Tobacco Farmer Newsletter

Densely planted, no sucker control, then cut like silage: Energy tobacco will cost much less to produce than conventional. (Photo provided by Tyton)

A company in Virginia will soon begin signing contracts with farmers to produce tobacco for the manufacture of ethanol and biodiesel. Tyton BioEnergy Systems of Danville wants farmers to grow "energy" tobacco for delivery to its extractor in Danville (or to another extractor that is in the works in Raeford, N.C.) No information yet on prices or what scale of production of the company is looking for, but all that should be available fairly soon.

Cheaper to grow: The cost of producing energy tobacco should be much less than that of flue-cured, burley or any of the dark types. There will be no cost of plant production: Tyton will provide the transplants. Spacing of rows need not change but the spacing within the row will be much denser. You may need to tweak your fertility program to some degree but Tyton leaders don't expect a significant increase in total fertilizer per acre. You won't need to control suckers since suckers produce the end product just as well as leaf. But topping is desirable, although it apparently didn't get done in the photograph above. Control of insects and diseases will not be affected. You will harvest with a silage chopper, probably in mid summer, which would be the time of peak sugars, and perhaps once more at the end of the season. Curing is a thing of the past--the energy tobacco will go straight from the field to Tyton.

Eventually, beltwide plantings of energy tobacco are the goal. But for 2016, most contracting farmers will be in the vicinity of the two extractors. The company expects to expand into Kentucky-Tennessee and Georgia-Florida in the near future. Tyton's basic varieties--which were derived from flue-cured breeding material--will be planted in all current tobacco-producing areas.

Contracting to grow energy tobacco has not yet begun but will soon. No information yet on prices or what scale of production of the company is looking for, but all that should be available fairly soon too. It sure wouldn't hurt to get into company's database now. You can do that by sending an email to farmer@tytonbio.com.

EDITOR'S ASSESSMENT: I am not a tobacco farmer, never have been. But if I was, I would run to my word processor and get my name in the hat to grow this new type. What could be the down side, as long as the price is high enough to return production costs and a reasonable profit? You don't have to grow plants, you don't have to control suckers, and you don't need workers to hand harvest. Best of all, no curing is required, or at least not by you. The company will take care of whatever processing is needed after harvest. This seems like an effort with infinite promise. I urge you now or tomorrow or the next day to send an email (you should be able to do it by clicking on the address above) and get on the list. There is no obligation; you're just letting Tyton know you might be interested.--Chris Bickers

In other tobacco news: A new organic tobacco company begins accepting leaf deliveries this week. The two receiving stations for tobacco contracted by Swiss Organic Tobacco (SOT) will begin this week taking deliveries every other week. It will be on a rotating basis. The station in Wilson, N.C.--at R.C. Commodities, 1801 London Church Rd.--will begin receiving for SOT this Friday, September 12, while the one inKernersville, N.C.--W/S Tobacco Services, 1459 Brookford Rd.--will begin Friday, September 18. Each will take SOT deliveries on alternate Fridays till the market closes.

Believe it or not, domestic cigarette sales and production are both actually slightly higher for the first five months of 2015 compared to the same period last year, says Will Snell, Kentucky Extension tobacco economist. "How can that be the case? After all, the extreme cold weather in many parts of the U.S. this past winter likely limited ...lighting up outside in midst of growing in-door smoking restrictions. Plus, cigarette price increases have been running four times the overall inflation rate."

Possible explanations: Lower gas prices might be impacting cigarette sales as convenience stores (most of which sell gasoline) sell an estimated 65 to 70 percent of smokes. The growth in electronic cigarettes may be waning as tobacco consumers prefer to get their nicotine from cigarettes. Or it might be just some inventory adjustment by the manufacturers or a short term anomaly? "At this point, it is unclear how this surprising short-term trend may impact the market for the 2015 crop and contract volume for 2016," says Snell. (This was derived from an article on the Council for Burley Tobacco webpage. For more of the article, go tohttp://www.councilforburleytobacco.com and click on "News.")

Plenty of tobacco, not much demand. American Tobacco Exchange its fourth sealed bid auction of the season Wednesday afternoon, and sales remain in the doldrums. "All we saw till today was fair to low quality lugs," says Randy Brandon, manager of the auction. "We got a few cutters today but no leaf at all." Volume has been about what he expected. The quality of offerings should improve soon, he thinks, because of late rains and farmers' commitment to letting their leaf get ripe.

Editor: Chris Bickers / 903-9 Shellbrook Ct. / Raleigh NC 27609 / 919 789 4631 / chrisbickers@gmail.com

BIG M TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

1723 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson, N.C.,

in the old Liberty Warehouse

Greg Goins is the auctioneer at Big M Warehouse.

We hold sealed bid auctions

We promise

HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY

SERVICE

We will be GAP certified

For more information, contact Mann Mullen at 919-496-9033

or the warehouse switchboard at 252-206-1447.

Email: shrimpmann@embarqmail.com.

How burley bloomed in the Blue Ridge

For an easy-to-read account of how burley came to east Tennessee and western North Carolina in the late 1800s, along with oral history interviews with some of the best of the older generation burley farmers, and much more, order The History of Burley Tobacco in East Tennessee & Western North Carolina by Billy Yeargin and Christopher Bickers. Send a check for $25 to Chris Bickers, 903-9 Shellbrook Ct., Raleigh, N.C. 27609. Questions? Contact Bickers by phone at 919 789 4631 or via email at chrisbickers@gmail.com.

FARMERS TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

209 Harding St., Danville, Ky.

PH: 859-236-4932

Full-service burley warehouse

Jerry Rankin, Owner

Call for information.

Workers load curing barns with flue-cured leaf on a farm in Johnston County, N.C.

The September projection for tobacco production from USDA (released this past weekend) puts flue-cured volume at 467 million pounds, six million pounds less than it estimated in August and 19 percent down from last year. It projected burley production at 157 million pounds, the same as it estimated in August and a whopping 26 percent down from last year. Among the individual states:

Flue-cured

North Carolina--357 million pounds, down 20.8 percent.
Virginia--50.4 million pounds, down 6.6 percent.
South Carolina--30 million pounds, down 9.4 percent.
Georgia--29.2 million pounds, down 15.2 percent.

Burley

Kentucky--117.8 million pounds, down 28 percent.
Tennessee--20.8 million pounds, down 23.3 percent.
Pennsylvania--11.5 million pounds, down 9.6 percent.
Ohio--3.3 million pounds, down 22.6 percent.
Virginia--two million pounds, down 28.8 percent.
North Carolina--1.98 million pounds, down 25.5 percent.

Other types

Fire-cured--55.8 million pounds, down 5.6 percent.
Dark air-cured--16.6 million pounds, down 4.9 percent.
Cigar types--8.5 million pounds, down 5.5 percent.
Southern Maryland--4.2 million pounds, down 10 percent.

Vote on research in N.C.: A referendum of N.C. tobacco growers will be held onNovember 19 to ascertain whether they want to continue assessing themselves 10 cents per 100 pounds of tobacco sold --both flue-cured and burley-- for support of tobacco research and education. The check-off, started in 1991, has allocated about $300,000 a year to tobacco-related projects at N.C. State University. The most recent referendum was in 2009.

A good start for organic farmers: Swiss Organic Tobacco (SOT) began accepting contract deliveries last Friday at its receiving station in Wilson, N.C. One farmer who delivered that day called TFN to say he was "well satisfied" with the sale. "It was graded fairly," he says. He estimated that he averaged $2.06 a pound on offerings that were mostly C1s and X1s and X2s. "The price is a whole lot better than conventional." But there is still some exasperation with the late start of the market season. SOT's station in Kernersville, N.C., will begin accepting deliveries this Friday, then Wilson and Kernersville will alternate on Fridays till the market closes.

Starving in the rain? The general media seem to have discovered the rainy season of 2015. Here are a few samples: From the Evansville (Ind.) Courier Press-- "They always say a dry year'll scare you to death and a wet year'll starve you to death," said Clay Troutman of Calhoun, Kentucky..."We've had a tremendously wet summer and it really hurt us." He grows 12 acres of burley and dark. And from TV station WSET ABC of Lynchburg, Va.--"For us to maintain our place in the world economy, we've got to strive for really, really good, solid clean tobacco," said Pittsylvania County tobacco farmer Tim Shelton.

Too much enthusiasm over energy tobacco? One of the most reliable economic sources this editor has ever had cautioned me about my coverage of the Tyton project in the last issue. "This may turn out to be a bonanza for farmers, at least those located near the extractors, but I would wait to get the full story before jumping on the band wagon," he wrote. "Price is the big issue relative to other uses of the land. And, what might be viable at $100 oil may not fly in today's low energy environment. Lots of questions yet, including the financial strength of the companies and their ability to pay." That is probably good advice, so I will leave it for what it is worth. By the way, I have learned that Tyton has an informative website at http://tytonbio.com.

Workers harvest flue-cured leaf near Yadkinville in the Piedmont of North Carolina (file photo).

Slow development of bottom crop: Flue-cured deliveries in August and early September were very light, says Graham Boyd, executive vice president of the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. "Many of our farmers have just finished marketing the bottom half of their crop last week," he says. "That's late for us." But he anticipates 90 percent of the crop will be delivered by the opening of the N.C. State Fair onOctober 15, more than had been delivered on that date a year ago.

After several days of 105 degree heat, real skill had to be applied to curing this year's flue-cured, says Boyd. "Even veteran growers who had cured many crops did not have enough' notes in the Rolodex' to figure out how to cure this less than desirable leaf," he says. But they seem to have done fairly well, judging from the leaf that's coming to the market," he says.

In Eastern North Carolina, the season started out with seven inches of rain associated with Tropical storm Ana. "Luckily I hadn't fertilized," says Danny Sykes of Lenoir County, N.C. "After the rain, we put out our fertilizer, then it turned off dry and didn't rain again until the tobacco was a foot high. That slowed us down." They still had some tobacco in the field as of September 21. "That is late for us," he says. The rain picked up at the tail end of the season. "We had a little black shank late but the crop has weighed good except for the first pullings. From the cutters up, it has been pretty good."

A sucker control chemical that combines fatty alcohols with flumetralin made sucker control a little easier in dry mid season of 2015. "Plucker-Plus from Drexel was convenient and it worked as advertised," says Sykes of Lenoir County. "I was well satisfied with it." Before Plucker-Plus became available, Sykes' program was two applications of a contact, then one of flumetralin. "This year, I made one application of the contact, and then I was able to skip the second and instead finish with Plucker-Plus," he says. "It saved on contact application." Plucker-Plus is made up of Sucker-Plucker (fatty alcohols) and Drexalin Plus, a flumetralin formulation, in a four to one ratio.

After extreme rainfall earlier, it has been very dry in the Bluegrass, says Roger Quarles, a burley grower from Georgetown, Ky. "Except for showers on September 25, much of the burley crop has gotten no rain in the past month," he says. "We have finished with harvest, but curing this crop is a real challenge. On my farm, we have closed up all but one of our barns to hold in moisture. We will do what we can, but this crop won't have the dark color that we like to see. It's going to be light colored." The yield will also be affected. "When the rains stopped, the crop was plenty tall enough and had plenty of leaves. But since then it has lacked the moisture it needed to fill."

The first burley cut in East Tennessee will soon be cured, says Eric Walker, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. Curing conditions have been satisfactory and good quality is hoped for. There is more concern for the burley that is still in the field should the weather turn cold and dry. That could result in flash curing. But not a whole lot remains to be harvested. "We are over half way done with barning, and it may be more like three quarters," Walker says. "We are on the backside now."

Heavy early rains in many parts of Tennessee lead to problems with bacterial soft rot that were significant in some burley fields, says Walker. "There was some leaf loss. Target spot was also bad in some areas. A number of fields got blue mold throughout the season, but farmers reacted proactively with fungicides, and with the help of dry conditions, yield losses from this disease were minimized. Most sightings were in or near Greene County, where the initial outbreak was discovered.

Reynolds American has sold the international rights to the Natural American Spirit brand name and the international companies that distribute and market the brand outside the U.S. The buyer is Japan Tobacco and the value is approximately five billion dollars. It was not immediately apparent whether the NAS factory in Oxford, N.C., will produce all or any of the cigarettes JTI will sell. Watch for more details in coming issues of TFN.

How you can have a say in the N.C. research referendum. "I read in your newsletter about the referendum on continuing the N.C. tobacco research and education checkoff," writes Shannon Boswell of Selma, N.C. "How can I make sure I get the opportunity to cast a ballot? I totally agree with the research fee. This is the one deduction from my tobacco check that I know what the money is going to and agree with." But she is not so sure about the other two tobacco checkoffs for N.C. farmers.

Tobacco Associates, Inc., for instance. "From a news article I found online, I see where it was started in the Forties, so it has been around a long time," she says. "But I have also spent time looking online and through the information sent to me, and I have been left with no answers as to what the fee they deduct truly goes towards, or how that amount gets determined and approved. Can we request refunds? If so, what is the process?"

She also doesn't understand the assessment for the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. "It stated in its Spring 2015 Newsletter that its checkoff was voted for and approved by 80 percent of the flue-cured growers in the state, yet I never received anything in the mail and was not part of a vote," she says. "Several other farmers told me they had no knowledge of the vote either. Does that mean I was an automatic yes vote if I did not participate? With this difficult tobacco season, I guess we have started paying more attention to the details of everything coming out of our checks, and want to learn more."

Editor's Note: You came to the right place. I am very familiar with all three of these organizations, and I think I can answer all your questions. First, let me say that refunds can be requested for all three checkoffs. There is a time limit, so if you are thinking about doing this, look into it soon. I believe for all three the deadline is 30 days after your last sale. But I can't say I recommend doing so--all three entities do what they set out to do, and considering that the cost is very economical, I would say growers are getting a bargain. But suit yourself. Following are the individuals you would need to contract for more information or to request a refund, along with some additional details on their fund-raising efforts. Note that the research referendum applies to all N.C. tobacco growers, the Tobacco Associates referendum is for flue-cured growers in all producing states and TGANC represents only N.C. flue-cured growers.

Tobacco Research Check-off: Contact Keith Oakley, president, N.C. Tobacco Foundation, which administers the checkoff, keith_oakley@ncsu.edu or 919-515-9262. On November 19, you can cast your vote for or against the research referendum at any Extension office in a county with significant tobacco acreage. To vote on the 10 cents per 100 pounds assessment, you must share in the risk of the costs of production for flue-cured or burley tobacco.

Tobacco Associates: Contact Veronica Martins, office manager, Tobacco Associates, 919-821-7670 or tar@tobaccoassociatesinc.org. TA uses grower checkoffs from all the flue-cured states to fund export promotion and expansion programs. It must be revalidated in a referendum every three years, and the next one will probably be in January 2016. Details have yet to be worked out. The check-off amount is one fifth of one cent per pound, or 20 cents per 100 pounds.

Tobacco Growers Association of N.C.: Contact Graham Boyd, executive vice president, TGANC, 919-614-0099 or grahamboyd@nc.rr.com. Unlike the other two but like most other agricultural commodity associations in this state, TGANC doesn't need reauthorization by growers to continue collecting the checkoff, which is ten cents per hundredweight or about $2.30 an acre. The original referendum was conducted in the spring of 2014, and 88 percent of the roughly 400 farmers who cast a vote voted yes. Should you seek a refund? I am afraid I can't be objective on that question. I was one of the founding members of TGANC, and when I think about how much of my adult life I spent trying to get a grower assessment for the organization, I find it more than a bit traumatic to think that anyone would not think it was money well spent. But if you think it, you think it, and you can call Graham Boyd and debate the question further.

How burley bloomed in the Blue Ridge

BIG M TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

1723 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson, N.C.,

in the old Liberty Warehouse

Greg Goins is the auctioneer at Big M Warehouse.

We hold sealed bid auctions

We promise

HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY

SERVICE

We will be GAP certified

For more information, contact Mann Mullen at 919-496-9033

or the warehouse switchboard at 252-206-1447.

Email: shrimpmann@embarqmail.com.

FARMERS TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

209 Harding St., Danville, Ky.

PH: 859-236-4932

Full-service burley warehouse

Jerry Rankin, Owner

Call for information.

LATE NEWS from South Carolina, October 6, 2015: The small amount of tobacco (all flue-cured) that remained in the field when the floods began October 1 is now probably a complete loss, says Tré Coleman, S.C. Department of Agriculture marketing specialist. "I don't know if any can be salvaged," he told Tobacco Farmer Newsletter. "It was not only the rain, but we had high winds for two days afterward that whipped the stalks. And it might be 10 days before fields are dry enough to get back in. I would be surprised if any more can be harvested." But the production loss will be limited despite the fact that almost all the tobacco farms in S.C. suffered from the rain--Coleman estimates that no more than one to two percent of the state's 30-million-pound crop remained on the stalk when the rain started falling.

After the deluge: This flue-cured grower in the N.C. Piedmont near Winston-Salem had trouble completing combining after late-season rains. "All crops that were either ready for harvest or being harvested are in a state of decline due to the length of it raining," said Robin Watson, NCDA regional agronomist stationed in Burlington.

How much South Carolina tobacco was lost to the flood? The small amount (all flue-cured) that remained in the field when the storm complex arrived on October 1 is now probably a complete loss, said Tré Coleman, S.C. Department of Agriculture marketing specialist. "I don't know if any can be salvaged," he told Tobacco Farmer Newsletter. "It was not only the rain--we had high winds for two days afterward that whipped the stalks. And it might be 10 days (from October 5) before fields are dry enough to get back in. I would be surprised if any more can be harvested."

Losses will be limited in S.C., however, because no more than one to two percent of the state's 27-million-pound crop remained on the stalk when the rain started falling, according to Coleman. And what was left was in poor condition because of diseases. "We'd had perfect disease weather the last week or 10 days of September," said William Hardee, area Extension agronomy agent for Horry and Marion Counties. "There was bad bacterial wilt along with the sunscald that we'd had earlier." So even without the rain, the yield might have been very low. In some of the other states where tobacco was affected:

In North Carolina, flooding was not as extensive as in S.C. But there was much more rain than was desired. In the east, near Kinston, Alton Roberson was very glad he had finished harvesting before the end of September. "But right much was still in the field, and in the growers' opinions, they couldn't finish harvesting quick enough," he said. There was a great fear that leaf would turn to trash on the stalk if it stayed out too long. In north central N.C., farmers received "welcomed but excessive rains," said Robin Watson, N.C. Department of Agriculture regional agronomist stationed in Burlington. "Tobacco farmers are having a difficult time in getting their tobacco out of the field," he said. "All crops that were either ready for harvest or being harvested are in a state of decline due to the length of it raining."

In Virginia, Cynthia Gregg, Extension agent in Brunswick County, Va, in thesouthern part of the state, said minor flooding and ponding of water in pastures and crop fields were evident across the county. "Some tobacco fields have been stripped. Others still have some tips to be harvested. These fields are showing damage due to the excess rainfall." In Lunenburg County, about 50 miles west of Brunswick, some tobacco was pulled the week ending October 4, said Lindy Tucker, Extension agent. "Otherwise, no one was in the field."

October Crop Report: Volumes continue to slide, says USDA. The October projection for tobacco production (released October 9) puts flue-cured volume at 468 million pounds, a million pounds more than it estimated in September but 18 percent less than last year. It projected burley production at 152 million pounds, five million pounds less than it estimated in August and 29 percent less than last year. Among the individual states:

FLUE-CURED

North Carolina--365.5 million pounds, down 19 percent.
Virginia--48.3 million pounds, down 10 percent.
South Carolina--27.1 million pounds, down percent
Georgia--27.3 million pounds, down 20 percent.

BURLEY

Kentucky--114 million pounds, down 30 percent.
Tennessee--19.2 million pounds, down 29 percent.
Pennsylvania--11.2 million pounds, down 11.5 percent.
Ohio--3.3 million pounds, down 22 percent.
Virginia--2.1 million pounds, down 26 percent.
North Carolina--two million pounds, down 23 percent.

OTHER TYPES

Fire-cured--56.9 million pounds, down three percent.
Dark air-cured--17.6 million pounds, down one percent.
Connecticut/Massachusetts cigar types--4.1 million pounds, down one percent.
Southern Maryland--3.6 million pounds, down 21 percent.
Pennsylvania seedleaf--2.9 million pounds, down 21 percent.

Editor: Chris Bickers.903-9 Shellbrook Ct. Raleigh, N.C. 27609.

chrisbickers@gmail.com.919 789 4631.

ADVERTISEMENTS

BIG M TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

1723 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson, N.C.,

in the old Liberty Warehouse

Greg Goins is the auctioneer at Big M Warehouse.

We hold sealed bid auctions

We promise

HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY

SERVICE

We will be GAP certified

For more information, contact Mann Mullen at 919-496-9033

or the warehouse switchboard at 252-206-1447.

Email: shrimpmann@embarqmail.com.

How burley bloomed in the Blue Ridge

For an easy-to-read account of how burley came to east Tennessee and western North Carolina in the late 1800s, along with oral history interviews with some of the best of the older generation burley farmers, and much more, order The History of Burley Tobacco in East Tennessee & Western North Carolina by Billy Yeargin and Christopher Bickers. Send a check for $25 to Chris Bickers, 903-9 Shellbrook Ct., Raleigh, N.C. 27609. Questions? Contact Bickers at 919 789 4631or via email at chrisbickers@gmail.com.

FARMERS TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

209 Harding St., Danville, Ky.

PH: 859-236-4932

Full-service burley warehouse

Jerry Rankin, Owner

Call for information.

Really ripe: Flue-cured leaf grown at the Oxford, N.C., tobacco research station cures in a traditional furnace-and-flue barn on the grounds of the North Carolina State Fair. The leaf was grown to reach maturity on October 16 and was overripe. Volunteer teams tied the green leaf on sticks in the Fair's annual stringing contest.

Killing frosts in the Southside of Virginia on October 18 and 19 brought an end to the tobacco season for nearly all the state. "There is very little left that we can pull and harvest now," said David Reed, Virginia Extension tobacco specialist. After several years when the first killing frost fell relatively late, these occurred at what is about the historical average date, if not a little earlier. "But the severity of the frost was the problem more than the timing," says Reed. "There were temperatures as low as 26 degrees." His best guess is that about 400 barns of flue-cured were lost, maybe 1¼ million pounds. That would be about two percent of the expected Virginia flue-cured crop.

There were frosts and freezes in North Carolina, too, that ended the growing season for many flue-cured growers. But there will be more still harvested and cured than in Virginia. "Sunday, Monday morning and a little on Tuesday morning, we had temperatures in much of the state of 27 and 28 degrees," says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. That was the case almost everywhere that tobacco is grown in the state, with the exception of southeastern N.C. It is unclear how much flue-cured will still be harvested. "As of Monday, October 12, it appeared that at least 10 percent was left in the field, but now, 10 days later and with the cold weather, I could only guess that maybe five percent is still out there," says Vann.

A team strings flue-cured leaves on a stick in a
contest at the N.C. State Fair.

It was a difficult season. In Oxford, N.C., north of Raleigh, it started off wet, then

turned dry. "When we started harvest, the ground leaves were not good at all," says Carl Watson, tobacco research specialist with the N.C. Department of Agriculture tobacco research station in Oxford. "We started irrigating, trying to get the sap back into the leaves." The second and third pullings cured better, but then the rain started falling late. "The crop took up fertilizer and it turned green. "Now he is trying to catch up. There is still a lot in the field. "I have filled all the barns we have," he says. "I need one more, and I don't have it. Other than that, the only effect of the rains (around October 1) was that we had to sit out a week without harvesting"...Watson and his staff grew the leaf used in the stringing contest at the N.C. State Fair October 16. "We kept that tobacco alive by watering it a lot. Extra nitrogen would have been a strategy but we didn't need it."

In the state hardest hit by raining and flooding at the beginning of October, Ben Teal of Patrick, S.C., whose farm is in northern S.C., expected to finish harvest on October 16. He had one more barn in the field at that time. "It was a very late harvest, and then we got all that rain, maybe nine inches here. Fortunately, the majority of the crop was in barns when the flood came. About 10 barns of my tobacco was still in the field at that time." On those fields, half the stalk was still out there--the third and fourth croppings. He lost two to three barns as a result of all the water. "It was very hard to harvest," he says. "I had five tractors bogged up trying to harvest last week." He harvests by hand. "I usually pull two boxes down the sled row. But I had to do with just one after the rains." When leaf started pouring out of the fields after it finally dried up, barn capacity proved inadequate. "One of my neighbors has a lot left in the field and not enough barn space to cure it all," Teal says. "I'm letting him use three of my barns to keep his harvesters rolling." But it has been a tough year, he says. "It's the worst since I took over this farm. I've made good pounds, but the quality is poor. The grades were just not there." It wasn't just the rain. "We had extensive heat earlier. The leaf was sunbaked from the high temperatures."

Tobacco harvest is complete in the Owensboro, Ky., area where Rod Kuegel grows dark and burley. "It is all is in the barns," he says. "Larger growers have started stripping. The quality is decent, but the weight is off considerably. Burley may be down 20 to 25 percent. The dark types are not down as far but are still reduced, maybe 15 to 20 percent." The weather was a big problem all season. "We had two extremes--very, very wet and very, very dry. It was wet till August, but then there was no more rain after that. I was very concerned about our burley, but everything we have stripped has looked good so far."

OPINION

TPP: Why some think tobacco growers should favor it

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)--the multinational trade treaty--has been signed by negotiators from all the nations involved in its creation. But it still must be approved by Congress, and tobacco-state legislators have vowed to oppose it because it would leave cigarette manufacturers little protection against regulation. This has exasperated many in Washington, including Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who can't understand why anyone would oppose it. "The challenge is to make sure they fully understand that tariffs are being eliminated on tobacco, which will expand opportunity for our producers to sell to Japan, to the Malaysian market, to the Vietnamese market. Market access is going to be greater. (As to the carveout), it's simply an acknowledgement of what already exists, that there are a number of public health laws in countries that have to be respected. That is not much different than what we have in the United States. What is (being) lost in this conversation is that tariffs are being eliminated on tobacco products so for producers in the U.S. there is greater market access."

TPP: Why some think tobacco growers should oppose it

Roger Quarles, a Georgetown, Ky., burley grower, explains why the carve out could be very damaging to tobacco growers: "The Trans Pacific Partnership will damage the ability of the purchasers of our burley to protect their market share in affected countries. The tobacco product manufacturers have invested heavily in creating trademark brands that use our burley. They deserve every legal right to protect the identity of those brands. Our tobacco growers' sales depend on the good fortune of our purchasers. Public-health policies in some countries are targeted at American blend cigarettes with little sound science to support those policies. Poorly disguised attempts in the name of social health reforms will create a precedent to eliminate trade in several other of our agricultural commodities, all in the name of improving public health. Any consumer who has decided to enjoy tobacco products is doing so knowing all the risks. We should not accept having the playing field tilted against us."

DATES TO REMEMBER

December 3. N.C. Tobacco Day 2015. Johnston County Extension Center, 2736 N.C. Hwy. 210, Smithfield, N.C. Starting time to be announced.

Beginning to look up: a A ground level shot looking up at burley

curing in a barn near Wilson, N.C. The yield of this year's crop is

down, but the quality looks good.

The last of Kentucky's burley has been in the barn for several weeks,
and from 10 percent to perhaps 15 percent has been stripped, estimates
Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. "The quality is better
than what we expected," he says. There had been a dry spell late in the
summer (see Tobacco Farmer Newsletter, October I 2015). "But since then,
there has been pretty good moisture, which may have helped darken the leaf,"
he says. "Now, temperatures are a little above average: We are looking at
early November temperatures in the mid Seventies (in Lexington). That should
help improve the quality of the later harvested tobacco." But nothing is going
to help the weight of this crop, which appears to be low due to the wet weather
experienced early in the growing season, Pearce adds. "We could be looking at
an average yield that is off 20 percent from recent years."

The quality was good for dark fire-cured in western Kentucky and Tennessee,
but burley and dark air-cured suffered through a dry curing season, says
Andy Bailey, Extension dark tobacco specialist. Prices are good. "Unless there
is some major problem, our leaf is bringing $2.70 per pound for fire-cured, $2.40
for dark air-cured."

The marketing season for Virginia fire-cured began on October 30. "That
was a little early," says Bruce Jones, the Extension agent for tobacco in
Appomattox County. "Farmers I have talked to were pleased with the prices
they received, which fell mostly in the top end of the price structure." They
were glad with the early opening too--humidity the last few weeks posed a
problem in keeping their tobacco, which they place in a cardboard box after
stripping. But this season, some stripped it, packed it again and didn't "box"
it until close to marketing. The Appomattox fire-cured was sold at a delivery
station in Oxford, N.C.

Burley is grown in Appomattox County too, frequently in tandem with dark.
"Our burley has all been harvested, but most is still hanging in the barns," says
Jones. "If farmers have dark tobacco, they will work it first before they start on
the burley." This was not by any means a bumper burley crop. "But from what
I have seen, the quality looks really good." There are also two organic flue-cured
growers in the county. "Both seem well pleased with their crop," Jones says.

It was a tough year for black shank in many parts of the flue-cured belt, so bad
that rotation seemed to lose much of its effectiveness in limiting the disease. "Any
tobacco field that was in less than a four-year rotation was vulnerable," says
Alton Roberson of Kinston, N.C. He used chloropicrin and two applications of
Ridomil. "But they were not much help either," he says. Next year he will lengthen
rotations where he can, and he also may change his soil treatment, perhaps using Presidio.

If conditions are bad enough, nothing will prevent black shank, says N.C.
Extension plant pathologist Mina Mila. "But rotation will still be the best tool
over time." As Roberson found out, "The longer the rotation the better," she says.
Presidio has shown some promise in the field in its first year on tobacco in the
field, and a new fungicide, Orondis from Syngenta, may be labeled for tobacco
for next season.

Orondis has received EPA approval and is expected to be available for 2016.
Its active ingredient is oxathiapiprolin, and it provides a new mode of action for
control of black shank and blue mold. Initially, Syngenta will market Orondis for
use on tobacco as multi-packs containing either:

Orondis and Ridomil Gold fungicide for control of black shank or

Orondis and Revus fungicide for control of blue mold.

When approved by the EPA and individual states, these products will be sold
as premixes under the brand names Orondis Gold and Orondis Ultra.

DATES TO REMEMBER

--December 3. N.C. Tobacco Day 2015. Johnston County Extension
Center, 2736 N.C. Hwy. 210, Smithfield, N.C. Starting time to be
announced but the meeting will end with a sponsored lunch.

FARMERS TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

209 Harding St., Danville, Ky.

PH: 859-236-4932

Full-service burley warehouse

Jerry Rankin, Owner

Call for information.

BIG M TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

1723 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson, N.C.,

in the old Liberty Warehouse

Mann Mullen is the owner of Big M auction warehouse in Wilson, N.C.

We hold sealed bid auctions

We promise

HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY

SERVICE

We will be GAP certified

For more information, contact Mann Mullen at 919-496-9033

or the warehouse switchboard at 252-206-1447.

Email: shrimpmann@embarqmail.com.

Boxes of burley await shipment from storage at the Burley Stabilization Corporation headquarters in Springfield, Tn. A leaf executive suggested earlier this month that the supply situation for both burley and flue-cured may be reaching balance. (File photo)

The oversupply may be disappearing. "As a result of the recent heavy rains and hail in southern Brazil from an El Nino weather pattern, we have reduced production projections for both flue-cured and burley in that country by about eight percent," said George Freeman, chief executive officer of Universal in a press release on November 5. "The same weather pattern may also affect Africa, decreasing rainfall and impacting crop sizes and quality. We believe that the combination of this weather pattern and reduced plantings in some origins will bring (leaf) markets largely into balance in fiscal year 2017."

The debate over TPP drags: President Barack Obama notified Congress, also on November 5, of his intent to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the wide-ranging trade agreement negotiated among the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries...and which has been controversial in the South because it specifically excludes tobacco from its conflict resolution protocols.

It must still be ratified by Congress, and tobacco state legislators pledged to oppose it. "Once we allow an entire sector to be treated unfairly in trade agreements, then the question is who's next?" said Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) His colleague Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), contended that it is not a free trade deal for North Carolina. "Now that we have more details about TPP, it is abundantly clear that President Obama and his allies have stacked the deck against N.C. agriculture," he said. "I won't accept any deal that puts our farmers at a disadvantage."

Negotiations on TPP have taken seven years so far, and they are likely to take a while longer. The agreement cannot be voted on in this country until 90 days have passed since Obama's letter. That would put the ratification debate right in the middle of the presidential campaign. The other countries participating in TPP negotiations are Japan, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Singapore, New Zealand, Mexico, Australia, Peru, Brunei, Chile and Canada. Other countries could petition to be included later.

Energy tobacco goes into pilot production: Tyton BioEnergy Systems of Danville, Va., will work with only a small number of farmers to produce "energy tobacco" for 2016 but expects to deal with many more once its new extractors in Raeford, N.C., and other locations in Virginia and N.C. are complete, says Conor Hartman, a Tyton vice president. This season, most of its farmers are in fairly close proximity to Danville where the company has a pilot extractor. Note: If you contacted Tyton after TFN's earlier story (September II 2015), your name has been entered into the company's database for possible future contracts.

An automatic curing controller based on traditional curing methods is now available from Rotem Control & Management Systems. The RTDC Tobacco Barn Curing Controller allows a flue-cured grower to automatically control the temperature, humidity and moisture levels in a barn using a dry bulb, with monitoring of all aspects of curing. For more information, contact Chad Honeycutt with Britt Technical Service at 910 214-1301.

Kentucky's new ag commissioner has a familiar name. Part of a well-known burley-growing family, Ryan Quarles was elected Kentucky agriculture commissioner in November. He had been a member of the state Senate. A native of Georgetown in the Bluegrass, he will replace Republican James Comer, who unsuccessfully ran for governor. Quarles is the son of Roger Quarles, former president of the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association. A proponent of diversification, he noted during the campaign that his grandfather grew hemp during World War II. "I think Kentucky is well-positioned to be a leader if industrial hemp takes off, which I think it will," he said. He also is optimistic about canola and hops in the Kentucky.

DATES TO REMEMBER

December 3. N.C. Tobacco Day 2015. Johnston County Extension Center, 2736 N.C. Hwy. 210, Smithfield, N.C. Starting time to be announced but the meeting will end with a sponsored lunch.

Editor: Chris Bickers | Bickers Editing Service | 903-9 Shellbrook Ct. | Raleigh NC 27609 | PH: 919-789-4631

ADVERTISING

FARMERS TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

209 Harding St., Danville, Ky.

PH: 859-236-4932

Full-service burley warehouse

Jerry Rankin, Owner

Call for information.

BIG M TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

1723 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson, N.C.,

in the old Liberty Warehouse

Mann Mullen is the owner of Big M auction warehouse in Wilson, N.C.

We hold sealed bid auctions

We promise

HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY

SERVICE

We will be GAP certified

For more information, contact Mann Mullen at 919-496-9033

or the warehouse switchboard at 252-206-1447.

Email: shrimpmann@embarqmail.com.

Seeking a higher price: Staff members at Old Belt Tobacco auction house in Rural Hall, N.C., cajole the buyers in hopes of getting a higher price for a bale of flue-cured. Warehouse owner Dennis White (center, yellow shirt) observes. File photo.

This season was one that flue-cured growers will be glad to "look at in the mirror," says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. "We had a great greenhouse season, but it seemed nothing went well after that." He thinks 2,100 pounds an acre is probably a good estimate of the state yield. For 2016, he says the N.C. Extension tobacco team will emphasize that farmers harvest four teams and strict separation by grades. "To have a future, you want to make sure that your buyers get what they pay for," he says.

The Piedmont, N.C.,flue-cured crop really took a hit from the frost in October. "We were short at this house," says Dennis White, owner of Old Belt Tobacco Sales in Rural Hall, N.C. "But we wouldn't have been short at all if it hadn't been for the frost." A lot of tobacco was still in the field at that time, he says. "And it was perfect too." Some was pulled anyway and sold for 90 cents to a dollar. A sign of just how bad this season was: One grower in the area still has about 10 acres that he thinks he can harvest if he can get a crew together, despite the frost. "He knocked the top leaves off and it looks okay," says White. "The green is definitely gone."

White may auction some burley at the Old Belt warehouse if enough growers want him to. "Some has been delivered here already, but it wasn't much and I bought it myself," he says. He has heard there may be enough interest for a one-day auction in Asheville.

Predictions of a short burley crop seem to have been right on the mark. "The volume is just not there," says Jerry Rankin, a farmer and auction operator in Danville, Ky. "At my warehouse, we sold 240,000 pounds at our first sale last week. We had another 60,000 pounds, but this tobacco had quality issues, and I suggested that they get it graded before the sale. I believe it will prove to be a wise decision but it meant we couldn't sell it then." What he did sell averaged $1.60 a pound. "We had a few crops that brought $1.65 to $1.75. This was good domestic tobacco, but not ones." The price seems likely to go up, Rankin says. "With so many farmers coming up short--maybe by 40 percent--I think what we are going to see is that the price will get higher as we go along." One of the few reasons for optimism: An improvement in quality for burley still in the barn seems likely. "A lot of tobacco is still hanging," Rankin says. "We had two weeks of dry weather, and you couldn't get close to touching it. But now we have had fogs, and the tobacco is coming in and out of case. It will take on a darker color."

Editor's Note: As best I can determine, the warehouses conducting burley auctions are as follows. If there are any others, please me know at the telephone number or email address listed above: Clay Tobacco Warehouse, Mount Sterling, Ky. Contact Roger Wilson at 859 498 6722. Big Burley Warehouse, Lexington, Ky. Contact Darby Montgomery at 859 233 9944. Farmers Tobacco Warehouse, 4540 Perryville Rd., Danville, Ky. Contact Jerry Rankin at 859 319 1400.

Black shank was a big problem on flue-cured in 2015, even where a good rotation had been followed. But Vann says rotation should still be the first step in black shank control. "The conditions this season were unusual and probably won't be repeated every year." There will be no new varieties in 2016 but there will be a new chemical--Orondis from Syngenta. With the relatively new fungicide Presidio and the standard fungicide Ridomil, growers have a good fungicide package, says Vann. "Consider using all the tools available," he says.

The low prices for flue-cured lead to a lousy close to the season. "Other than organic tobacco, there will be few tobacco farmers who made any money this year, with many experienced and superior growers losing substantial amounts of money," says Taylor Williams, Moore County (N.C.) Extension tobacco agent. "(It was) a year that was a perfect storm for impeding growth, yield, harvestability and quality."

A yes vote on research: The North Carolina referendum to on whether to continue the checkoff for tobacco-related research and extension programs at the state university passed in November with a yes vote of 94.5 percent of the farmers participating voting yes. As a result, tobacco farmers--both flue-cured and burley--will be assessed 10 cents for every 100 pounds of tobacco sold, as in recent years.

ADVERTISING

FARMERS TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

209 Harding St., Danville, Ky.

PH: 859-236-4932

Full-service burley warehouse

Jerry Rankin, Owner

Call for information.

BIG M TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

1723 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson, N.C.,

in the old Liberty Warehouse

Mann Mullen is the owner of Big M auction warehouse in Wilson, N.C.

We hold sealed bid auctions

We promise

HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY

SERVICE

We will be GAP certified

For more information, contact Mann Mullen at 919-496-9033

or the warehouse switchboard at 252-206-1447.

Email: shrimpmann@embarqmail.com.

A Holiday Gift for those with good memories of burley tobacco in Tennessee and North Carolina

Bill Harmon of Sugar Grove, N.C., grew burley for 51 years on the banks of the Watauga River. "It was the one crop you could just about be certain you would get rewarded on," he says. Read more about his experiences in "A History of Burley Tobacco in Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina."

Enjoy the recollections of 14 current and former burley growers along with a detailed narrative recounting the history of burley

stretching back to the Jamestown Era. It will be an ideal present for anyone who recalls the "old days" in burley with affection.

For a copy, send $25 to co-author Chris Bickers at 903-9 Shellbrook Ct., Raleigh, N.C. 27609. Or phone him at 919 789 4631 (email chrisbickers@gmail.com).

Workers process flue-cured bales at the Big M Warehouse auction in Wilson, N.C.

About 300,000 pounds of burley from North Carolina plus a little from Tennessee were sold at auction on December 14 at Planters Tobacco Warehouse in Asheville, N.C. But the results weren't as good as hoped. "The price range for most tobacco offered was $1.10 to $1.50 a pound," said warehouseman Billy Anders.

"The farmers were gene-rally discouraged."One likely reason for the low price was the preponderance of carryover from 2014 on the floor. Anders estimated that about 60 percent of the leaf was carryover, and it didn't find favor with buyers. More new crop burley had been expected but dry conditions over the previous 10 days made it difficult to strip leaf from the stalk and bale it. Now, substantial unsold burley remains on farms in western North Carolina, Anders says. "If there is enough interest, we may hold another sale at the end of January." For more information, call Anders at 828 777 8577.

A quarter million pounds were sold at this week's sale at the Big Burley Warehouse in Lexington, Ky., says manager Darby Montgomery. The practical top was $1.73 per pound for good cherry tips, he says, while low-quality tobacco from last season brought $1 or less. His rough estimate of the average price is $1.40 a pound, with a lot selling for $1.50 to $1.60. "If you had good quality, you did all right," he says. He expects to have much more tobacco to sell after Christmas.

Flue-cured auctions ended well. "Some sold as high as $1.97 a pound, and some sold for as little as 20 cents," says Mann Mullen, owner of Big M Warehouse in Wilson, N.C. "We moved quite a bit of tobacco, and everyone seemed satisfied with the price.

All tobacco received a bid, and all was sold." Some of the flue-cured brought to Big M was grown without a contract, says Mullen, but more of it was excess tobacco left over after the grower had achieved the "crop throw" requirements on his contract. "We heard time and again that once a farmer hit the crop throw, then the company didn't want any more," he says. "I am sure farmers with tobacco that fell out of crop throw were glad to have an auction." Thanks to weather, top quality just was not there. "This was a domestic crop," he says.

Going against the grade: A grower who sold at the recent auction at Planter's Warehouse in Asheville says he had only 2014 carryover left to sell. It was still on the stalk, and he didn't think it feasible to pay $10 an hour or more to get a crew to work it off. Instead, he decided to strip it into one grade, which he could do himself. With the sale behind him, he thinks now he did just fine. "You can't afford to grade tobacco if you're paying $10 an hour for stripping," he says.

A lesson learned: The 2015 flue-cured grown in eastern North Carolina was a dry weather crop that was hard to cure, says Peyton McDaniel of Whitakers, near Rocky Mount. In retrospect, he thinks planting earlier might have helped. "There were times when we couldn't harvest because of the weather and then we had a hard time getting our tobacco in before the rains came in September." That was particularly a problem on the organic tobacco he grows with brother Billy McDaniel and cousin Phillip

Watson. "We will start setting our organic tobacco a little earlier in 2016 so we can harvest earlier and still get it fully mature," he says.

Growers to meet: The annual meeting of the Council for Burley Tobacco will take place January 16, at the Owensboro Convention Center during the Ky. Cattlemen's trade show. The annual meeting of BTGCA will take place the day before at 1...The annual meeting of the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 on the last day of the Southern Farm Show (see next item).

Show time! The S.C. AgriBiz and Farm Expo is scheduled for January 13, and 14, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Florence Civic Center. The Southern Farm Show will take place February 3, 4 and 5 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C. It will end on February 5. Watch for advance coverage of both shows in January issues of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter.

Winds that twisted stalks made sucker control difficult on burley in the Bluegrass, says Jerry Rankin, a farmer and auction operator in Danville, Ky. "We couldn't get in some fields with high boys to spray MH because the tobacco was so tangled." Some tobacco didn't get any MH at all, he says.

UPCOMING GAP RECERTIFICATION MEETINGS

NORTH CAROLINA (Flue-Cured)

January 4, 9 AM Martin County Farmers Market, 4001 West Main St., Williamston, N.C. Contact Al Cochran at al_cochran@ncsu.edu/252-789-4370.
January 5, 9 AM. Farmers Market, 1006 Peachtree St., Rocky Mount, N.C. Contact Art Bradley at art_bradley@ncsu.edu/252-614-7815.

January 6, 9 AM. Wayne County Extension Center, 208 Chestnut St., Goldsboro, N.C. Contact Tyler Whaley at tyler_whaley@ncsu.edu/919-731-1527.

January 7, 9 AM. Johnston County Extension Center, 2736 NC Hwy 210, Smithfield NC. Contact Bryant Spivey at bryant_spivey@ncsu.edu/919-989-5380.

January 8, 9 AM. Wilson County Ag Center, 1806 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson NC. Contact Norman Harrell at norman_harrell@ncsu.edu/252-237-0111.

January 15, 9 AM. McSwain Extension Center, 2420 Tramway Rd., Sanford NC. Zack Taylor at zrtaylor@ncsu.edu/919-775-5624.

January 19, 8:30 AM. Granville County Expo Center, 4185 US Hwy 15 South, Oxford NC. Gary Cross at gwcross@ncsu.edu/919-603-1350.

January 21, 9 AM. Lenoir County Shrine Club, 1558 Hwy 70 East, Kinston NC. Contact Jacob Morgan at jacob_morgan@ncsu.edu/252-448-9621.

January 22, 9 AM. Forsyth County Extension Ctr., 1450 Fairchild Rd., Winston- Salem NC. Contact Tim Hambrick at tim_hambrick@ncsu.edu/336-703-2857.

January 25, 9 AM. Pitt County Extension Ctr., 403 Government Circle, Greenville NC. Contact Lance Grimes at lance_grimes@ncsu.edu/252-902-1802.

January 27, 9 AM. Sampson County Ag Expo Center, 414 Warsaw Rd., Clinton NC. Contact Della King at della_king@ncsu.edu/910-592-7161.

January 28, 9 AM. Commons Area, 309 W Cornelius Harnett Blvd., Lillington NC. Contact Brian Parrish at brian_parrish@ncsu.edu/910-8937530.

February 5, 1 PM. Holshouser Bldg., NC State Fair Grounds, following TGANC Annual Meeting, Raleigh NC. Contact Matthew Vann at matthew_vann@ ncsu.edu/919-513-0904.

VIRGINIA (Flue-Cured)

January 19, 9 AM. Southern Piedmont Center, 2375 Darvills Rd., Blackstone, VA. Contact Lindy Tucker at tucker07@vt.edu/434-696-5526.

January 20, 4 PM. Meherrin River Hunt Club, 435 Dry Creek Rd., Baskerville VA. Contact Taylor Clarke at cclarke@vt.edu/ 434-738-6191.

January 21, 4 PM. Olde Dominion Ag Complex, 19783 U.S Hwy 29, South Chatham VA. Contact Stephen Barts at sbarts@vt.edu/434-432-7770.

January 27, 10 AM Scottsburg Volunteer Fire Department, 3050 Scottsburg Rd., Scottsburg VA. Contact Lori Puryear at lorip@vt.edu/434-476-2147.

ADVERTISEMENTS

FARMERS TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

209 Harding St., Danville, Ky.

PH: 859-236-4932

Full-service burley warehouse

Jerry Rankin, Owner

Call for information.

BIG M TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

1723 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson, N.C.,

in the old Liberty Warehouse

Mann Mullen is the owner of Big M auction warehouse in Wilson, N.C.

We hold sealed bid auctions

We promise

HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY

SERVICE

We will be GAP certified

For more information, contact Mann Mullen at 919-496-9033

or the warehouse switchboard at 252-206-1447.

Email: shrimpmann@embarqmail.com.

Quality does not cost_ it pays--World Tobacco

A book for those with good memories of burley in Tennessee and North Carolina

A perspective on mountain burley: Bill Harmon of Sugar Grove, N.C., grew burley for 51 years on the banks of the Watauga River near Boone. "It was the one crop you could just about be certain you would get rewarded on," he says. Read more about his experiences in "A History of Burley Tobacco in Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina."

Enjoy the recollections of 14 current and former burley growers along with a detailed narrative of the history of burley in America stretching back to the Jamestown Era. It will be an ideal present for anyone who recalls the "old days" in burley withaffection. For a copy, send $25 to co-author Chris Bickers at 903-9 Shellbrook Ct., Raleigh, N.C. 27609. Or phone him at 919 789 4631 (or chrisbickers@gmail.com).

Black shank on flue-cured plants in a research plot at the Upper Coastal Plain Research Station near Rocky Mount, N.C.

The arsenal for battling black shank has gotten larger since 2014. J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist, says a combination of one application of Ridomil Gold SL, one of Presidio and one of the Orondis Gold 200 could improve black shank control for many growers this year. Orondis, a new fungicide from Syngenta, employs a new mode of action that is different from the standard treatment Ridomil and from Presidio, which has been labeled for tobacco just one year. "Use of multiple fungicides with differing modes of action should help prevent developmentof resistance to any one fungicide," says Moore. "We will definitely have more tools than we had a few years ago." He says the key to good results with Orondis--which is sold in a co-pack with Ridomil Gold SL--will be to get it in early and incorporate it in the root zone.

But what is still the best defense against black shank? Rotation, and the longest you can achieve, says Moore. There have been problems recently with black shank appearing in rotated fields, but he thinks that might be due to other factors, especially moving soil from infected fields to uninfected ones and irrigating with water from infected ponds. Sadly, the lack of a variety highly resistant to Race 1 continues to be a problem. The three varieties that appear to give the best resistance to black shank among flue-cured varieties tested on-farm in Georgia are NC 925, CC 143 and GL 395, Moore says. "But sometimes you pay a price in yield and/or quality for the improved resistance."

At-planting application is out for Presidio: The manufacturer Valent has withdrawn labeling of the fungicide Presidio for use in transplant water. "There were some unanticipated plant responses in a few areas in 2015 and until we get a handle on what happened, we think it is better to be safe than sorry," says Kenneth Seebold, product development manager for Valent. The transplant water use will remain off the Presidio label for the foreseeable future, he adds. By the way, the injury issues occurred entirely on flue-cured tobacco. Presidio will still be labeled as a soil directed spray at first cultivation or layby. No more than two soil applications can be made.

The quality of the burley crop appears to be living up to hopes so far. "We are about half way through marketing in terms of volume," says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. "The quality is variable but overall it is better than what was expected a few months ago." So far, most farmers seem satisfied with the price they are receiving.

Zimbabwean production appears down: The number of farmers who registered to grow tobacco dropped from over 86,000 last year to slightly above 69,000 through November, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). Growers complained about the low price of the 2014/2015 crop. Now, harvest has begun on the irrigated portion of the 2015/2016 crop. Most of the irrigated crop is in good condition but in some areas, there were problems of constant power cuts, said the minister of agriculture. "The dry land crop was affected by poor rains that started very late, and we do not expect high volumes of tobacco this season," said Davis Marapira ... Climate change could affect the current crop, said TIMB chief executive Andrew Matibiri. "According to the Meteorological Department, we will experience a shorter season," he said. But he was not sure if yield would be affected. "This is more or less the environment we experienced last season, and we are adjusting and adapting through investing in irrigation infrastructure."

Which way contracting? My assessment of the demand-supply situation is that a modest increase in flue-cured purchases for 2016 and a larger one for burley would make a certain amount of sense. But when did the tobacco business ever make sense? I have heard from a reliable source that one of the domestics is substantially cutting its pounds to growers, in some cases down to zero. I sincerely hope that this does not reflect significantly lower need on the company's part and instead represents its desire to shift purchasing to dealers. I will try to confirm this and have more details by my next issue, in about two weeks.

Growers to meet: The annual meeting of Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association will take place on January 15 at 3 p.m. at the Owensboro Convention Center during the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association trade show. The annual meeting of the Council for Burley Tobacco will take place at 12 p.m. the next day, also at the show.

Editor: Chris Bickers | Bickers Editing Service | 903-9 Shellbrook Ct. | Raleigh NC 27609 | 919-789-4631

UPCOMING GAP RECERTIFICATION MEETINGS

KENTUCKY

January 16, 9 AM. Owensboro Convention Center, 501 W 2nd St., Owensboro, Ky., in conjunction with the Tobacco Expo. Contact Bob Pearce at rpearce @uky.edu/859-257-5110.
January 18, 12 PM. McLean Co. Extn. Office, 335 West 7th St., Calhoun, Ky. Contact Cary Hicks at cary.hicks@uky.edu/270-273-3690.
January 2, 2016 10 AM. Webster Co. Extension Office, 1118 U.S. Hwy 41A South, Dixon, Ky. Contact Vicki Shadrick at vshadric@uky.edu/270-639-9011.
January 28, 6 PM. Woodford County Extension Office, 184 Beasley Rd. Versailles, Ky. Contact Adam Probst at adam.probst@uky.edu/859 873-4601.
January 29, 9 AM. Shelby County Extension Office, 1117 Frankfort Rd. Shelbyville, Ky. Contact Corinne Belton at corinne.belton@uky.edu/502-633-4593.
January 29, 1 PM. Henry County Extension Office, 2151 Campbellsburg Rd., New Castle, Ky. Contact Levi Berg at levi.berg@uky.edu/ 502-845-2811.
February 2, 6 PM. Allen County Extension Office, 200 East Main St., Scottsville, Ky. This meeting is in Central Time Zone (CST). Contact Steve Osborne at sosborne@uky.edu/270-237-3146.
February 2, 6 PM. Warren County Extension Office, 3132 Nashville Rd., Bowling Green, Ky. This meeting is in Central Time Zone. Contact Joanna Coles atjcoles@uky.edu/270-842-1681.
February 3, 1 PM. & 3 PM (two sessions). Washington County Extension Office, 211 Progress Ave., Springfield, Ky. Contact Rick Greenwell at rick.greenwell@ uky.edu/859-336-7441.
February 4, 6 PM. Harrison County Extension Office, 668 New Lair Rd., Cynthiana, Ky. Contact Jessica Barnes at jessica.barnes2@uky.edu/859-234-5510.
February 9, 9 AM. Green County Extension Office, 298 Happyville Road, Greensburg, Ky. This meeting is in Central Time Zone (CST). Contact Ricky Arnett at ricky.arnett@uky.edu/270-932-5311.
February 23, 12 PM. Wayne County Extension Office, 255 Rolling Hills Blvd., Monticello, Ky. Contact Glen Roberts at groberts@uky.edu/606-348-8453.
February 23, 5:30 PM. Albany RECC Building, 715 Snow Rd., Albany, Ky. This meeting is in Central Time Zone (CST). Contact Chelsey Pickens atcapick3@uky.edu/606-387-5404.
February 25, 5 PM. Muhlenberg County Extension Office, 3690 State Rte. 1380, Central City, Ky. Contact Darrell Simpson at drsimpso@uky.edu/270-338-3124.
February 25, 6 PM. Maysville Community and Technical College, 1755 US 68, Maysville, Ky. Contact Tad Campbell at mcampbel@uky.edu/606-564-6808.
February 29, 4:30 PM. Blewitt-Bradley Building, 309 North High St., Franklin, Ky. Contact Jason Phillips at jrphil0@uky.edu/270-586-4484.
February 29, 6 PM. Clark County Extension Office, 1400 Fortune Dr., Winchester, Ky. Contact David Davis at david.davis@uky.edu/859-744-4682.
March 2, 6 PM. Lincoln County Extension Office, 104 Metker Trail, Stanford, Ky. Contact Dan Grigson at dgrigson@uky.edu/606-365-2459.
March 3, 10 AM. Breckinridge County Extension Office, 1377 Hwy. 261 S., Hardinsburg, Ky. This meeting is in Central Time Zone (CST). Contact Carol Hinton at cmhinton@uky.edu/270-756-2182.
March 8, 2 PM. Cherry Expo Center, 101 College Farm Rd., Murray, Ky. Contact Matt Chadwick at matthew.chadwick@uky.edu/270-753-1452.
March 8, 6 PM. Livestock Classroom Fairgrounds, 1471 Concrete Rd., Carlisle, Ky. Contact Clay Stammatclay.stamm@uky.edu/859-289-2312.
March 9, 2 PM. Graves County Extension Office, 251 Housman St., Mayfield, Ky. Contact Trent Murdock at trent.murdock@uky.edu/270-247-2334.
March 10, 2 PM. Logan County Extension Office, 255 John Paul Rd., Russellville, Ky. Contact Leann Martin at leann.martin@uky.edu/270-726-6323.
March 10, 6 PM. Owen County Extension Office, 265 Ellis Hwy., Owenton, Ky. Contact Steve Musen at steve.musen@uky.edu/502-484-5703.
March 11, 9:30 AM. University of Kentucky Research & Education Ctr., 1205 Hopkinsville St., Princeton, Ky. Contact Andy Bailey at abailey@uky.edu/270-365-7541.
March 15, 5 PM. Laurel County Extension Office, 200 County Extension Rd., London, Ky. Contact Glenn Williams, gwilliam@uky.edu/606-864-4167.
March 16, 5:30 PM. Pendleton County Extension Office, 45 David Pribble Dr., Falmouth. Contact Lindie Huffman at lindie.huffman@uky.edu/859-654-3395.
March 23, 5:30 PM. Barren County High School Trojan Academy, 505 Trojan Tr., Glasgow, Ky. This meeting is in Central Time Zone (CST). Contact Chris Shalk at chris.schalk@uky.edu/270-651-3818.

TENNESSEE

February 2, 9 AM. Robertson Co. Fairgrounds Bldg., 4635 Hwy. 41 North, Springfield, Tn. in conjunction with Tobacco Expo. Contact Paul Hart atpehart@utk.edu or 615-384-7936.
February 8, 4 PM. Montgomery Co. Ext. Office, 1030 Cumberland Heights Road, Ste. A, Clarksville Tn. Contact Rusty Evans at jevans1@utk.edu or 931-648-5725.
February 9, 9:30 AM. Stewart County Visitors Center, 117 Visitors Center Lane, Dover, Tn. Contact Joe Griffy at jgriffy1@utk.edu or 931-232-5682.

INDIANA

February 24, 1 PM. Saddle Club, 710 Fairgrounds Rd., Scottsburg, In. Contact Megan Voyles at mvoyles@purdue.edu or 812-752-8450.
February 24, 6 PM. Switzerland County Extension Office, 708 West Seminary St. Vevay, In. Contact Kyle Weaver at keweaver@purdue.edu or 812-427-3152.
March 7, 1 PM. Orange County Extension Office, 205 East Main St., Paoli, In. Contact Paul Vining at vining@purdue.edu or 812-723-2107.

For earlier announced North Carolina and Virginia meeting dates, see Tobacco Farmer Newsletter December II 2015.

Plant production season coming up: A newly seeded greenhouse from a past season.

Three or four is better than one or two when it comes to harvesting. Some N.C. flue-cured growers were forced to cut reduce their number of harvests the last two seasons because of black shank or Granville wilt pressure. Vann urges three or four harvests this year if at all possible. "A once- or twice-over crop is not going to sell very well in the current leaf market," he says. "And non-tobacco material is also going to be a problem." He says an emphasis on quality is going to be N.C. Extension's focus in winter education programs.

A way to avoid tray washing: David Sanderson, farm manager, WF Partnership, Newton Grove, N.C., experimented with 600 Trilogy plastic float trays in 2015 and will do so again this season. The black trays offer one definite advantage over styrofoam trays, he says. They are much easier to clean, and you don't have to steam them. "It cost me about 25 cents each to steam clean our styrofoam trays, so there is a definite savings," he says. The performance of the Trilogy trays is quite satisfactory. "They wick very well, better than our styrofoam trays, and the quality of the plants is equal," says Sanderson. Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist, says Trilogy trays could offer some benefits. "Plastic trays should be easier to sterilize than styrofoam trays, and there is a longevity issue. It has been predicted that the black trays will last 10 to 15 years, possibly 20 years, which is much longer than styrofoam trays." There may sometimes be wicking issues with styrofoam trays but they occur mainly when they are brand new, he adds. For more information on Trilogy trays, call Ray DeBruhl at 919 610 7896. Or visit www.PlasticFloatTray.com.

Steam it yourself: Long Tobacco Barns has developed a system to sanitize greenhouse float trays. Called the Steaming Eagle, you can see it in operation at an open house Friday, January 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. at Long's manufacturing facility in Tarboro, N.C. The location is manufacturing facility located at 401 W Hope Lodge St. For more information, call 252 641 4796.

In search of a plant pathologist: The position of N.C. Extension plant pathologist with responsibility for tobacco is currently open. The new pathologist will divide his/her time between tobacco and other row crops that have not yet been identified but may well include cotton and corn. Mina Mila, who held the position for a number of year, is still on the NCSU staff as a teacher and researcher.

A vote on export promotion: Flue-cured growers in the Carolinas will vote on January 27 whether to continue their support of Tobacco Associates, the organization that uses grower check offs to fund export promotion and expansion programs. It must be revalidated in North and South Carolina in a referendum every three years. The check-off amount in N.C. is one fifth of one cent per pound, or 20 cents per 100 pounds. The S.C. amount is higher: one half cent per pound or 50 cents per 100 pounds. But board members have pledged not to actually collect more than 20 cents. The referendum will be conducted at county Extension offices. Allen Wooten of Burgaw, N.C., the farmer chairman of Tobacco Associates, urges growers to vote yes. "With domestic consumption declining, we depend on exports to hold our market where it is today," he says. And there have been successes. "We have had a very active program with Vietnamese companies since trade relations were normalized in 1996. Sales were zero then--now they are up to 500 tons a year."

The Southern Farm Show begins Wednesday, February 3, and ends on the following Friday. It will be held at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C. Entrance free. The annual meeting of the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. will take place Friday from 10 to 1. Following is a list of tobacco-oriented exhibitors appears below. Note: This list may not be complete. Additions are welcome and will appear in the next issue. Submit via chrisbickers@gmail.com.

Jim Graham Bldg.

221 Taylor Mfg. Curing barns, wood furnaces.
222 Evans Mactavish Agricraft.
227 Kelley Mfg. Co. Agricultural equipment.
704 (also 8131) Agri Supply. Agricultural materials.
807 Mechanical Transplanter Co. Transplanters, seeding equipment.
808-9 BulkTobac (Gas Fired Products). Curing equipment and controls, poultry brooders, pig heating, space heaters.

Kerr Scott Bldg.

1002 TriEst Ag Group (Formerly Hendrix and Dail). Fumigation supplies.
1005 Flue Cured Tobacco Services. Curing controls.
1015 Yara North America. Fertility products.
1104 GoldLeaf Seed Co. Tobacco seed.
1114 Transplant Systems. Greenhouse systems.
1116 Cross Creek Seed. Tobacco seed.
1121 AAA Scale Co.
1201 Carolina Greenhouse & Soil Company.
1202 Reddick Equipment Company Inc.
1302 Mid-Atlantic Irrigation.

Exposition Bldg.

3127 (also 8611) Benchmark Buildings & Irrigation Inc. Pre-fabricated metal buildings, transplanters and irrigation equipment.
3135 Southern Container Corporation of Wilson. Bale sheets and packaging.
3522 First Products Inc. Fertilizer boxes for cultivators and tool bars.
3605 MarCo Mfg. Tobacco machinery.
3714 (also 8615) Cureco, Inc. Curing controls.

Tent 1

5007 ABI Irrigation. Irrigation equipment.
5023 Walters Air Assist Plant Release System. Plant release system.
5110 Britt Technical Services, Inc. Rotem Curing Controls.

Scott Tent

7025 Drexel Chemical Company. Sucker control chemicals.
7323 Berger. Plant growing mixtures.
7327 Teeterville Garage & Weighing Systems. Moisture controllers for tobacco barns and weighing scales.

Outdoors

8035 Equipmax. Tobacco spray equipment.
8122 Carolina Tobacco Services. Curing barns, mechanical harvesters, heat exchangers.
8204 Wilson Manufacturing. Farm trailers
8217 Granville Equipment. Tobacco Machinery.
8301 World Tobacco. Bulk fertilizer handling equipment. Curing barns.
8323 De Cloet SRL. Tobacco machinery.
8546 Kelley Mfg. Co. Agricultural equipment.
8604 First Products Inc. Fertilizer boxes for cultivators and tool bars.
8705 Evencure Systems. Curing controls.
8701 Tytun Ltd. Bulk flue-curing barns.
8712 Long Tobacco Barn Co. Bulk tobacco curing barns.

UPCOMING GAP RECERTIFICATION MEETINGS

TENNESSEE

All beginning times are EST except as noted.

February 2, 9 AM. Robertson County Fairgrounds Bldg., 4635 Hwy. 41 North, Springfield, in conjunction with the Tobacco Expo. Contact Paul Hart atpehart@utk.edu or 615-384-7936.
February 8, 4 PM. Montgomery Co. Ext. Office, 1030 Cumberland Heights Road, Ste. A, Clarksville. Contact Rusty Evans at jevans1@utk.edu or 931-648-5725.
February 9, 9:30 AM. Stewart County Visitors Center, 117 Visitors Center Lane, Dover, Tn. Contact Joe Griffy at jgriffy1@utk.edu or 931-232-5682.
February 9, 6 PM. Farm Bureau Ofc., 1012 N Broad St., Tazewell. Contact MattMcGinnis at mcginnn9@utk.edu/423-626-3742.
February 15, 11 AM (CST). Smith County Ag Ct., 159 Ag Center Lane, Carthage. Contact Chris Hicks at cbhicks@utk.edu/615-735-2900.
February 15, 6 PM (CST). Trousdale County High School, 262 West McMurry Blvd., Hartsville. Location: Trousdale County Ag Pavillion (behind school). Contact Jason Evitts at jevitts@utk.edu/615-2421.
February 16 9:30 AM (CST). Lawrence County Extension Ofc., 2385 Buffalo Rd., Lawrenceburg. Contact Wendell Smith at wdsmith@utk.edu/931-762-5506.
February 16, 6:30 PM (CST). Dickson County Extension Ofc., 204 Henslee Dr., Dickson. Contact Vicki Witcher at vwitcher@utk.edu/615-446-2788.
February 22, 6 PM (CST). Sandy Wells Bld., Macon County Fairgrounds, 1200 Russell Dr., Lafayette. Contact Keith Allen at kallen@utk.edu/615-666-3341.
February 29, 6 PM. Holston Electric Cooperative Auditorium, 1200 West Main St., Rogersville. Contact Blake Ramsey at blake.ramsey@utk.edu/423-272-7241.
March 1, 6:30 PM. McMinn County Extension Ofc., 107 West College St., Athens. Contact Tim Woods at hwoods1@utk.edu/423-745-2852.
March 2, 6:30 PM. Greene County Extension Ofc., 204 North Cutler St., Suite 105, Greeneville. Contact Melody Rose at mteague@utk.edu/423-798-1710.
March 8, 9:30 AM (CST). Rutherford County Extension Ofc., 315 John R. Rice Blvd., Room B, Murfreesboro. Contact Mitchell Mote at mmote1@utk.edu/615-898-7710.
March 15, 6:30 PM (CST). Pickett County Agricultural Learning Ctr., 150 Skyline Dr., Byrdstown. Contact Billy Garrett at bgarret4@utk.edu/931-864-3310.
March 22, 6:30 PM. Appalachian Fairgrounds, Bldg. 1 Lakeview Street, Johnson City. Contact Anthony Shelton at ashelton@utk.edu/423-753-1680.
March 24, 6 PM. Ag Pavilion, 280 Bryan Rd., Rutledge. Contact: Anthony Carver at 865-828-3411/rbcarver4@utk.edu.

A new float tray sanitation system from Long Tobacco Barns of Tarboro, N.C., will be on display at the Southern Farm Show. The "Steaming Eagle" has the capacity to sanitize 1,029 two-inch high trays or 729 2.5-inch high trays per steaming cycle. It can be cycled several times per day and is designed to handle trays for 100+ acres per day.

The Southern Farm Show will take place at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C., from Wednesday, February 3, through Friday, February 5. It will be held at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C. There is no charge for admission or parking. The annual meeting of the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. will take place Friday from 10 to 1. A list of exhibitors with displays of particular interest to tobacco growers appears below.

How to explain the market downturn for flue-cured in 2015? Large inventories and large changes in exchange rates seem to be the prime factors, says Blake Brown and Will Snell, Extension economists in N.C. and Kentucky respectively. "Inventories accumulated in 2014 after larger production and unexpected lower demand in a number of markets," they wrote late last year. Then, the U.S. dollar strengthened against currencies like the euro. At the same time, the value of the currency of Brazil, the biggest competitor to U.S. flue-cured, fell. "The rising dollar and falling Brazilian Real mean that Brazilian products are much cheaper in the world market than U.S. products," they say.

Stability for burley? Looking forward to 2016, it appears burley is in a much better global supply/demand balance compared to last year, wrote Blake and Snell. Following a 17 percent drop in world burley production in 2015, Universal Leaf iscurrently projecting stable global burley leaf output for 2016.

What are the key factors affecting US burley and dark leaf production in 2016? Snell points to:

--An improved balance of global supply and demand as the year begins may minimize changes in contract volumes;

--Slowing sales of snuff should result in stable production of dark this season;

--A drop in the value of Kentucky tobacco to below $350 million in 2015 and 2016 seems likely after the post-buyout high of $448 million in 2014.

What are the major challenges facing American flue-cured in 2016? Brown suggests the following:

--Unfavorable exchange rates, particularly with the Brazilian reale;

--Continued erosion of cigarette consumption in developed countries due to health concerns.

--Hostile regulatory and tax environment for cigarettes in the EU and U.S.

--Changes in nicotine delivery technology to products that use less flue-cured than conventional cigarettes, such as e-cigarettes.

The final count for 2015: USDA issued its summary report on tobacco production in the season just ended on January 12. As in previous USDA estimates for this crop,volumes were down substantially for the two major types, and down to some extent for all other types except the cigar types of the Connecticut River Valley, although the fire-cured and dark air-cured types were down only slightly... The estimate for flue-cured is 482 million pounds, 16 percent less than last year and up three percent from the last USDA forecast in October. For burley, it is 145 million pounds, 32 percent less than last year and down five percent from the last forecast. Among individual states:

FLUE-CURED

NC: 374 million pounds, down 17 percent.
VA: 49 million pounds, down eight percent.
GA: 32 million pounds, down six percent.
SC: 26 million pounds, down 21 percent.

BURLEY

KY: 104 million pounds, down 36 percent.
TN: 19 million pounds, down 20 percent.
PA: 10 million pounds, down 15 percent.
OH: 3.6 million pounds, down 16 percent.
VA: 2.4 million pounds, down 17 percent.
NC: 1.8 million pounds, down 30 percent.

OTHER TYPES

Fire-cured was down seven percent at 55 million pounds.
Dark air-cured was down only 2.5 percent, at 17 million pounds.
Massachusetts and Connecticut cigar types were up seven percent, at 4.5 million pounds.
Pennsylvania seedleaf was down 21 percent at 3.7 million pounds.
Southern Maryland light air-cured was down 25 percent at 3.5 million pounds.

Good news from Wall Street...sort of: "We expect favorable cigarette volume trends to continue next year," says Bonnie Herzog, Senior equity research analyst with Wells Fargo. "Cigarette volume trends should continue...to down around two to three percent." That is above the historical average decline.

Tobacco lost two good friends in the last 30 days.

Joe Priest, a native of Hoke County, N.C., attended N.C. State University, graduating in 1967, and began a 48-year career with the U. S. Department of Agriculture and N.C. State. Among many accomplishments in that period, he is remembered particularly by his colleagues for serving for more than 20 years as coordinator of the regional Tobacco Growth Regulator Committee, which facilitates and plans plant growth regulator research in the flue-cured tobacco states. "He always did more than expected and did it correctly," says W.K. "Bill" Collins, his longtime co-worker. "He inspired the respect of the people he worked with."

Eddie Baker, also a native of Hoke County and also a graduate of N.C. State, was president and founder of Cross Creek Seed, Inc., of Raeford, N.C. By the end of his career, Cross Creek was producing tobacco seed, pelletizing tobacco seed, growing tobacco transplants, sanitizing tobacco greenhouse trays and producing tobacco leaf. "He founded and developed a full spectrum company for the tobacco world," remembers his son Ed. "This wide view approach gave my father the insight and experience to better serve the farmers of tobacco world, of which he was a happy member. Combining all this under one roof, Eddie did what no other U.S. seedsman has done. And of that he was proud."

TOBACCO-RELATED EXHIBITS AT

THE SOUTHERN FARM SHOW

Listed by location on the N.C. State Fairgrounds

Jim Graham Bldg.

221 Taylor Mfg. Curing barns, wood furnaces.
222 Evans Mactavish Agricraft.
227 Kelley Mfg. Co. Agricultural equipment.
704 (also 8131) Agri Supply. Agricultural materials.
807 Mechanical Transplanter Co. Transplanters, seeding equipment.
808-9 BulkTobac (Gas Fired Products). Curing equipment and controls, poultry brooders, pig heating, space heaters.

Kerr Scott Bldg.

1002 TriEst Ag Group (Formerly Hendrix and Dail). Fumigation supplies.
1005 Flue Cured Tobacco Services. Curing controls.
1015 Yara North America. Fertility products.
1104 GoldLeaf Seed Co. Tobacco seed.
1114 Transplant Systems. Greenhouse systems.
1116 Cross Creek Seed. Tobacco seed.
1121 AAA Scale Co.
1201 Carolina Greenhouse & Soil Company.
1202 Reddick Equipment Company Inc.
1302 Mid-Atlantic Irrigation.

Exposition Bldg.

3127 (also 8611) Benchmark Buildings & Irrigation Inc. Pre-fabricated metal buildings, transplanters and irrigation equipment.
3135 Southern Container Corporation of Wilson. Bale sheets and packaging.
3522 First Products Inc. Fertilizer boxes for cultivators and tool bars.
3605 MarCo Mfg. Tobacco machinery.
3714 (also 8615) Cureco, Inc. Curing controls.

Tent 1

5007 ABI Irrigation. Irrigation equipment.
5023 Walters Air Assist Plant Release System. Plant release system.
5110 Britt Technical Services, Inc. Rotem Curing Controls.

Scott Tent

7025 Drexel Chemical Company. Sucker control chemicals.
7323 Berger. Plant growing mixtures.
7327 Teeterville Garage & Weighing Systems. Moisture controllers for tobacco barns and weighing scales.

Outdoors

8035 Equipmax. Tobacco spray equipment.
8122 Carolina Tobacco Services. Curing barns, mechanical harvesters, heat exchangers.
8204 Wilson Manufacturing. Farm trailers
8217 Granville Equipment. Tobacco Machinery.
8301 World Tobacco. Bulk fertilizer handling equipment. Curing barns.
8323 De Cloet SRL. Tobacco machinery.
8546 Kelley Mfg. Co. Agricultural equipment.
8604 First Products Inc. Fertilizer boxes for cultivators and tool bars.
8705 Evencure Systems. Curing controls.
8701 Tytun Ltd. Bulk flue-curing barns.
8712 Long Tobacco Barn Co. Bulk tobacco curing barns.

Showing at the Show: Alessio Scarscelli (knit cap) of DeCloet explains to Robert Templeton of Harmony, N.C., and David Majors of Cleveland, N.C., how you can spray with precision with the two sprayers in the background, both made by DeCloet. The conversation took place at the exhibit of Vause Equipment of Fayetteville, N.C., at the Southern Farm Show in Raleigh last week.

HOPING FOR BETTER NEWS ON CONTRACTING

Outlook glum: I didn't hear the optimism about contracting volume that I was hoping to at the Southern Farm Show last week. Indeed, some of my most reliable sources were dejected about the prospects. From what I could gather, a reduction in contract pounds of no more than 10 percent would be a moral victory at this point. That's for flue-cured--burley might get treated a little better because of its huge shortfall in 2015, I learned. More on this in my next issue, roughly two weeks from now.

Indirect benefit of lower fuel prices: Since gas prices have dropped by nearly half since last year, consumers should have more discretionary spending money in their

Steaming Eagle Float Tray Sanitation System

pockets," said Tim Yarbrough of Prospect Hill, N.C., outgoing president of the N.C. Tobacco Grower's Association, at its annual meeting on February 5. "As conveni-ence stores are a major point of sale for cigarettes one pack at the time, so it is reasonable to expect domestic sales for pre-mium brands to see a slight increase. If this holds true, it could be a glimmer of good news for domestic leaf used in premium blended pro-ducts." On the other hand, imported leaf is cheaper with a strong dollar. "So we have to work to market our premium leaf on its merits and the real value of its quality characteristics."

Balancing supply and demand: Universal Corporation George C. Freeman III continues to be optimistic that world leaf supplies are approaching balance with demand. The El Nino weather pattern has reduced crop production levels in Brazil and may also affect African crops, he says. "We believe that production declines resulting from this weather pattern, combined with reduced plantings in some origins, will bring markets largely into balance in fiscal year 2017."

How much of a decline? Universal is now forecasting an 11 percent decline in flue-cured crops produced outside of China in 2016 and a six percent decline in burley crops, compared to 2015.

Insects on organic: If you're setting in a field that is high risk for soil insects, plan on having extra plants, says Hannah Burrack, N.C. Extn. entomologist. "Many new organic tobacco growers are planting in fields that have not previously been in tobacco," she says. "We do not know what the potential is for soil insect damage in these fields, but organic tobacco growers should be aware of potential risk." Fields previously planted in grasses or pasture may especially foster higher wireworm populations, she adds. There are no effective organic insecticides to manage soil insects, so pre-transplant treatment is not recom-mended. "Instead, organic growers planting into recent grass or pasture land should be aware of potential damage and be prepared to fill in plants if necessary to ensure a good stand."

New marketing center in Southside Virginia: The U.S. Tobacco Cooperative has announced it will open a marketing center in La Crosse, Va., this season. It will We are building 2016 barns--Long

primarily service the Cooperative's flue-cured growers in Va. and N.C. The 161,250 square foot facility is located near the intersection of Interstate 85 and U.S. Hwy. 58.

The marketing season in the Bluegrass turned out reasonably well. "It was a good marketable crop," says Roger Quarles, a grower from George-town, Ky. "I can't say anyone was really pleased with the season as a whole. 'Relieved' might be a better word." Good tobacco sold at an acceptable price, especi-ally near the end of the season, and although there was an obvious shortfall in yield, farmers seem to have done a little better in filling their contracts than might have been predicted, he said.

Another new float tray steaming unit is on the market this year. Carolina Greenhouses, Kinston, N.C., is selling the Steamerator tray cleaning system. With a capacity of 840 trays, it has doors at each end for loading without driving through. It takes 30 minutes at most to reach a temperature of 176 degrees, and it takes 90 minutes to run a cycle, according to the manufacturer. For more information on the Steamerator, call Carolina Greenhouses at 800-635-4532.

Watch for more news from the Farm Show in the next issue.

NEW GAP RECERTIFICATION MEETINGS

VIRGINIA (Burley)

February 23, 6 PM. Adult Learning Center, 153 School Board Place, Jonesville. Contact Amy Fannon Osborne at afannon@vt.edu/276 346 1522.
February 22, 6 PM. Southwest Virginia 4-H Center, 25236 Hillman Highway, Abingdon VA. Contact Phil Blevins at pblevins@vt.edu/276 628 6309.

NORTH CAROLINA (Burley)

March 8, 6 PM. Madison County Extension Ofc., 258 Carolina Ln., Marshall. Contact Stanley Holloway at stanley_holloway@ncsu.edu/828 682 6186.

FARMERS TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

209 Harding St., Danville, Ky.

PH: 859-236-4932

Full-service burley warehouse

Jerry Rankin, Owner

Call for information.

BIG M TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

1723 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson, N.C.,

in the old Liberty Warehouse

Mann Mullen is the owner of Big M auction warehouse in Wilson, N.C.

We hold sealed bid auctions

We promise

HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY

SERVICE

We will be GAP certified

For more information, contact Mann Mullen at 919-496-9033

or the warehouse switchboard at 252-206-1447.

Email: shrimpmann@embarqmail.com.

A quality strategy: Flue-cured grower Richard Todd of Wendell, N.C., wants to maximize

his leaf quality in 2016.

Quality will definitely determine who gets contracts in the future and who doesn't, says Richard Todd of Wendell, N.C., who farms with his son Joe. "The companies will look at who produces the best tobacco." There are many practices that can help--in recent years, the Todds have gotten a quality boost from some new curing barns. "We bought a World Tobacco barn three years ago (above) and have since bought two more." The best thing about them is the quality of the cure, he says. "That is mainly because of the airflow and the amount of insulation."

Germination delay may occur in greenhouses in some regions of North Carolina, so it might be wise to add fertilizer a few days later than normal. "Standard practice is to

wait seven to 10 days after seeding before adding fertilizer to the floatbed to hedge against injury from soluble salts," says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension specialist. "Waiting until 10 to 12 days is probably not a bad idea, but I would not wait any longer than 14 days--uneven growth could occur, with older seedlings rapidly outpacing the younger ones."

Short volume but better quality: The 2015 burley crop was short, says Steve Pratt, GM of the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Assn. in Lexington, Ky. "We didn't get all the pounds we contracted for. But it was of better than expected quality. Expectations had been low on the early crop because we had a lot of rain. But the weather during curing was good enough that it allowed the leaf to recover." The cooperative will probably start contracting in March and will be looking to sign up about the same volume or a little less than it did a year ago.

Contracting should also start soon for Burley Stabilization Corporation (BSC), the coop in Springfield, Tn. Daniel Green, BSC chief operating officer, says that despite excessive

rain growers produced about what had been anticipated. "There was little low quality tobacco in this crop," he says. "It was a bit on the thin side, but is very useable tobacco." There may be a small increase in the coop's contract volume, he says.

Burley decline: 2,805 farmers in Kentucky grew burley in 2014, according to an update from BTGCA that was shared at its annual meeting. That was 448 less than the year before and 560 less than 2012. "These numbers reflect a trend that most likely continued in 2015 and will carry forward for 2016," the update said.

New flue-cured leader: Clay Strickland of Clinton, N.C., was elected president of the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina at its annual meeting in Raleigh, N.C.,

on February 5. There will be just one way for N.C. growers to get ahead of the current market, he says, and that will be to produce quality leaf. "The outlook now is not real good, and I have to feel a little pessimistic."

New burley leader: Burley Grower Greg Harris of Richmond, Ky., was elected to a two-year term as president of the Council for Burley Tobacco at its annual meeting. "Insurance fraud, contract uncer-tainty and labor/ immigration are a few of the issues our board has made as priorities for the year ahead," he said. David Chappell, Sparta, Ky., was elected vice president.

Young seedlings were growing well at the end of February on

this farm near Raleigh, N.C.

Seeding wrapped up on March 2 on Tyson Family Farms in Nashville in the Eastern Belt of North Carolina. "In the first greenhouse we seeded, the plants are up," says Sharon Tyson. "We hope to have enough plants for 400 acres." It will be all flue-cured, with perhaps as much as 35 acres organic.

A new burley variety for a niche market: KT 215 features excellent resistance to fusarium wilt and race 1 black shank and was released this year. But only a limited

supply of seed was produced and it is already sold out for this season. Adequate supplies should be available for 2017, and it will be a good choice if you are one of the small number of farmers dealing with both those diseases. If you don't have both, you are probably better off planting one of the existing varieties, says Robert Miller, the Kentucky-Tennessee breeder who developed KT 215. That's because unlike most varieties generally planted now, KT 215 has no resistance to potato virus Y, which could become a problem in a hurry.

Where would KT 215 fit best? Miller says you find fields with both fusarium wilt and black shank most often along the Ohio River and in an area of western North Carolina in river bottoms where tomatoes were once grown extensively, which built up fusarium. "It is seldom found in Tennessee," he says.

Grower numbers down in Kentucky: 2,805 farmers grew burley in Kentucky in 2014, according to a report from Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association. That was 448 less than the year before and 560 less than 2012. "These numbers reflect a trend that most likely continued in 2015 and will carry forward for 2016," the report said.

Tyson was one of 21 farmers and 21 agriculture professionals who participated in the recent 2016 N.C. State Tobacco Short Course, taking part in two days of classroom studies on everything from how best to produce plants in greenhouses to optimizing curing of leaf to participating in a flue - cured tobacco grading session. One of the high points was a day-long session on grading, taught by USDA-AMS specialist Bobby Wellons. "Since the industry faces continuous change, we need to make sure our younger farmers, their advisors, and industry representatives are able to focus on how to attain efficient production of quality tobacco," says Bill Collins, co-director of the course, which is conducted by the North Carolina Tobacco Foundation, in partnership with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State University and the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina. Funding for the program is provided by the North Carolina Tobacco Research Commission. Participants in this course were:

Getting up to grade: Bobby Wellons (right) of USDA-AMS points out key aspects of grading

flue-cured tobacco to Hertford County growers Denton Spruill (left) and Will Hawthorne.

Growers: Person County--Daniel Adcock, Greg Garrett and Hunter Thomas. Johnston County--Hunter Langdon and Austin Benson. Wilson County--Russell Davis and Daniel Sharp. Nash County--Ashley Fisher, Sharon Tyson, Hailey Askew and Matt Batchelor. Bertie County--Nick Morris and Sid Copeland III. Beaufort County--Dodge Buck III, Jody Arnold and Ryan Hardison. Hertford County--Will Hawthorne and Denton Spruill. Franklin County--Nick Bell. Caswell County--Coty Redding. Rockingham County--Josh French.

Advisors: Extension Service Agents--Zack Taylor (Lee County), Kelly McCaskill (Moore County) and Anna-Beth Williams (Washington County). NCDA&CS Agronomy--Jacob Searcy (Region 2); Daniel Overcash (Region 11). NCDA&CS Research--Chris Blackmon (Border Belt Research Station) and Daniel Williams (Central Crops Research Station). USDA-Risk Management--Tonya Harris. Carolina Precision & Consulting--Tanner Smith and Taylor Branham. Crop Production Services--Matt Griffin. Southern Bank--Terri Stutts. Tyton Bioenergy Systems--Jennifer Atkins. Waypoint Analytical--Pauric McGroary. RJR Tobacco--Chris Buchanan, David Grimes and Matt Sain. Hail & Cotton--Will Borthick, Brad Price, Thomas Lowery and Bill Norfleet.

A young farmer and a career educator were honored at the annual "Breakfast with the Commissioner" held by the Tobacco Farm Life Museum on February 5 in Raleigh at the Southern Farm Show. The Innovative Farmer of the Year Award went to Robert Elliott of Cypress Hall Farm of Louisburg, N.C. The Excellence in Agriculture award, sponsored by Wells Fargo, went to Richard H. Linton, Dean of the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at N.C. State University.

A legendary tobacco agronomist received one of several awards given by the Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. on February 5 at the Southern Farm Show. Distinguished Service Award--Tobacco Agronomist W.K. "Bill" Collins. Extension Service Award--Charles Mitchell, Extension director, Franklin County, N.C. Outstanding Director--Jonathan Renn, Franklin County. N.C. Farm Family of the Year--Hinnant Farms. Lifetime Century Member--Donny McElveen.

TOBACCO FARMER NEWSLETTER

Editor: Chris Bickers | Bickers Editing Service | 903-9 Shellbrook Ct. | Raleigh NC 27609 | 919-789-4631

A farmer beds his tobacco land before transplanting near Cobbtown,
Ga., on March 18. The season's first plantings reportedly took place
four days earlier in Florida (Photo courtesy of J.Michael Moore).

The first tobacco of 2016 has been planted in Florida and Georgia, beginning on March 14, and land preparation is proceeding at a breakneck pace everywhere else. Higher temperatures than normal for this time of year helped farmers in the Deep South get a good start, says Extension specialist J. Michael Moore stationed in Tifton, Ga. "It was 89 degrees Wednesday. The dogwoods are blooming, the azaleas are out, and our growers want to get their plants in the field."

There will be plenty of Type 14 plants, with probably some excess to sell, Moore says. "We had to commit before contracts were out, and some companies cut back, so we may have seeded more than we will need." Still, for now, Moore is estimating Georgia acreage will be close to last year's 13,500 acres. Florida may fall a bit but he is hoping for 1,000 acres.

No reason to think tomato spotted wilt won't make an impact this season. "We have plenty of weeds, and there are plenty of thrips in those weeds," says Moore. "We have to be prepared for a heavy load of tomato spotted wilt right after transplanting."

Growers in Tennessee began seeding their greenhouses late in February, and now the process is well under way, says Eric Walker, Extension tobacco specialist stationed in Springfield, Tn. Things seem to be going well, but Walker reminds growers to replace EPS trays at least every three years. "These trays can increasingly harbor diseases, such as Pythium, with each additional year of use."

Seeding of dark tobacco in western Kentucky and middle Tennessee started around March 1. "There was not much seeding done at the beginning," says Andy Bailey, Extension dark tobacco specialist stationed in Princeton, Ky. "The bulk went in from about March 15." Plants were just beginning to appear in the earliest seeded greenhouses by the end of this week. "If all goes well, seeding will be finished by early April, with first transplantings around May 1 or as soon as the weather permits."

Much of the Kentucky burley crop remains to be seeded, says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist, but seedlings are already up in some greenhouses. Progress has been good but he is concerned about predicted high temperatures. "Make sure the heat is not excessive in the greenhouse," he advises.

Be sure to keep the temperature in your greenhouses below 90 degrees. The temperature can increase very rapidly on sunny days any time during the production period, says the South Carolina Extension Service.

A "triple option" of black shank control chemicals? The new products Presidio and Orondis Gold along with Ridomil Gold make your choices a little more complicated. "There may well be some farmers who elect to apply a black shank fungicide preplant or in the transplant water, again at first cultivation, and then again at layby," says Charles Johnson, Virginia Extension plant pathologist. "But most will choose to apply a product in the setter water and then another to use in a field spray during cultivation." Ridomil Gold can still be used at any of these three timings. But the Orondis Gold-Ridomil Gold tank mix and Presidio are to be applied only once during a growing season. And Presidio can only be used as an incorporated field spray in 2016.

All three fungicides should provide good to excellent black shank control, says Johnson. "The Orondis Gold-Ridomil Gold tank mix and Presidio have generally shown the best black shank control in field trials over the past several years." Ultra Flourish and MetaStar can be used in place of Ridomil Gold, but keep in mind that the use rates are higher because these products are less concentrated.

Despite the bad weather in 2015, flue-cured grower Mel Ray of Whitesville, N.C., had some fields that yielded 3,000 pounds per acre or more, thanks in part to a new soil amendment product called Quick-Sol. He treated both in the greenhouse and in the field. During the drought, the plants weren't stressed. "Once we got rain, these plants came back, and I think the Quick-Sol helped them hold on and stay healthy," says Ray. For more information, see the Soil and Plant Technology website atsoilplanttech.com.

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Editor: Chris Bickers | Bickers Editing Service | 903-9 Shellbrook Ct. | Raleigh NC 27609 | 919-789-4631

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A worker adjusts a mower before clipping plants

on a flue-cured farm in eastern N.C. [File photo]

An ample supply of transplants appears on the way in North Carolina. Substantially all the flue-cured greenhouses in N.C. have been seeded now and in most, the plants are up and growing, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. He thinks a few fields would probably have been set at the end of this week, but predictions of very cold weather Friday night and Saturday morning have probably delayed those plans. "Temperatures of as low as 28 degrees have been predicted in east N.C.," he says. "But if the cold doesn't last, we will still be right on schedule for transplanting."

It's been a good greenhouse season so far in southern Virginia, says Chris Haskins of Chatham, about 25 miles north of Danville. "I will have to mow my plants by the end of this week," says Haskins, who grows flue-cured and burley. "They are ahead of schedule now thanks to all the sunshine and warm weather we had in March. We didn't have much wind then, but it is blowing now." He seeded his house on March 8 and plans on starting planting by the end of April, if not sooner.

Burley seeding continues in western N.C. "Greenhouses at the Mountain Research Station at Waynesville were seeded about a week ago," says Vann (on April 5). "The seedlings have gotten off to a good start."

Don't let greenhouses get too cold. "If we can keep to a minimum temperature of 55 degrees, there shouldn't be any cold injury," Vann says.

Guest workers get more expensive: In Kentucky, the H-2A wage rate increased from $10.28 per hour in 2015 to $10.85 per hour for 2016, says Kentucky Extension economist Will Snell. That is 42 percent more than it was at the time of passage of the buyout. Accounting for transportation, housing, utilities, worker compensation insurance, fees and the other expenses associated with H-2A labor, the total 2016 wage rate for the H-2A guest worker program is likely to be in the neighborhood of $13 to $14 per hour, Snell says.

The official average price for the 2015 burley crop will likely be near the 2014 average of $1.94 per pound, Snell says. Prices held up fairly well even though there were several negative factors: Global supplies were ample entering the 2015 season, global blended cigarette sales were slumping, the U.S. dollar was strengthening and there were concerns about crop quality. But those factors were to a degree overcome by relatively strong U.S. cigarette sales, an improved U.S. burley trade balance and concerns over the effect of to El Niño weather patterns on South American and African burley crops.

With some recent U.S. burley prices rising to $2 per pound, it can be said that actual prices are returning to pre-buyout levels. "But real prices adjusted for inflation have declined by more than 20 percent relative to 2004," says Snell.

Be prepared to weed your tobacco by hand if it needs it late in the season, says Matthew Inman, N.C. Extension associate. And be sure to do it in a timely fashion so that you prevent weed seed from going back into the weed seed bank. "If suitable weed suppression has been realized in early and mid-season, weed removal by hand can be accomplished with very little added production cost," he says. "It will also aid in harvest efficiency and will reduce weed seed contamination in cured leaf."

Remember that relying on just one weed management practice is not an effective weed management program, Inman says. "It is best to use all available resources; crop rotation, cultivation, herbicides and hand weeding. Cultivation and herbicides are not perfect, and there are going to be weed escapes." When that happens, the only other option is pulling them by hand. "Doing this in a timely manner can prevent a larger weed problem down the road," he says.

TOBACCO FARMER NEWSLETTER Editor: Chris Bickers | Bickers Editing Service | 903-9 Shellbrook Ct. | Raleigh NC 27609 | 919-789-4631

GAP RECERTIFICATION MEETINGS

OHIO

April 13, 6 p.m. OSU Extension Office, 111 Jackson Pike, Gallipolis, Oh. Call 740 446 7007.

KENTUCKY

April 7, 1 p.m. Monroe County Extension Office, 1194 Columbia Avenue, Tompkinsville, Ky. Contact Kenneth Johnson at kenneth.johnson@uky.edu or270 487 5504.

WISCONSIN

April 19, 8:30 a.m., David Fisher's Farm, 11575 Hale Lane, Darlington, Wi.
April 19, 1 p.m. Mahlon King's Farm, 28630 County Rd. XX, Platteville, Wi.
April 20, 8:30 a.m. Daniel Esh's Farm 3696 Highway 18 Fennimore, Wi.

For all three Wisconsin meetings, the contact is Bill Maksymowicz at bill.maks @yahoo.c om or 615 212 0508.

FARMERS TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

209 Harding St., Danville, Ky.

PH: 859-236-4932

Full-service burley warehouse

Jerry Rankin, Owner

Call for information.

BIG M TOBACCO WAREHOUSE

1723 Goldsboro St. SW, Wilson, N.C.,

in the old Liberty Warehouse

Mann Mullen is the owner of Big M auction warehouse in Wilson, N.C.

We hold sealed bid auctions

We promise

HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY

SERVICE

We will be GAP certified

For more information, contact Mann Mullen at 919-496-9033

or the warehouse switchboard at 252-206-1447.

Email: shrimpmann@embarqmail.com.

A flue-cured greenhouse with plants nearly ready for setting, near Snow Hill, N.C.

USDA'S INITIAL ESTIMATE

HOW MUCH TOBACCO WILL WE GROW?

In a bit of a surprise, USDA said in its Prospective Plantings Report at the end of March that acreage of the two major tobacco types and most of the minor types would change only slightly from last year. Flue-cured, at 209,000 acres, would be four percent below 2015, according to this projection, while burley, at 79,150 acres, will be up slightly from last year if the projection is correct. Let's hope the projection is close, but industry estimates that have reached this editor's ears suggest a much bigger cut in flue-cured plantings and perhaps no reduction for burley. As to the other types, the report pegged fire-cured tobacco, at 17,350 acres, would be down two percent, and dark air-cured, at 5,950 acres, down four percent. The projection was based on a survey conducted in mid March.

Among the individual states: Flue-cured: NC--160,000 acres, down six percent. VA-- 21,000 acres, down two percent. SC--14,500 acres, up 12 percent. GA--13,500 acres, no change. Burley: KY--61,000 acres, up one percent. TN--12,000 acres, unchanged. NC-- 950 acres, down five percent. PA--4,000 acres, down 15 percent. VA--1,200 acres, down eight percent. Fire-cured: KY--10,000 acres, up one percent. TN--7,100 acres, down seven percent. VA--250 acres, unchanged. Dark air-cured: KY--4,700 acres, down six percent. TN--1,250 acres, up four percent. So. Maryland (PA): 1,600 acres, unchanged. Cigar leaf(Conn./Mass): 2,900 acres, up four percent. Cigar filler (PA): 1,400 acres, down 12 per cent.

The effects of the mid-April freeze were minimal but may have been worst in the Pee Dee area of South Carolina, where most of the state's tobacco is grown. "Only a small percen-tage of our total tobacco acreage had been transplanted (by April 9)," says William Hardee, S.C. Extension agent for Horry and Marion Counties. "But for some, this will turn out to be a costly incident." Some fields were damaged to the extent that the field will need to be reset completely. "Others just needed to be walked over and re-pegged to replace the dead transplants." The damage seemed worse on the light/sandy soils, Hardee says. That indicates that the cold, hard winds could have been a major contributor to the damage in addition to the low temperatures.

Tennessee burley dodged the bullet. There was some cold weather in east Tennessee at the end of that week of April 9, says Richard Hensley, research associate at the University of Tennessee Research & Education Center, in Greeneville. But all the tobacco was still in the greenhouse at that time. "Growers were able to keep the temperature around 70 degrees," he says. "The only effect that I noticed was that the plants growing close to the curtains now look a little small compared to the ones in the middle of the houses. I think that may be associated with the temperature."

Burley planting may start April 19 in Macon County, Tn., says Keith Allen, County Extension tobacco agent. "Some of our plants have been mowed two or three times and they are ready to go out," he says. "Rains are predicted toward the end of the week. But now it is in the mid 80s, so growers want to get started." This area, east of Nashville, also had cold weather the week ending April 9, he says. "But the low temperature was closer to 40 than freezing." All plants were in greenhouses at the time, and there was no damage.

GAP RECERTIFICATION MEETINGS

WISCONSIN

April 19, 8:30 a.m., David Fisher's Farm, 11575 Hale Lane, Darlington, Wi.
April 19, 1 p.m. Mahlon King's Farm, 28630 County Rd. XX, Platteville, Wi.
April 20, 8:30 a.m. Daniel Esh's Farm 3696 Highway 18 Fennimore, Wi.

For all three Wisconsin meetings, the contact is Bill Maksymowicz at bill.maks @yahoo.c om or 615 212 0508.

Flue-cured growing in south Georgia on May 4. It was set on March 24.

Georgia and Florida--Planting is complete, says Extension tobacco specialist J. Michael Moore. "Some growers are making fertilizer applications, while the earliest trans-planted fields have been plowed for the last time." There was an abundances of plants and many of them are still available for purchase. Moore expects 13,500 acres of tobacco in Georgia, which is the same as USDA's Prospective Plantings projection for the state. He expects about 1.300 acres in Florida, which wasn't included in the USDA Plantings report.

South Carolina--Planting is 79 percent complete in this state, according to USDA's Crop and Progress Report. In Georgetown County, it is complete, says county agent Kyle Daniel. "Producers are now concentrating on planting cotton, peanuts, and soybeans."

North Carolina--Planting is 75 percent complete in the Eastern Belt, 56 percent complete in the Middle Belt and 21 percent complete in the Old Belt, according to a county agent survey compiled by Matthew Vann, Extension tobacco specialist. The statewide estimate is 59 percent.Thanks to rainfall in most of the state, Vann doesn't expect much transplanting got done this week. "But once we get some dry weather, the farmers will get right back out there." There are still plenty of transplants available and they are generally of good quality, he says.

Virginia--Planting of flue-cured was only about five percent completed through May 1, according to USDA's Crop and Progress Report. The five-year average is 11 percent. Weather the past week prevented catching up but farmers weren't complaining. "Rain this week was helpful," says Extension agent Cynthia Gregg in Brunswick County. "Producers are planting tobacco and needed the rain."

Kentucky--Burley growers are waiting for fields to dry out, says Bob Pearce, Extension tobacco specialist. "Maybe a few have set some tobacco out already, but most are in await and see attitude with the weather." Thanks to up and down weather during the plant-producing season, it was a challenge to get a good crop of plants, but Pearce says what he has seen so far has been fair to good. It looks like the supply will be adequate but some growers may have to hunt around if they don't grow enough of their own. Tennessee--Transplanting has just barely begun, says Eric Walker, Extension tobacco specialist. He knows of only a few producers in the state who have started setting tobacco. "We were all geared up to start setting, but then the rain we received over the weekend was enough to hold us back. Next week, it will be wide open."

In other tobacco news:

Blue mold has been found in several greenhouses in south Georgia since Easter, but it is not a significant problem in the field yet, says Moore. "Farmers aggressively treated

in their greenhouses and segregated the infected plants. We have found only one location where blue mold is active in the field." Hot weather in this area last week will hopefully have dried up any other blue mold in the field.

A little tomato spotted wilt has also been found in Georgia. Moore estimates one or two percent of plants have been infected. "That is not nearly as much as was expected after our relatively warm winter and spring," he says. There was no shortage either of weed hosts or of thrips, which vectors the disease.

GAP audits for cooperative growers: The U.S. Tobacco Cooperative (USTC), headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., will require GAP Connection audits for all of its growers this year. "While grower audits are time consuming, they are a key part of changing the perception of U.S. tobacco," says Stuart Thompson, chief executive officer of the cooperative, which serves flue-cured growers. "Leaf buyers not only want growers to meet high standards, they want data to prove it." Thompson thinks the market is heading toward 100 percent audit of growers on an annual basis...USTC has created a new position of director of leaf quality and appointed Declan Curran to fill it. Curran had been manager of processing and quality at Phillip Morris International previously.

One new leaf marketing center has been opened by USTC this season. Two others were closed. The co-op will operate six market-ing centers, in Nashville, Ga.; Mullins, S.C.; Wilson, N.C., Sanford, N.C.; Smith-field, N.C., and LaCrosse, Va. The LaCrosse center is new. The co-op has closed marketing centers in Oxford, N.C., and Danville, Va.

More child labor allegations: Reynolds American (RAI) came under fire this week when the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) contended that some of RAI's farmers violated the company's 2014 commitment not to allow the employment of children under 16 on farms it buys tobacco from. Further details will follow in a future issue.

In Passing: Layten Davis of Spring Creek, N.C., near Marshall, died April 30. A native of Madison County, he was a professor of agronomy at the University of Kentucky, later the director of the Tobacco and Health Research Institute in Lexington, Ky., and still later principal research scientist at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. He was the co-editor in 1999 of Tobacco: Production, Chemistry and Technology, still an important reference book.

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A PROGRESS REPORT ON THE 2016 TOBACCO CROP