul, Turkey. Currently we are partnering with Turkish farmers to grow the Flue-Cured Virginia Tobaccos (FCV) and Burley type Tobaccos in Turkey. Currently, the Turkish FCV crop is negligible, however we believe we can increase the quality and yield of the Turkish FCV crop over several seasons. Our project begins with the 2022 growing season starting in March. e are interested to acquire used but in good operating condition:  FCV Curing Barns Capacity 8 to 10 Tons fired by natural gas. Quantity is 50 barns over the period 2022 to 2024.  Two-wheel Drive and Four-wheel Drive Tractors.  Motorized Farm implements. In that regard, we are publishing this open letter to request Farmers who are interested to sell us their old farming tools and equipment. If you have tools and equipment that you would like to sell, please feel free to contact us at info@staragritech.com. Once commercial terms have been agreed, Star will acquire the equipment Ex-Farm and will be responsible for dismantling, packing and export procedures. We thank you for your consideration and hope it will lead to a fruitful cooperation between the Farmers and Star Agritech International. Sincerely,  Star Agritech International

LATE JUNE CROP REPORT: CROP COMES BACK STRONG

 

Mountainous achievement: The weather this spring was unfavorable for transplanting in much of the Tobacco Belt. Burley growers in the Appalachian mountains--like this crew near Marshall, N.C.--still had some planting to do near the end of June. File photo by Chris Bickers.   FLUE-CURED Since the rains began, flue-cured in N.C. has come back strong. Now, it might help if the precipitation pulled back. “We have had a tremendous amount of rain in eastern N.C.,” says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “Most farmers there have had up to 10 inches in June, and some have had more than 20 inches. We may be heading for a new record for precipitation in June in this state.” The rain has been spottier in the Piedmont, but that region has had more than enough too. The crop is beautiful in the East and strong in the Piedmont, says Vann. But how much will it weigh? “Because of a transplant shortage in the spring and the water damage that we are facing, we have likely suffered some yield loss.” Georgia: Tropical Storm Claudette brought rainfall and winds that helped improve conditions—48 percent of the crop had been topped by June 20, according to USDA.   South Carolina: Farmers from the Pee Dee region reported wet fields that hampered field work, including fungicide application. USDA estimated that 19 percent of the crop had been topped.   Virginia: Plantings in the Old Dominion were estimated by USDA at 95 percent complete for flue-cured.   BURLEY & DARK   Kentucky: Tobacco condition is mostly good with 89 percent of the crop set, says USDA…In Allen County, Ky., near Bowling Green, virtually all of this crop (all burley) had been planted by June 10, reports Kristi Gassaway, county executive director of FSA for Allen and Monroe Counties. It amounts to a little over 800 acres grown by 25 growers. That is about the same as in 2020. In neighboring Monroe County as of that date, between 35 and 40 percent had been planted. Approximately 2,821 acres of were expected to be planted, by 42 growers, same as in 2020.   North Carolina: USDA projected that 69 percent of the small N.C. burley crop had been transplanted by June 20. But an agronomist in the state said that figure was too low. He expected all plantings to be complete by June 30. Almost all the state’s burley is grown in the mountains of the west, and this area did not get the continuous rain that the eastern part of the state received in June.   Virginia: About eight percent of the burley crop remained to be planted as of June 20, according to USDA. Plantings of the small dark fire-cured crop were completed that week.    Tennessee: Plantings are nearly 100 percent complete, says Mitchell Richmond, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. “We will finish this week.” The late-planted burley looks a little better than the early-planted. There are no significant disease problems to this point. “There is a little tomato spotted wilt, and also some black shank, about what we would expect.” Where burley didn’t get too much rain, it is looking good so far.”   Connecticut broadleaf: Tennessee farmers continue to experiment with Connecticut broadleaf. “There is a good crop again this year though probably not as much as the thousand acres we had last year,” says Richmond. “We are still having growing pains with this type.” Most of the growers are in middle Tennessee but a few are growing it in east Tennessee and appear to be doing fairly well…The new type is slowly making its entry into N.C. also. “If I had to guess, I would guess we have 25 to 30 acres,” says Vann. “We might have 25 growers cultivating small plots of an acre or a little more.” That’s slightly more than last year, he thinks. There is a cluster of farmers growing Connecticut near Laurel Springs in Alleghany County (bordering Virginia) and most of the rest of the farmers are located east of Alleghany along the Virginia line   CANADA: The majority of the crop was planted in May, though some planting extended into early June, according to the The Canadian Tobacco Research Foundation. Most crops appear to be off to a good start, and cultivation is now occurring. Not many problems have been reported in fields yet except for a few reports of nematode and chill injury. There have been reports of blue mold occurrence on tobacco from the United States, where the disease has been recently reported in Pennsylvania. There have been no reports yet of blue mold in Ontario, where almost all of Canada’s tobacco is produced, and in fact the disease has not occurred in the province since 2009. However, growers are advised to routinely scout fields and any leftover plants in the greenhouse for signs of blue mold.   TOBACCO EVENTS SUMMER 2021 A Tobacco Field Day will be held in North Carolina July 21 at the research sta-tion in Oxford, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. For more information, contact mcvann@ ncsu.edu. The Kentucky Corn, Soybean, and Tobacco Field Day will be held July 27, at the University of Kentucky Research Center, in Princeton, Ky., 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. NOTE: Kentucky’s Dark Tobacco Twilight Tour will be held August 12 at 5:30 p.m. on the West Farm of Murray State University, 615.Robertson Road No., Murray, Ky. Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care B

Transplanting in Kentucky was about half complete at the beginning of June, according to USDA. File photo courtesy of BTGCA.

JUNE CROP REPORT

THE DROUGHT IS BROKEN--FOR NOW

FLUE-CURED

North Carolina: It finally started raining in North Carolina on Wednesday, with parts of the state getting four inches or more. There are some pockets in the Eastern Belt that had rain that would be classified as excess, as much as eight inches in some cases. Raleigh got a relatively light 2.5 inches, which was still more than it got in the whole month of May. Ironically, farmers in the hard hit areas are cutting ditches and draining fields, which is the polar opposite of what they were doing a week ago. On the other hand, some areas—around Winston-Salem for one—got no rain at all this week and are listed as in a severe drought…Vann notes that night-time temperatures finally got above 65 degrees last week which will be a great boon to plants.

 

South Carolina: The Pee Dee, the state’s leading tobacco area, got some rain last week to help with the drought that has been developing. “In most places, we got a half to one inch of rain this past week,” says Matthew Inman, South Carolina tobacco Extension specialist. “That was a welcomed relief because temperatures had been in the mid-upper 90s for several days.” There are no significant problems in the field so far, he says, just a little tomato spotted wilt with the normal disease issues starting to show up in some places. Some fields have suffered from sunscald due to the high temps and drought. Tobacco roots definitely got stressed this spring. “That may prove to help the root system in the long run,” he says.

Georgia and Florida: “We are not getting enough rain to keep up with the crop’s needs and growers have been relying on irrigation to keep the crop growing,” says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. “The tobacco that was looking like a bumper crop a few weeks ago slowed down and is not growing as rapidly. We are hoping that things will speed up.” There have not been a lot of warm night temperatures yet.  Friday brought scattered showers (1.5”-3”) and hopes for renewed growth of Georgia tobacco as they are expected to continue through the weekend...Most tobacco has received the last cultivation and fertilizer application. Some sucker control chemical application has started.

 

BURLEY AND DARK

Kentucky: The rainfall for most of the state has been better than in the Carolinas. “We got about an inch and a half at the station in the last two days (through Thursday), said Andy Bailey, Extension dark specialist stationed at the Research and Education Center in Princeton, Ky. “At least 50 percent of our tobacco has been set, and most of that got timely rain soon after planting. Now, we would like to get back in the field, but I don’t know when we will be able to—the predictions are for rain every day next week”...In some areas of Kentucky, replanting was taking place because of earlier flooding, according to USDA.

Tennessee: In Macon County, near Nashville, the majority of the tobacco has been planted, reports Keith Allen, County Extension Tobacco agent. There are approximately 75 farmers raising 1,200 to 1,500 acres, primarily burley, with a small amount of Pennsylvania wrapper and other specialty tobaccos, he says. In neighboring Robertson County (Tn.), the large dark air and dark-fired crop was expected be completely planted early this week…Much less burley is being grown in Tennessee now compared to five years ago, says TFN contributor Bob Dudney. “My home county, Sumner, has had only three burley tobacco growers over the last few years.” There have been many more in the past, especially before the departure of Alliance One from the market. It would be hard for middle Tennessee farmers to get back into tobacco on any scale now because so many of the farms where tobacco had been raised have been subdivided, says Dudney. “That and the fact that tobacco raising is much more expensive than in the past make a rebound here unlikely.”

 

North Carolina: In the burley-growing area of northwest N.C., the weather was very dry until the last week of May. Grower Robert Wurth of Lansing, N.C., reports, “It has been about as dry as I have ever seen it for this time of year. I imagine entire fields would have been lost if the rain had not arrived when it did. It started falling last week after scorching heat and low humidity last week.” After the rain, the heat subsided for two days, and a few fields received slight frost damage on Memorial Day, he says. Quite a bit of replanting has been required. “Burley here is about half set or better, and now growers [who have it] are planting Connecticut broadleaf.” Wurth planted some CBL on May 24 and thinks he might should have waited a week. “Even with a very high rate of transplant water per acre, we had severe transplant shock, from which the crop is struggling to recover.” The broadleaf seems to be much more susceptible to sun scalding during transplant, and more replanting will probably be needed. 

 

TOBACCO EVENTS SUMMER 2021

• The Georgia Florida Tobacco Tour will be held beginning with a kickoff dinner in Blackshear, Ga., on June 7 and ending June 9 in Live Oak, Fla. For information, see tobacco.caes.uga.edu/ tours/2021-ga-fl-tobacco-tour. html.
• The PDREC Tobacco Field Day will be held June 24, 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.. ending with lunch, at the Clemson Pee Dee Research Center, 2200 Pocket Rd., Darlington, S.C. 29532. Call Joshua Baughman about registration at 803. 484.5416 or email //forms .gle/2DbLaK1s Stdv1FFE.
• The Tennessee Tobacco, Beef, and More Field Day will be held June 24 at the of Tennessee Highland Rim AgResearch Center, Springfield, Tn., 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• The Kentucky Corn, Soybean, and Tobacco Field Day will be held July 27, at the University of Kentucky Research Center, Princeton, Ky., 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. NOTE: Kentucky’s Dark Tobacco Twilight Tour will be held again in Murray, Ky. in mid-August. Details will follow. NOTE 2: A virtual Tobacco day will be held later in the summer by N.C. State University. Details to follow.

BAD NEWS FOR BRIGHT GROWERS: IT IS GETTING REALLY DRY!

 

Transplanting early in the season near Wilson in the Eastern Belt of North Carolina.  FLUE-CURED The situation is dire for North Carolina flue-cured growers, and most may not realize how poor the conditions are, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “We need rain terribly. And it’s predicted that temperatures will exceed 90 degrees over the weekend. It is a real critical period for the crop.” To make matters worse, the air is very dry. “It is like being in a sauna,” says Vann. Just as this issue was emailed: The National Weather Service has announced that this is the driest spring on record in Raleigh and the third driest on record in Fayetteville. “Raleigh hasn’t been this dry since 1887,” says Vann.   The N.C. Piedmont was way behind on transplanting two weeks ago. It has caught up s0me, but some smaller and medium-sized growers have just stopped until the weather improves, Vann says. All South Carolina acreage is apparently set, says Matthew Inman, South Carolina tobacco Extension specialist. "The Pee Dee got a little rain last week but is still very dry," says Inman. “Our worst problems are wind and sandblasting.” He is hoping replanting is not needed because as far as he knows, there are no plants left in Georgia, Florida or the Carolinas…Much of the crop is approaching layby, he adds. Georgians and Floridians invite you for a tour that will be held beginning with a kickoff dinner in Blackshear, Ga., on June 7 and ending June 9 in Live Oak, Fla. For more information, go to https:// tobacco.caes.uga.edu/tours/2021-ga-fl-tobacco-tour.html. BURLEY Transplanting is well under way for Kentucky burley growers, but how much is actually in the ground is in question. “It might be 25 percent or it might be closer to 50 percent,” says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. “The weather was good the first half of May which would suggest a faster rate of setting. We just had a cool week and there have been reports of slow arrival of labor, so that would suggest the lower rate.” There haven’t been any unusual disease problems except target spot in the plantbeds, he says. Because of lower temperatures over the past two weeks, growers along the Tennessee/Kentucky Border (near Nashville) have been slow starting planting their burley and dark tobacco, sources tell TFN. That has also been the case in central Kentucky. But if temperatures rise this week, planting should take off. NASS planting estimates through May 16: Burley--Kentucky: seven percent; Virginia: 18 percent; and N.C. 10 percent. Flue-cured--Virginia: 45 percent; N.C. 83 percent; S.C. 93 percent; Georgia 98 percent, and Florida 100 percent. Virginia fire-cured 24. REPORT FROM OVERSEAS Zimbabwe: Through the first month of the 2021 sales season, farmers had sold 90.2 million kilograms at an average price of US$2.66 per kg. That compares to US$2.27 per kg same period last year. There is still considerable hope that Zimbabweans will exceed last year's volume production, which was a record. FINALLY, THANKS TO EVERYONE who sent such kind comments on my book, THE BLUEGRASS AND BEYOND. I am very glad to hear it is as rewarding to read as it was to write. Say, if you sent in an order and didn't get a book, write to me and I will straighten it out--I have had a problem with delivery of several of the books. Also, if you want to order a copy, send $20 plus $8 shipping and handling to No. 126, 7413 Six Forks Road, Raleigh, N.C. 27615. Make the check to Christopher Bickers. Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care B

Transplanting flue-cured on the farm of Daniel 

Johnson in Pierce County, Ga. earlier this spring.

GEORGIA CROP GREAT--CAROLINA CROP VERY DRY

GEORGIA-FLORIDA: The crop was beautiful till the Saturday before last. “Then the rains started falling,” says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. “Many fields got two to 10 inches. Washing and pooling was sometimes a problem, and there were instances of hail damage too.” Moore estimated 99 percent of the crop was planted by May 1. “We did have to do a little replanting, but were able to find adequate plants,” said Moore. “[Now], there are very few plants left in Georgia. I don’t think there are 100 trays of plants left in the state" “After a week of drying conditions, cultivation and fertilization, the crop looks great again”…Florida planters finished transplanting several weeks ago. Growers there received no rain from the April 24 weather front. The crop looks good. 

NORTH CAROLINA: The N.C. Coastal Plain is close to 50 percent planted, said Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist, on April 30. “We’re just kicking off the show in the Piedmont, so plantings have to be less than five percent there. We are in dire need of rain. To be frank, I can’t recall a time in my career when soil moisture conditions were so deficient this early.” Between the return to warm daytime temperatures, low humidity, and a lot of wind, the seedlings are struggling to recover from transplant shock. “My best hope is that we can get a good soaking rain of about an inch or so in the Coastal Plain fairly soon.” VIRGINIA: How much tobacco has been transplanted in the Old Dominion? According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, two percent of the burley, one percent of the dark fire-cured, and five percent of the flue-cured had been transplanted as of May 2. 

SOUTH CAROLINA: Transplanting of tobacco has all but stopped due to low soil moisture., said NASS on May 2. Only 67 percent had reportedly been transplanted by that date. 

KENTUCKY: None of the tobacco in the Black Patch had been set as of Friday, but setting should begin soon. May 1 is usually the target date. “It’s been dry so far this spring, dryer than several years,” says Andy Bailey, Kentucky-Tennessee Extension dark specialist. “Plants look good and there appear to be a good supply”…There are several relatively new tobacco types going into this region this year. The leading one is Connecticut broadleaf: About 3,000 acres was grown here last year. It will be grown again. But plantings will be lower this year, perhaps 1,000 to 1,500 acres. Also, there is a small acreage of a few hundred acres of PA 41 seedleaf. And finally, there is an influx of Southern Maryland tobacco, says Bailey. “We have quite a few Amish farmers relocating here from Pennsylvania here who may be accounting for the Maryland plantings.” 

TENNESSEE: In spite of changes made in the 2021 Crop Insurance regulation, most of the dark and burley tobacco farmers in Tennessee and in neighboring areas of Kentucky near Nashville are still growing tobacco, says Bob Dudney, TFN correspondent stationed in Gallatin, Tn. “Burley producers appear to be all under contract with manufacturers and processors through the beginning of May, and dark air-cured and fire-cured are virtually all under contract.” Some burley growers in the area left tobacco altogether this season, contributing to reduced expected acreage. “Few dark tobacco producers appear to have left this year, and acreage is expected to remain about the same,” he says. “No producers are known to have switched from burley to dark tobacco.” 

 CANADA: In Southern Ontario, the greenhouse season is progressing well, despite the cool and cloudy start, according to the Canadian Tobacco Research Foundation. Overall, percent seed germination and uniformity of seedling stands in most greenhouses appear to be quite good. In some greenhouses, clipping has started already. 

Welcome to the May I, 2021, issue of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter. If you haven't signed on to receive the newsletter regularly, please email your subscription request to TFN at chrisbickers@gmail.com. Include phone number and your affiliation with tobacco, such as farmer, buyer, dealer or Extension agent.

CROP REPORT 2021 -- WHO IS FARTHEST ALONG IN PLANTING?

 

A farm worker loads trays of plants onto a setter in this file photo showing burley transplanting. Photo by Chris Bickers. In South Carolina, a small amount of the crop—maybe 10 percent—had been set out through last Friday, says Matthew Inman, S.C. tobacco Extension specialist. There might have been more, but a freeze on the Thursday and Friday before Easter delayed almost everyone. But now farmers are transplanting full bore. Plants in the greenhouse appear to be satisfactory. “Considering that it was rainy and cloudy for extended periods, the season went about as well as it could,” says Inman...In Georgia, transplanting was far further along, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The last word on pesticide choice should always be your contract, says Matthew Vann, North Carolina Extension tobacco specialist. “Just because a pesticide is labeled for tobacco does not mean it is accepted by your contracting company,” he says. “There are major differences in what various buying companies have deemed acceptable for application." There is no longer a one size fits all approach for Extension recommendations, he says. "There is usually information in a tobacco contract that outlines specific pesticides that cannot be used to grow a crop," he says. In Kentucky, the weather has been good for transplant production, and it looks like there will be a good crop of plants when farmers go to the field around May 1 or later, says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. As far as he knows, none has been set out so far…Pearce thinks USDA’s estimate of burley plantings in Kentucky of 36,000 acres (down slightly from 2020) may be about right. In the Virginia Piedmont, Appomattox County’s burley and dark fire-cured growers are not rushing to take plants to the field the field, says Bruce Jones, Extension agriculture agent. “Most are waiting till around May 10,” he says. Plants look good in the greenhouse at this point.  In Tennessee, a new Extension tobacco specialist has taken his post on the campus of the University of Tennessee Knoxville. He is Mitchell Richmond, a Kentuckian who most recently was tobacco team leader of the Canadian Tobacco Research Foundation. He can be reached by email at mitchell.richmond@utk.edu. or by mobile phone at 606-316-4536.   REPORT FROM OVERSEAS ARGENTINA: The governor of the province of Jujuy thinks tobacco growers in the province should replace tobacco with cannabis. Jujuy Province Governor Gerardo Morales said in the Buenos Aires Times he hopes that 10 years from now “we will stop planting tobacco and [instead] plant cannabis.” That would result in farmers earning a lot more money, Morales said, “and they are going to provide more income to the province.” Jujuy, in northwest Argentina, is one of the two significant flue-cured-producing provinces in Argentina. The other is the neighboring province of Salta.   MALAWI: The tobacco marketing season will begin on Tuesday of this week. The first sales will take place in the capital city of Lilongwe, according to the Tobacco Commission. ZIMBABWE: Sales of tobacco in Zimbabwe have been projected to increase by 8.7 percent over the last season The reason? Production areas received the highest rainfall in three years, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board said. CORRECTION: in the April I 2021 issue, the date of the USDA Prospective Plantings report for 2021 was incorrectly given. The correct date was March 31, 2021.

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Welcome to the April II, 2021, issue of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter. If you haven't signed on to receive the newsletter regularly, please email your subscription request to TFN at chrisbickers@gmail.com. Include phone number and your affiliation with tobacco, such as farmer, buyer, dealer or Extension agent.

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care B

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Be

THE PROSPECTS FOR PLANTINGS IN 2021, ACCORDING TO USDA

Burley transplanting in the Bluegrass.

Prospective Plantings, the USDA's first survey of tobacco farmers for the year, was issued August 30. The results were a bit of a surprise since modest increases had been predicted by many individuals in the industry. They did not materialize except for the dark types. But USDA surveys tend to be a bit nebulous, especially in the early season, so we will watch to see if someone comes up with a higher estimate. 

For now, USDA's projection is the only one available. Following is projected acreage by type: Flue-cured acreage for the coming crop 127,500, unchanged from last year, Burley acreage at 40,850 acres, six percent less than 2020, and Fire-cured and dark air-cured down five and two percent respectively. Pennsylvania seedleaf was down 22 percent, while Southern Maryland tobacco was up 50 percent. Both these types are grown primarily in Pennsylvania. Following are the projections of intended area divided by states. 

 FLUE-CURED North Carolina: 102,000 acres, no change. Virginia: 12,000 acres, no change. Georgia: 7,000 acres, down 11 percent. South Carolina: 6,500 acres, up eight percent. All Flue-cured: 127,500 acres, no change. 

 BURLEY Kentucky: 36,000 acres, down three percent. Tennessee: 2,800 acres, no change. Pennsylvania: 1,400 acres, down 50 percent. North Carolina: 400 acres, down six percent. Virginia: 360 acres, down 10 percent. All Burley: 40,850 acres, down six percent. 

 OTHER Fire-cured: 15,050 acres, up five percent. Dark air-cured: 10,000 acres, up two percent. Pennsylvania Seedleaf: 1,800 acres, down 22 percent. Southern Maryland: 600 acres, up 50 percent. 

 In other tobacco news: 

How to minimize weed seein flue-cured leaf: Start with PRE applications of Spartan and Command, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. Layby herbicide applications should be considered also: Applying something at layby is better than applying nothing. Layby herbicides at the end of the season increase weed control by eight to 50 percent depending on weed species, active ingredient, application rate, growing conditions. “Not once have we observed injury or stunting--when labels are followed and we’re not sloppy--nor have we failed to significantly improve weed control in end of season ratings,” says Vann. “Given the strain and cost of labor for hand weeding, adding a residual layby product such as Devrinol or Prowl to the mix might be worthwhile if you are not already using one, Vann says. 

Where does American leaf stand on the world market? Hank Mozingo, president of Tobacco Associates, said at TA's annual meeting that conventional, combustible cigarette manufacturers are, without exception, the final purchaser of any significant quantities of U.S. flue-cured. "All cigarette manufacturer product decisions that are not regulatory requirements are dictated by the bottom line," he said. "Materials used to produce cigarettes must either reduce product unit cost or increase the number of units sold." Tobacco leaf, of all types, is the single most costly component of making a cigarette. "The price of U.S.-grown flue-cured is significantly higher than non-U.S. tobacco of the same variety. Just replacing a company's regular supply of flue-cured leaf with U.S. flue-cured would increase product cost by a minimum of about twenty-four cents per carton." Maintenance of product cost is paramount to any profitable cigarette manufacturer anywhere, Mozingo said. 

The disappearance of tobacco farmers: Grower base has declined 90 percent since the tobacco buyout, says Will Snell, Kentucky Extension ag economist. And that probably will not be all. "Given tightening margins, the product market outlook, the increasing share of imported leaf, dilapidating infrastructure, and [obtaining] labor, further concentration will likely occur," Snell says. "While concerning for the tobacco growing sector as a whole, this expected outcome may create additional opportunities for the remaining growers."

REPORT FROM OVERSEAS 

Brazil: Slavery in the south? A Brazilian leaf exporter has been charged with using slave labor on a tobacco farm, according to Reuter’s news service. Nine workers, some of them children, were removed recently from a farm in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s leading tobacco-producing state in the southern part of the country. Labor inspectors said the workers were living in poor conditions and were paid less than a third of minimum wage. They also lacked protective gear, leaving them exposed to high concentrations of nicotine. The company is Continental Tobaccos Alliance. There was no word as to what charge if any was given to the farm operator. 

Cuba: Cigar leaf crop coming off well. Harvest in the leading tobacco-producing province of Pinar del Rio is well under way, according to an official of TABACUBA, a tobacco company. In a story carried by the Cuban News Agency, Virginio Morales Novo, agricultural specialist said that the gathering for this crop had surpassed nine million bushels, representing 85 percent of plantings, he said. Good yields were projected, especially in the areas with guaranteed irrigation, and curing was going well. The original target plantings in the province amounted to 15,800 hectares, but actual plantings peaked at more than 16,800 hectares. But some acres were lost to bad weather.

Welcome to the April I, 2021, issue of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter. If you haven't signed on to receive the newsletter regularly, please email your subscription request to TFN at chrisbickers@ gmail.com. Include phone number and your affiliation with tobacco, such as farmer, buyer, dealer or Extension agent. THE HISTORY OF BURLEY You can still get a copy of The Bluegrass and Beyond, Christopher Bickers' account of the historic basis of the modern burley industry. Send $20 plus $8 shipping and han-dling to No. 126, 7413 Six Forks Road, Raleigh, N.C. 27615. Make check to Chris-topher Bickers. Or call 919 789 4631 or email chris bickers@gmail.com PS: If you have already ordered a copy and you haven't received it, call the number above.