Tobacco Farmer Newsletter

Hustling to beat the hurricanes: Workers hustle to get flue-cured leaf in barns in Wake County, N.C. (File photo by Chris Bickers)

With Florence bearing down, many of the flue-cured growers along the Atlantic Coast faced intense weather conditions with significant tobacco still in the field. Georgia might dodge the bullet since the path of the storm is expected to pass by it, and most of its crop has been harvested already (95 percent as of September 9, according to USDA). But South Carolina still had 10 percent unharvested, Virginia 35 percent, and in North Carolina, Extension specialist Matthew Vann reckons that 40 to 45 percent of the fields still have enough tobacco in them to be negatively affected by Florence.

And the effect can be severe, Vann says. "You can expect heavy rains and very strong winds, and that will cause leaf whipping," he says. "It appears that we can expect at least a three-or-four-day wind. With the intensity of the conditions expected, the leaf is going to ripen extremely fast." To make matters worse, it has been coming off fast the last few weeks, and Vann feels most growers are already maxed out on barn space...What to do? Well, in the short term, the goal should be to minimize the leaf you lose as a result of electrical failure during the cure. Grant Ellington, Extension agricultural engineer at N.C. State, provided an excellent set of recommendations a few storms ago. I am going to print it below in hopes it will help you prepare for the worst.

Curing Tips

Should adverse weather cause the loss of electrical current to the tobacco curing barn and a backup generator is not available, listed below are some tips that are recommended in order to minimize leaf damage.

For tobacco that is being cured, the damage that might be sustained is related to the stage of cure when the power is lost and the condition of the tobacco when it is loaded into the barn. Tobacco that is in the very early or late stages of curing generally fairs the best when the power is out for extended periods. The following guidelines are useful when generator capacity is limited or not available:

Yellowing (95 degrees WB/100 degrees DB) - about 24 hours - This period can be extended if the tobacco can be cooled to near outside temperatures before power outage occurs or as soon as possible after the outage occurs. Thereafter, the heat should be flushed every hour if the generator capacity is not sufficient to continue the cure normally. If a generator is not available, all air vents and doors should be opened to allow as much heat as possible to escape.
Late yellowing/early leaf drying (105 degrees WB/105-115 degrees DB) - about 6 hours - This is the most critical period for damage and the tobacco should be cooled as soon as possible by any means available, with the heat being flushed every hour as suggested above. If sufficient generator capacity is not available and your area is expecting severe damage, tobacco that would be in this stage of curing during a prolonged power outage might be more profitable to the grower if it had not harvested.
Leaf drying (105 degrees WB/120-135 DB) - about 24 hours - Extend the safe period by cooling as suggested above. Stem drying (110 degrees WB/150 degrees + DB) - several days - Attention to these barns can be delayed in order to provide attention to barns in the earliest stages of curing.

Barn Loading Considerations

Damage to tobacco during power outages is usually more severe in boxes than racks and particularly when containers are not loaded uniformly or loaded with wet tobacco. Therefore, tobacco harvested between now and the time the threat is passed should be harvested dry, loaded uniformly, and perhaps the containers should be loaded lighter than normal in order to maximize air movement and cooling potential should a power outage occur.

Don't forget about your greenhouses. "Roll up curtains tight and secure doors," says Norman Harrell, Extension director in Wilson County, N.C. "If we lose power, you need to have backup power for the greenhouses to keep the plastic layers fully inflated."

BURLEY REPORT:

In East Tennessee, 2018 is beginning to look like a better-than-average season. "We have a good-looking crop," says Don Fowlkes, Agronomy Manager, Burley Stabilization Corporation. "There were the normal seasonal challenges, but now it appears that we have decent weight and the outlook for good quality also." At least half has been harvested and curing has gone well. Growers got a break in the first few weeks of curing. "It has been

unusually hot the past two or three weeks, but we have had good humidity so the tobacco hasn't cured too fast." Fowlkes has hopes that this crop may have plenty of the reddish color that buyers are looking for.

In Kentucky, a fairly dark color seems on the way too, says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension toba-cco specialist. So far, there hasn't been significant flash curing. Like Tennessee, Kentucky has plenty of humidity. Maybe too much. Pearce fears there may be a problem of houseburn. Some Kentuckians got rain from Tropical Storm Gordon, but there hasn't been much rain since Sunday, Pearce says. "But it continues cloudy. We have had no sunshine for some time." More than half the Kentucky burley crop has been harvested, says Pearce. "But not much more."

The September USDA Crop Report was released at noon. Flue-cured tobacco production is expected to total 415 million pounds, the report says, down 10 percent from 2017. Burley tobacco production is expected to total 129 million pounds, down 20 percent from last year. Production projections by type and by state for flue-cured and burley follow.

Flue-cured: North Carolina--322 million pounds, down 10.2 percent. Virginia--48.4 million pounds, down 4.3 percent. Georgia 22.5 million pounds, down 14.2 percent. South Carolina--21.600 million pounds, down 14.2 percent.
Burley: Kentucky--106 million pounds million pounds, down 17.9 percent. Tennessee 10.200 million pounds, down 43.3 percent. North Carolina--1.360 million pounds, down 15.2 percent. Pennsylvania--10 million pounds, down 3.3 percent. Virginia--1.8 million pounds, down 18.1 percent.
Fire-cured: 57.772 million pounds, down 2.9 percent.
Dark air-cured: 26.1 million pounds, up 29.5 percent.
Pennsylvania seedleaf: 5.76 million pounds, up 33.3 percent.
Southern Maryland: 3.2 million pounds, down 25.4 percent.

Note--The only types that (according to USDA) increased in production over 2017 are dark air-cured and Pennsylvania seedleaf, neither of which is used in cigarettes.

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Three days of Hurricane Florence turned the promising tobacco on the left into the marginally salvageable mess on the right. Gusting winds were the main problem as they whipped leaves up and down causing premature ripening. These pictures were taken in the same field in Wilson County, N.C.

Photos courtesy of Norman Harrell, Wilson Cooperative Extension Service.

After the storms

A REPORT ON WHAT'S LEFT OF THE 2018 CROP

NORTH CAROLINA--"Tobacco harvest is over, and not in the good way," says Don Nicholson, N.C. Department of Agriculture regional agronomist who covers the counties around Raleigh, Smithfield and Wilson. In Duplin County, "All the tobacco that is still in the field is damaged severely and no good, says Blake Sandlin, county Extension agent. In Franklin County, flue-cured is now showing the signs of hurricane damage. "The tips are

quickly turning orange and drying up," says Charles Mitchell, Extension agent. "We are experiencing barn rot and brown stems. Decisions are currently being made whether to continue harvesting or stop." Many Franklin County growers had 50 percent of their crop remaining in the field prior to Florence. In Craven County, unharvested tob-acco and corn left in fields were badly damaged, says Mike Carroll, county Extension agent. "(It is) unlikely to be harvested simply due to excessively wet soils and rapid decay of leaf/kernels."

A wealth of information on how to deal with disaster on the farm is available from the NC Disaster Information Center, which can be found online at https://ncdisaster. ces.ncsu. edu. It is prepared for North Carolinians but has many articles of value to farmers from any state.

SOUTH CAROLINA--The area north and west of Myrtle Beach, S.C., where most of the state's tobacco is grown, was one of the hardest hit spots in the state during Florence. Fortunately, very little tobacco remained in the field at the time. "Only about 200 to 400 acres still had leaf to be harvested," says William Hardee, S.C. area Extension agronomy agent for Horry and Marion Counties. "All of that suffered from beating by 70 to 80 mph wind gusts and 18 to 23 inches of rain. This triggered a plant response that caused leaf to overripen and turn yellow, then brown. "Some of it might have been salvageable, but then we had to wait for soils to dry so we could get back into the field. I am afraid all the tobacco left after the storm will turn out to be a complete loss." There were some farmers that lost a few barns of tobacco when the power went out as well. Intense autumn storms are becoming a way of life in the Pee Dee, says Hardee. "We have had this kind of weather three of the last four years."

KENTUCKY--They weren't connected with Florence, but near constant rains last month wreaked havoc on the burley crop in Central Kentucky and some other parts of the state. "It rained nearly every day during the last full week of September," says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. "Stalled fronts allowed wave after wave of rain to come over


Bacterial leaf drop took its toll on Kentucky burley in September.

us." Among other things, the rain has led to a significant problem with bacterial leaf drop. "Some fields have lost more than 50 percent of their leaves," says Pearce. He says with all the rain-related losses, the final volume for the Kentucky burley crop may be 25 to 30 percent below the USDA September estimate.

TENNESSEE--At least 80 percent of the East Tennessee crop has been harvested, and most of that should be harvested very soon. This area was not impacted by Hurricane Florence, but there has been plenty of rain, says Don Fowlkes, agronomist for the Burley Stabilization Corporation. "We have had a few fields that have had some bacterial leaf drop and some leaves have dropped off. But a good yield is still a possibility"...Good news from the curing barn: "The industry has been promoting red color in cured burley for several years," says Fowlkes. "From what I have seen, 2018 may be one of the redder curing crops we have had."

BLACK PATCH--The dark crop in the Kentucky and Tennessee is the best in several years, says Andy Bailey, Extension dark tobacco specialist for the two states. At least 75 percent of Kentucky-Tennessee dark fired has been harvested, while perhaps 90 percent of dark air-cured is out of the field. Production? At this point, Bailey estimates 56 million pounds of dark fired and 18 to 19 million pounds of dark air-cured, or maybe a bit more... Bailey reports that there has been an outbreak in dark tobacco of flea beetles in the last few weeks, which is very late in the season. Some of them reached the threshold for treatment. "I can never remember a threshold situation late in the season if imidacloprid had been used on transplants," Bailey says. Some farmers made foliar applications with Admire Pro, but the results weren't great, he says. Others applied Orthene, again without much success. Carbaryl and lannate were other control choices. In many cases it took two applications to control the flea beetles present at these high levels, he says.

How much remains to be harvested? According to USDA, also of October 1, nine percent of Virginia flue-cured was still to be harvested, compared to 14 percent of North Carolina flue-cured. Harvest in South Carolina and Georgia is substantially complete. Eighteen percent of

Kentucky burley was still in the field, said USDA, compared to 10 percent in Tennessee and 42 percent in North Carolina.

In other tobacco-related news:

Cooperative CEO out: Robert B. Fulford Jr. has left the position of Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Tobacco Cooperative., which he took just last February. He will be replaced temporarily by Oscar House, USTC's Senior Vice President of Manufacturing. House will serve as Interim CEO and President while a search is conducted for Fulford's successor. Note: The cooperative has had two CEO's in the last two years. Stuart Thompson left in the summer of 2017.

New name for Alliance One--but not for its tobacco segment. The leaf dealer Alliance One Inc. has adopted a new name--Pyxus International Inc.--that it has attached to all of its segments except for its tobacco division, which will continue to be called Alliance One.

Sales every Tuesday through the season.

Too much rain in September robbed Kentucky burley of much of its production capacity.

With two record-setting hurricanes wreaking havoc on eastern North Carolina flue-cured and exceptional rains in Kentucky in September, it was a discouraging ending indeed for much of the Tobacco Belt. Among the types:

FLUE-CURED

NORTH CAROLINA--There is still some disagreement about the loss from Hurricanes Florence and Michael, but 100 to 110 million pounds seems to be a realistic estimate. Almost all of that came in the Eastern Belt and most was the result of Florence. But Michael had more of an effect in the Old Belt, where some flue-cured is still being harvested as fast as growers can get it out. "On late-planted tobacco, we saw some late-planted harvested just once, then all the rest was stripped," says Dennis White, owner of the Old Belt Tobacco Sales, which operates a warehouse near Winston-Salem. He is still getting good sales at this warehouse, and all leaf offered has found a home. But the character of the leaf offered now has definitely changed. "Now

it is mostly on the H side. H5K is a grade we see a lot." The price has not gone up substantially since the hurricanes, White says. "It falls in the $1.50 to $1.65 range." The practical top has been around $1.85. But even though demand wasn't extremely strong before the weather crisis, one wonders if all orders will be met.

VIRGINIA -- Excessive rain occurred in late August and continued in the form of storms in September and October "Assuming we were heading toward a 50- to 52-million-pound flue-crop crop in Virginia, I would guess that we lost 10 to 12 percent of that total," says David Reed, Extension tobacco agronomist. "In the eastern area, the loss is probably in the area of five percent, but might have approached 15 to 20 percent in some areas of Pittsylvania and Halifax Counties." A few growers made their contracted pounds, but most will fall short, Reed says.

SOUTH CAROLINA--Very little tobacco remained in the field in South Carolina when Florence blew through. Area Extension agronomy agent William Hardee estimated for Tobacco Farmer Newsletter earlier that 200 to 400 acres still had leaf to be harvested at that time, almost all of it tip leaf. Overripening ensued and he feared none of it was saved (see TFN, October I, 2018).

BURLEY

KENTUCKY--The burley crop in Kentucky took a significant hit from the rains in September, says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. "Statewide. I would estimate losses of 20 to 30 percent. In the bluegrass region, the losses may have been up to 40 percent in the bluegrass region." He thinks burley production for Kentucky lost 20 to 30 million pounds and might be down to a total of around 80 million pounds."

TENNESSEE--Burley in Tennessee was not seriously affected by the rains that struck Kentucky late in the season. "There was a small percentage affected. maybe five percent," says Eric Walker, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. "Overall, the crop looks pretty good. A small percentage of the tobacco was hit late with significant foliar

leaf spot diseases, mainly frogeye leaf spot and some target spot. Rather than the weather, other factors have significantly reduced the size of the burley crop this year. I expect acreage to be down 35-40 percent from last year, and that may be a little conservative. Estimates of pounds are always hard, but I think we will have somewhere around 12 million pounds."

OHIO--Uncharacteristic rains in August, Sep-tember and the first half of October left burley tobacco in a "mess" in Southern Ohio. There is still crop in the field. Some farms in Adams County reported around 18 inches of late-season rain, says David Dugan, Ohio Extension Educator. "Several acres were under water as result of heavy rains over the Labor Day weekend. Some producers harvested less than half of their crop as a result. The Gallia County area is probably 60-70 percent harvested--the rest was lost. The quality of what was harvested was impacted, but I am not sure to what extent. I do not have a good estimate for pounds but would think Ohio is looking at a minimum of a 50 percent loss."

DARK

BLACK PATCH--The dark-producing area of western Kentucky and Tennessee perhaps had the best fortune of any of the states in September and October. It avoided the storms that damaged the crop in the bluegrass area. "We still have a good crop," says Andy Bailey, Extension dark tobacco specialist. "There is still maybe 10 percent of the dark fired crop to be harvested yet." He thinks there will be around 56 million pounds of dark fired and around 19 million pounds of dark air cured.

Selling flue-cured this year got more complicated after Hurricane Florence, but there is reason to think buyers may not have been able to fill their orders from the storm-ravaged crop. In happier times (photo), buyers at the American Tobacco Exchange warehouse in Wilson, N.C., had more to choose from at the sale on August 29. Al Whitfield (middle left) was the auctioneer and Tommy Faulkner (right) led the sale.

Auction warehouses are operating this week and next week, maybe longer if there is a demand. Sales volumes are not available yet, but Hurricane Florence definitely lead to a reduction. But the quality loss has been the bigger problem. "We have had so much dark leaf since the storm," says Tommy Faulkner, auction manager at American Tobacco Exchange (ATE) in Wilson, N.C. "This was a difficult crop for everybody."

Prices have ranged all across the scale, says Faulkner. "We have sold at 25 cents a pound to $1.85 a pound and every price in between." A meaningful average price will be hard to obtain since Florence arrived just as the leaf tobacco was coming to market. "It is hard o compare the prices of lugs and cutters to the price of leaf."

Buyers appear to think this crop will have a use somewhere. They bought ii all. "All the tobacco we offered found a home at some price," Faulkner says.

Burley harvest in Kentucky ended in the first two weeks of October. Production was probably reduced 20 to percent by rains in September. But the quality held up, says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist, University of Kentucky. "There has been a little houseburn," he says. "The color looks pretty good."

Sanitizing greenhouse trays with steam at 176 degrees has proven very effective as a means of tray sanitation, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist clear. Several self-contained units are available on the market, and information you can use to build

your own units can be obtained from N.C. State. (Check with your county agent.) There is very little benefit to the relatively old-fashioned method of washing with bleach or other chlorine-based ma-terials and, in fact, there is more potential for harm than good, Vann says. "You need to pres-sure-wash trays before steaming to remove plant and media debris," he says.

Only a few of the new tray steamers have been acquired by farmers in Kentucky, says Pearce. "But I think growers could get some benefit from using them, he added.

There can be no doubt: Tobacco companies are looking for ripe to overripe flue-cured upper-stalk leaf. Lemon style is just not in vogue any more, says Vann. "To produce overripe tips, be sure to fertilize properly, concentrating on applying enough nitrogen. Then, when you think your crop is ready to harvest, give it 10 or 15 more days." We may eventually be selling to a niche market for dead ripe tips, since no one else in the world can produce this type of leaf, he adds.

Flue harvest ended in North Carolina before October 15, says Vann. The Eastern Belt was essentially finished by the beginning of thee month and the Old Belt wrapped up right as some of the light frosts arrived a couple weeks back.

Bad news from a major competitor: Burley revenue in Malawi, our strongest competitor for the world burley market, rose 60 percent in this year's marketing season, which ended in August. In addition, reliable reports from dealers in the United States indicate that buyers are searching out and buying uncommitted burley stocks in Malawi wherever they can. A reasonable assumption: The market thinks that U.S. burley can't meet industry needs when it comes to market in a few weeks and that Malawi is the best substitute.

Final word on the 2018 crop: The USDA's latest Crop Report--the last that will appear in calendar 2018--confirmed the stunning losses in yield late in the season to the hurricane in North Carolina and extreme rain damage in Kentuc-ky. Flue-cured production in the current crop is projected to total 342 million pounds, the report says, down 26 percent from 2017. Bur-ley tobacco production is expected to total nearly 113 million pounds, down about 30 percent from last year.

Following are projections by type, plus projections by state for flue-cured and burley.

Flue-cured: North Carolina--252.8 million pounds, down 29.5 percent. Georgia --22.5 million pounds, down 14.2 percent. South Carolina--20.4 million pounds, 19 percent. Virginia--46.2 million pounds, down 9.2 percent.
Burley: Kentucky--90.1 million pounds, down 30.2 percent. Tennessee--10.2 million pounds, down 43.3 percent. Pennsylvania--9.6 million pounds, down 7.2 percent. Virginia--1.7 million pounds, down 22.7 percent. North Carolina--1.36 million pounds, down 5.5 percent.
Fire-cured: 57.7 million pounds, down 14.3 percent.
Southern Maryland (Pennsylvania): 3.22 million pounds, down 25.4 percent.
Dark air-cured: 26.44 million pounds, up 30.1 percent.
Pennsylvania Seedleaf: 5.52 million pounds, up 27.7 percent.
Total U.S. (all types): 548 million pounds, down 23 percent from 2017.

Mark your calendar: N.C. Tobacco Day, December 6, 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. Johnston County Extension Center, Smithfield, N.C. Lunch will follow the program.

ADVERTISING

Hard to believe now, but this good-looking burley--photographed on the Kentucky burley tour in mid-August--was part of the smallest burley crops in U.S. history. But the ax was just waiting to fall when this picture was taken, in the form of inopportune rains in September that just went on and on.

The burley crop just coming on the market has been projected at 90 million pounds, says Daniel Green, chief operating officer, Burley Stabilization Corporation. The numbers may end up a little higher by the end of the delivery season, but Green says it will not go higher than 100 million lbs. Either volume would be the smallest burley crop since records have been kept.

The shortfall resulted in part from the substantial cutbacks in plantings last spring (20 percent according to USDA), but late-season rains were the big factor. Some fields were drowned out by these rains, and leaf drop was a problem too. NOTE: Burley deliveries will begin in earnest next week.

Despite yield losses, the quality of this burley crop is decent, says Green, similar to the last two crops. "You could call this crop 'low in volume but acceptable in quality'," he says. "But much of the leaf is thin. There isn't a lot of the good-bodied redder styles that buyers are looking for."

Considering the circumstances, the sales season at Big M Warehouse in Wilson, N.C. (all flue-cured), went fairly well, says owner Mann Mullen. "We sold some tobacco for more than $2 a pound," he says. "But the practical top was probably more like $1.88." One big surprise: Some scrap tobacco sold for $.35 to $.75 a pound. And those prices held toward the end, when leaf prices fell off," he says. That was one of several indications that the market has changed its preferences, but Mann can't figure out what the changes are. "What is quality in flue-cured? I used to know but I don't know any more," he says. Mann is very apprehensive about next season, but for whatever it is worth, all tobacco offered at his warehouse found a buyer. There will be one more sale on November 28.

AOI's Farmville (N.C.) plant will no longer process leaf. Alliance One is moving all its U.S. tobacco processing to its Wilson, N.C., facility. AOI's processing operations in Farmville, N.C., will be relocated (tentatively) by the beginning of the 2019 season. Some processing jobs will shift from Farmville to Wilson, and the Farmville facility will be "repurposed" for storage and special projects. But a workforce reduction in Farmville is nevertheless expected. "Consolidating our U.S. tobacco processing operations in Wilson is designed to maximize efficiency and allows us to continue to competitively deliver value-added products and services to our customers," said Pieter Sikkel, c.e.o. of AOI's parent cor-poration Pyxus International. The move was caused in part by new and increased tariffs on U.S. tobacco, declining export demand and the strong U.S. dollar, a statement by the company said.

Sign of the times: The American Tobacco Factory in Reidsville, N.C., is about to become vacant. You would remember it if you'd ever seen it; it has an enormous brick smokestack out front with large letters spelling out "Lucky Strike." With initial construction taking place in 1892, it was used to make cigarettes by American Tobacco Company for over 100 years. It was bought and owned briefly by Brown & Williamson, then sold to Commonwealth in 1997, which also used it to make cigarettes. In 2007, Imperial Tobacco, purchased Com-monwealth Brands and the factory along with it, operating it first as Imperial, then as its subsidiary ITG Brands. With its Greensboro factory (which formerly belonged to Lorillard). ITG just doesn't have enough work to keep Reidsville going. Maybe some smaller company will take a chance on it--I am sure it could be acquired at a very reasonable price.

In other leaf news:

Hot market in Malawi: As reported in the last issue of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter. Malawi's burley market (which ended in August) enjoyed much more sales volume than expected. It has now been learned that part of that excess--roughly 30 million pounds--may have been tobacco from growers in the neighboring countries of Mozambique and Tanzania, indicating the strong market in Malawi late in the season.

Hurricane spares tobacco in Cuba: Hurricane Michael touched Pinar Del Rio, the western end of Cuba and its leading cigar-producing province. But damage to the tobacco crop--which occurred mainly on October 8--was limited and can be managed, said the president of the leading cigarette manufacturer, Justo Luis Fuentes. In the newspaper La Prensa, Fuentes said, "We have the necessary resources to repair the damaged crops." According to preliminary reports, about 60,000 nurseries were lost, along with some planted hectares and 12 tobacco barns. Fortunately, this was very early in the season not much of the crop was in the field.

Mark your calendar: N.C. Tobacco Day, December 6 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Johnston County Extension Center, Smithfield, N.C. Lunch will follow the program.

Who is going to buy our tobacco? Boxes and hogsheads of leaf in a Universal Leaf warehouse at the company's facility in Nashville, N.C.. await shipping earlier this year.

The size of the American burley crop is still up for debate, but it seems likely that at least some customers will not get as much as they originally wanted. "I said back at the beginning of the season that we would probably need 100 to 110 million pounds to meet the demand," says Will Snell, Kentucky Extension tobacco economist. "Now, I don't know if we are going to have that much. However, now I'm not sure the short crop will warrant aggressive buying by the companies given sluggish demand."

The crop in the Bluegrass was dismal. "Many farmers produced a yield of less than

2,000 pounds," says Snell. "You can't justify labor and oth-er costs with that low of a yield."

Our best hope for export sales? South-east Asia, said Blake Brown, N.C. Exten-sion economist, at the recent N.C. To-bacco Day. "The As-ian slice [of world cigarette sales] is huge," he says. Although sales there are mainly low-cost brands, the market for premium cigarettes is growing. In the short term, the chances for increased exports are largely dependent on resolution of the trade conflict with China.

Two recognized by N.C. State: Parker Phillips, sales representative for Fair Products, and Richard Reich, retired Assistant N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture, each were awarded the "Tobacco Great" award at N.C. Tobacco Day. The award, conferred by


	Phillips

the N.C. State agriculture faculty, is given to members of the tobacco family who have made significant contributions to the industry. Editor's Note: Watch for further coverage of N.C. Tobacco Day in the next issue of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter.

Menthol in trouble? The Food and Drug Administration announced it will seek a ban on menthol products. The Congressional leadership in tobacco states cried foul. N. C. Senator Richard Burr, "It is troubling, however, that an Administration that pledges to put America first is targeting legal, American-made products instead of focusing its attention on states that flout federal drug laws. If the United States continues down


Reich

this path, we will be following in Canada's footsteps, banning menthol but legalizing recreational drug use."

Despite hurricanes in the east and long hard late-season rains in the west, much of 2018 crop is reportedly of good quality--or at least better than expected. "What we have been buying so far has been a good, useable style of tobacco," says Don Fowlkes, agronomist with the Burley Stabilization Corporation in Greeneville, Tn. "This looks like one of the better-colored burley crops we have had in some time." There is a significant amount of dark colored leaf, with much of it getting FR grades, he says. "But we also have some black leaf that suffered houseburn," he adds.

Yields are another matter. The extended excessive rains that seemed to fall everywhere in the Tennessee tobacco-growing area drastically reduced production on many farms, says Fowlkes.

In the Deep South, it was a very rainy season, and in fact the rains are still falling. "We still have cotton and peanuts in the field," says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. But Georgia and Florida suffered no effects from Florence and Michael since they arrived right after the crops were finished. There

were a few cases where leaf that was already harvested in barns or in storage was damaged.

The rains were enough to reduce yields in Georgia and Florida, and it was a thin to light crop. "But many buyers have said that they were pleased with the quality," Moore says.

Don't fall back on black shank:You can expect Georgia-Florida growers to use the full arsenal of weapons available for black shank control, says Moore. Besides rotation and resistant varieties, he predicts that a chemical program of Orondis in the transplant water, Presidio at first plowing and Ridomil at layby will be frequently used.

Record-setting crop in Zimbabwe: Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe produced a record crop 2018 of 556 million pounds, according to the Chinese press agency Xinhua. The country's previous production record was 520 million pounds, produced in 2000. The 2018 production was also 34 percent higher than the season before.

Hats off to Universal for lasting 100 years in an industry as tough as tobacco. In 1918, the Virginia tobacco merchant Jacquelin P. Taylor and five other tobacco merchants consolidated to form Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, making this year its centennial.

DATES TO REMEMBER

January 30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
January 31, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
February 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
February 1, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. Annual Meeting, Holshouser Building, N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C. (in conjunction with Southern Farm Show).

Boxed tobacco is loaded in a Burley Stabilization Corporation warehouse in Springfield, Tn.

They aren't very promising for burley, say Extension economists at the University of Kentucky. Tumbling U.S. demand will likely lead to additional reductions in contract volume for 2019. The value of Kentucky tobacco production (all types) may struggle to exceed $300 million in 2018 compared to the average of $366 million over the past 10 years.

Effect on farmers?Look for continued concentration in the number of burley farms growing tobacco in 2019, given the current outlook, labor and regulatory challenges, changes in the products demand-ed and tighter margins.

Reduced contracting coupled with an extremely poor growing season resulted in a significantly lower volume of burley. Beltwide, marketings in 2018 may struggle to exceed 100 million pounds, versus 140 milllion pounds in 2017.

To make the situation worse, even though global demand for burley is declining, world production was up by 15 percent last year. Overall demand for U.S. burley may only total around 100 to 110 million pounds given declines of four to five percent in domestic cigarette sales and five to seven percent in burley leaf exports. Cigarette manufacturers continue to invest in new reduced risk tobacco products, and these products likely contain limited amounts of U.S. leaf.

And the market for dark tobacco may finally be declining. After two decades of growth, sales of snuff show signs of leveling off, which can be expected to hinder dark tobacco demand.

Don't use plastic tarps when you transport tobacco, says Don Fowlkes, agronomist for the Burley Stabilization Corporation. "These tarps easily fray and become non-tobacco-related material in or on your tobacco," he says. "Farm supply stores carry canvas tarps that do not pose the same level of risk." Canvas tarps also last longer and protect better than plastic tarps, he adds.

Record low flue-cured production? A reduction in contract offerings for flue-cured is considered all but certain by market observers, and the Executive Vice President of the N.C tobacco growers association, Graham Boyd, predicted out right at N.C. Tobacco Day that the 2019 crop will be the smallest American flue-cured crop since records were kept. The 2018 burley crop is believed to have been the smallest on record.

More opposition to menthol ban. Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), joined a number of tobacco state leaders objecting to FDA's proposed ban on menthol in cigarettes. "The FDA must remain committed to using a science-based regulatory framework in order to effectively reduce risks and minimize collateral damage that would ultimately limit options available to adults seeking an alternative to smoking," he said.

GAP GROWER TRAINING EVENTS

Check with your local Extension Service office for further details.

All meetings listed here are free and presented in English.

January 7, 9 a.m. Wilson, N.C.

January 8, 9 a.m. Winston Salem, N.C.

January 9, 9 a.m. Rocky Mount, N.C.

January 10, 9 a.m. Carthage, N.C.

January 11, 9 a.m. Smithfield, N.C.

January 15, 9 a.m. Yanceyville, N.C.

January 15, 9 a.m. Blackstone, Va.

January 15, 5 p.m. Mayfield, Ky.

January 15, 5 p.m. Albany, Ky.

January 16, 9 a.m. Williamston, N.C.

January 17, 8:30 a.m. Oxford, N.C.

January 17, 4 p.m. South Chatham, Va..

January 18, 9 a.m. Lumberton, N.C.

January 22, 9 a.m. Lillington, N.C.

January 22, 5:30 p.m. Dixon, Ky.

January 23, 9 a.m. Yadkinville, N.C.

January 23, 9 a.m. Dover, Tn.

January 23, 4 p.m. South Hill, Va.

January 24, 9 a.m. Clinton, N.C.

January 24, 10 a.m. Sutherlin, Va.

January 25, 8 a.m. Kinston, N.C.

January 28, 9 a.m. Calhoun, Ky.

January 29, 9 a.m. Goldsboro, N.C.

January 31, 6 p.m. Lancaster, Ky.

February 1, 1:30 p.m. Raleigh, N.C.

February 5, 10:30 a.m. Springfield, Tn.

February 7, 6 p.m. Cynthiana, Ky.

February 8, 9 a.m. New Castle, Ky.

February 8, 1 p.m. Shelbyville, Ky

February 11 1 p.m. Scottsburg, In.

February 11, 6 p.m. Vevay, In.

February 12, 6 p.m. Cadiz, Ky.

February 19, 4:30 p.m. Franklin, Ky.

February 25, 5 p.m. Clarksville, Tn.

February 28, 6 p.m. Maysville, Ky.

March 1, 1 p.m. Paoli, In.

March 19, 6 p.m. Glasgow, Ky.

DATES TO REMEMBER

January 30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
January 31, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
February 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
February 1, 10 a.m.--1 p.m. Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. Annual Meeting, Holshouser Building, N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C. (in conjunction with Southern Farm Show).
February 5, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. CST. TN-KY Tobacco Expo. Robertson County Fair, 4635 Highway 41 N, Springfield, Tn.

Low-nicotine tobacco plants grow in a seed propagation program in an unidentified field somewhere in Central America. Photo: 22nd Century Group.

It would seem a tall order, but the land-grant universities in the tobacco states are looking for possible strategies that might allow you to address the proposed Federal standards requiring cigarettes with much nicotine. Some production practices, such as reduced nitrogen fertility, might help. But Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist, said at the recent N.C. Tobacco Day that variety development will be a necessity for there to be any hope of reaching the standards proposed by FDA. And there is not much to work with just yet.

But one existing variety has very low nicotine levels, says Vann. LAFC 53 is a flue-cured variety that has been used in research in the past but never by farmers. It currently does not meet the minimum standards required for variety certification, so it has never been commercially available. That could certainly change. But unfortunately, LAFC 53 consistently performs poorly in yield and quality. Manipulation in breeding could conceivably produce an acceptable cultivar in time, says Vann.

In the private sector, one company already markets cigarettes it says are low enough in nicotine to meet the new standards: These cigarettes are made using its own patented low-nicotine varieties. 22nd Century Group, headquartered in New York State with a factory in Mocksville, N.C., is currently seeking Modified Risk status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its VLN cigarettes. 22nd Century has sold these cigarettes primarily as smoking cessation tools.

But where does 22nd Century get its low-nicotine leaf now? TFN has not been able to ascertain how 22nd Century's tobacco is being grown. But the company issued a statement three years ago saying a propagation program developed in an unspecified location in Central America (see photo) had been successful enough "to allow 22nd Century to greatly expand its tobacco leaf-growing programs in both the United States and in Central America." Watch for more details in future issues of TFN.

A billion pounds plus in Brazil? The flue-cured crop in Brazil is well into harvest. Two leaf dealers doing business there estimate production at 600 and 610 million kilograms respectively. That suggests a crop of around 1.33 billion pounds,

which would be a little more than 2018 and about the same as 2017.

Brazilian burley is estimated at 143 million pounds, about the same as last season and about 20 million pounds less than the big year of 2017.

Western Kentucky didn't get as much rain as the Bluegrass of Kentucky and certainly not as much as eastern North Carolina. But it got enough to negatively affect yields, says Rod Kuegel, who grows burley and dark tobacco near Owensboro, Ky. The configuration of the land there makes intense rains a real problem. "We have flat fields in this area, and it is hard to get six inches of rain off of a flat field, "Kuegel says.

First ever bush hogging: As a result, he experienced an event that he is not happy to remember. "I had to bush hog eight acres of burley because of the flooding. It was the first time that I have mowed down tobacco in my life."

Reduced tillage may help: Farmers are beginning to grow quite a bit of no-till tobacco here, and the problems with draining flooded fields this year may hasten that trend...Dark tobacco is performing better now in western Kentucky than burley, he adds.

Tobacco may be losing its place in Kentucky agriculture," says Kuegel. "There is a lot of disappointment among farmers that we are still producing tobacco even though the price hasn't kept pace," he says. "I personally know many farmers who aren't going to grow burley in 2019. But dark growers seem determined to grow the type for at least another season."

In southern Ohio, it rained so much in 2018 that the area was left looking like a swamp, says David Dugan, Extension Educator in Adams County, Ohio. One farmer located just north of the Ohio River near Adams and Brown County reported a total for the year of 74.67 inches just before midnight on December 31. Much of Ohio's burley crop was damaged. "In some cases, farmers said that they went ahead and barned tobacco that they should have just walked away from." Dugan said. He stands by his earlier estimate of around 50 percent loss in production for the state.

GAP GROWER TRAINING EVENTS

Check with your local Extension Service office for further details. All meetings listed here are free and presented in English. Note to readers: Corrections welcome.

January 8, 9 a.m. Winston Salem, N.C.

January 9, 9 a.m. Rocky Mount, N.C.

January 10, 9 a.m. Carthage, N.C.

January 11, 9 a.m. Smithfield, N.C.

January 15, 9 a.m. Yanceyville, N.C.

January 15, 10 a.m. Nashville, Ga

January 15, 9 a.m. Blackstone, Va.

January 15, 5 p.m. Mayfield, Ky.

January 15, 5 p.m. Albany, Ky.

January 16, 9 a.m. Williamston, N.C.

January 17, 8:30 a.m. Oxford, N.C.

January 17, 4 p.m. South Chatham, Va..

January 18, 9 a.m. Lumberton, N.C.

January 22, 9 a.m. Lillington, N.C.

January 22, 5:30 p.m. Dixon, Ky.

January 23, 9 a.m. Yadkinville, N.C.

January 23, 9 a.m. Dover, Tn.

January 23, 4 p.m. South Hill, Va.

January 24, 9 a.m. Clinton, N.C.

January 24, 10 a.m. Sutherlin, Va.

January 25, 8 a.m. Kinston, N.C.

January 28, 9 a.m. Calhoun, Ky.

January 29, 9 a.m. Goldsboro, N.C.

January 31, 6 p.m. Lancaster, Ky.

February 1, 1:30 p.m. Raleigh, N.C.

February 5, 10:30 a.m. Springfield, Tn.

February 7, 6 p.m. Cynthiana, Ky.

February 8, 9 a.m. New Castle, Ky.

February 8, 1 p.m. Shelbyville, Ky

February 11, 1 p.m. Scottsburg, In.

February 11, 6 p.m. Vevay, In.

February 12, 6 p.m. Cadiz, Ky.

February 19, 4:30 p.m. Franklin, Ky.

February 21, 10 a.m. Fountain City, In.

February 25, 5 p.m. Clarksville, Tn.

February 28, 1 p.m. West Union, Ohio.

February 28, 6 p.m. Maysville, Ky.

March 1, 1 p.m. Paoli, In.

March 4, 6 p.m. Gallipolis, Ohio.

March 5, 1 p.m. West Union, Ohio.

March 5, 6:30 p.m. Georgetown, Ohio.

March 6, 9 a.m. Georgetown, Ohio.

March 11, 10 a.m. Tifton, Ga.

March 12,10 a.m. Marion, S.C.

March 19, 6 p.m. Glasgow, Ky.

DATES TO REMEMBER

January 30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
January 31, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
February 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
February 1, 10 a.m.--1 p.m. Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. Annual Meeting, Holshouser Building, N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C. (in conjunction with Southern Farm Show).
February 5, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. CST. TN-KY Tobacco Expo. Robertson County Fair, 4635 Highway 41 N, Springfield, Tn.

Buyers consider the price of leaf in this file photo of a Zimbabwean tobacco market. (Photo courtesy of TIMB Zimbabwe.)

Fifty percent more tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe this year--Farmers have increased the area in flue-cured this year, and there is hope of surpassing last year's record volume of 252 million kilograms. But it is no sure thing: Very dry conditions are being predicted. According to government statistics through the end of last year, 168,735 farmers had registered to grow tobacco, an increase of almost half when compared to the 113,530 farmers who registered in the previous season.There could be some more. Note: Harvest and curing has begun in Zimbabwe, and marketing will likely start in March.

EDITOR'S NOTE:This is the January II issue of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter. If you would like to receive the newsletter regularly or if you need to change an address, please email meat chrisbickers@gmail.com. For more information, call me at 919 789 4631

A highly aggressive new species of root-knot nematode poses a threat to tobacco in the flue-cured states. The species known as Meloidogyne enterolobii or guava root-knot nema-todes. "It is very successful at causing infection, with high rates of infection on the roots of host plants, and it causes more severe galling on host plants than other nematodes," says Lindsey Thiessen, North Carolina Extension plant pathologist.

Guava root-knot has been identified in eight counties in N.C. (see map). It has a wide host range, spreads rapidly, reproduces swiftly, and breaks down any available resistance to other nematode species. But it's very fast reproduction may be the


	Guava root knot nematode distribution in North Carolina

biggest problem it poses for farmers. Yield losses can be substantial, and it can pull nutrients away from foliage, causing wilting and reductions in quality.

Sweet potatoes are also vulnerable to guava root-knot nematode. In October, the N.C. Department of Agriculture quarantined sweet potato seed or sweet potato plants with or without roots produced anywhere in the state, because of the occurrence of guava root-knot.

A new organic nematicide chemical could help you control nematodes and suppress wireworms, says the manufacturer, Marrone Bio. Majestene BioNematicide is derived from a single microbe and controls root-knot, dagger, burrowing, sting, cyst and other nematodes on tobacco. Majestene offers an advantage: It allows more flexibility than some existing nematicides because there is no waiting period after application. The first application of Majestene might go in-furrow in the transplant water. "Then apply again if needed at first cultivation," says Hal Blackmore, southeast territorialsales manager for Marrone Bio. "If needed, they could apply again at layby." To find out more about Majestene, call 904 570 0041.

Leaving tobacco: Don Fowlkes, who has since 2016 has been an agronomist with Burley Stabilization Corporation in Greeneville, Tn., left at the beginning of this year to become the Senior Agronomist with Bluhen Botanicals in Knoxville, Tn., a CBD/hemp purchasing and processing company. Before joining BSC, he was Extension agronomist for the University of Tennessee from 1985 to 2001 and agronomy manager for PMI from 2001 to 2016. There are opportunities for leaf growers in CBD/hemp, observes Fowlkes. "Our tobacco farmers [in East Tennessee] are well positioned to grow hemp, and I want to help them participate in this emerging market," he says.

Referendum on export assessments: Flue-cured growers in North Carolina will get the chance to vote on whether to continue an assessment to fund grower export promotion programs. The assessment will be no more than one fifth of one cent per pound. Votes can be cast at local Extension Service offices.

In passing: Kirk Wayne (right), the longtime leader of Tobacco Associates, passed on earlier this month. He dedicated his long career to promoting exports of flue-cured tobacco, spending most of his time in recent years to providing what you might call "customer assistance" to potential importers of American leaf. In addition, he was a very astute observer of the international tobacco economy and served as a source of information for the editor of this publication many times. He will be missed.

DATES TO REMEMBER

January 30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
January 31, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
February 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
February 1, 10 a.m.--1 p.m. Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. Annual Meeting, Holshouser Building, N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C. (in conjunction with Southern Farm Show).
February 5, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. CST. TN-KY Tobacco Expo. Robertson County Fair, 4635 Highway 41 N, Springfield, Tn.

Here is the January III issue of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter. If you haven't signed on to receive the newsletter regularly or if you need to change an address, please click on "Join our mailing list" and follow the prompts. For more information, you can call me at 919-789-4631 or email me at cebickers@aol.com.

Farm machinery on the floor of Dorton Arena at the N.C. State Fairgrounds at last year's Southern Farm Show. (Photo credit: Chris Bickers)

The Southern Farm Show starts Wednesday, January 30, and runs through Friday at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. Gates open at 9 a.m. and close at 4 p.m. Admission is free and there is no charge for parking. There will be some new exhibitors, including the Spapperi company of Italy, which will have setters on display and may also demonstrate one of its flue-cured mechanical harvesters. Booth 9004. For more information about the Show, go to https://southernshows.com. See list of tobacco-related exhibitors below.

Growers meet: The annual meeting of the Tobacco Growers Association will take place at the show on Friday, February 1. It starts at 10 a.m. in the HolshouserBuilding and ends at lunch. GAP training will be available afterward.

Finally, hemp legal-ized! The 2018 Farm Bill has opened the way for southern farmers to get into industrial hemp pro-duction, once the individual states sub mit plans to regulate production of the crop.

Kentucky leads the way. Kentucky has already applied to USDA to approve its hemp program, and is the first state in the nation to do so, thanks to the commitment of Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles. "Kentucky's regulatory framework perfectly aligns with the requirements spelled out in the [new] farm bill," Commissioner Quarles said. "Now we are eager to take the next step towardsolidifying Kentucky's position as the epicenter of industrial hemp production and processing in the United States."

More than 1,000 Kentucky farmers have applied to participate in the program in 2019. In 2018, farmers in the program grew more than 6,700 acres, more than double the acreage grown in 2017. Other states are seeking USDA approval also.

An opposing opinion. A leaf merchant has responded to the story "Our Competitors Expand..." in last week's issue of this newsletter. His response follows. (The author requests anonymity): While it is true that our competitors (at least some of them) are expanding production, it is doubtful that this has anything to do with reduced production in the U.S. Why?

First, the increases are occurring mainly in African countries that do not effectively control production.
Second, tobacco is the highest earning agricultural crop in those countries, and these are in countries where unemployment is generally high and where many small farmers can barely subsist on production of small quantities of other crops.

Instead, the decline in the U.S. for flue-cured leaf most likely reflects the ongoing downward trend in U.S. cigarette consumption and the absence of Chinese purchases due to the ongoing trade war. The downtrend is also impacting U.S. burley production and sales as are declines worldwide in consumption of American blend cigarettes.

SOUTHERN FARM SHOW

EXHIBITOR LISTINGS (TOBACCO RELATED)

Jim Graham Bldg.

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 BulkTobac (Gas Fired Products). Curing equipment and controls.

Kerr Scott Bldg.

1002 TriEst Ag Group. Fumigation supplies.
1015 Yara North America. Fertility products.
1107 Flue Cured Tobacco Services. Curing controls.
1104 GoldLeaf Seed Co. Tobacco seed.
1114 BeltWide Inc. Transplant technology.
1115 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 Co.

Exposition Bldg.

3127&8611 Benchmark Buildings & Irrigation. Transplanters/irrigation.
3135 Southern Container Corporation of Wilson. Bale sheets and packaging.
3311 Flame Engineering. Weed control with flame.
3520 First Products Inc. Fertilizer boxes for cultivators and tool bars.
3605 MarCo Mfg. Tobacco machinery.
3714 Suretrol Manufacturing. Curing Controls
4018 Conklin Company. AgroVantage System to boost genetic potential.
4035 Bio-Organic Catalyst.

Scott Tent

7025 Drexel Chemical Company. Sucker control chemicals.
7027 ABI Irrigation. Irrigation equipment.

Tent 1

7302 Fairbanks Scale
7334 BJ Williamson Greenhouses.

Outdoors

8039 Vause Equipment Co. Farm equipment.
8206 Wilson Manufacturing. Farm trailers
8204 Equipmax. Tobacco spray equipment.
8217 Granville Equipment. Tobacco Machinery.
8228 World Tobacco. Bulk fertilizer handling equipment. Curing barns.
8301 De Cloet SRL. Tobacco machinery.
8510 Walters Air Assist Plant Release System. Plant release system.
8516 Mobilift of Burlington, N.C. Forklift sales and service.
8546 & 227 Kelley Mfg. Co. Agricultural equipment.
8701 Tytun Ltd. Bulk flue-curing barns.
8705 Long Tobacco Barn Co. Bulk tobacco curing barns.
9004 Spapperi (Italy). Setters and other tobacco mechanization.

DATES TO REMEMBER

January 30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
January 31, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
February 1, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Southern Farm Show. N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C.
February 1, 10 a.m.--1 p.m. Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. Annual Meeting, Holshouser Building, N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, N.C. (in conjunction with Southern Farm Show).
February 5, 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. CST. TN-KY Tobacco Expo. Robertson County Fair, 4635 Highway 41 N, Springfield, Tn.

A farmer examines the new DeCloet transplanter at the Southern Farm Show on February 1.

There was a falloff in the number of farmers at the Southern Farm Show in Raleigh, but for those who made it, there was some up-to-date new tobacco equipment that attracted a lot of attention. Chief among them were several foreign-made setters. One of them, the Carousel Planter from DeCloet-Italy (shown above) features an independent drive wheel for each row or one drive wheel for two rows. DeCloet also has a bare root planter and perforating planter (for use on plastic), along with a full line of tobacco equipment. Go to www.de-cloet.it for more information...The Spapperi Monodrive Avant transplanter (at right) features a very flexible watering system that allows you to get plenty of water under the plant. Also, if you are driving on a narrow road, you can pull in the outside units hydraulically with this transplanter, making it easier to get up and down the road. Farmer Todd Harton of Cadiz, Ky., is the U.S. sales representative for Spapperi, which also has a full line of tobacco equipment. See its website at www.spapperi.com.

Could hemp be a boon for burley farmers? "It won't be grown on every single tobacco farm in the area," says Darrell Varner of Versailles, Ky., a farmer and president of the Council for Burley Tobacco. "But I think where you will see hemp planted, at least in the foreseeable future, is as an additional crop on tobacco farms. It will give burley farmers another option. With the way things are going, we may very well need a crop like hemp to diversify tobacco farms." Varner spoke to TFN during the January board meeting of the Council in Owensboro.

Grower numbers continue to increase in Zimbabwe: Registrations to grow leaf in 2019 have now reached 169,772; that is 46 percent more than the season just ending,

said the [Zimbabwe] Tobacco Industry & Marketing Board. Zimbabwe Farmers Union director Paul Zakariya said last week that harvest of the irrigated crop is well along. But the rain-fed crop is behind due to the delayed onset of rain in most tobacco regions. "Increasing costs of production continue to affect tobacco farmers," he added. "The increase in the cost of agrochemicals, fuel and labor is burdening tobacco farmers."

Source water testing by the N.C. Department of Agriculture can get your plant production off to a good start. "Alkalinity, pH, sodium and chloride issues are the most common water quality problems we see with float-bed source water," said Kristin Hicks of the Agronomic Services Division. "The results from testing and making adjustments can be quite significant." Also, after you have mixed fertilizers into the bays, send in a sample of your nutrient solution to verify that target nutrient concentrations have been achieved. To collect a sample, use a clean, plastic bottle.

For source water-Before sampling, run water five to 10 minutes and collect sample from the tap or emitter. Use the "ST" code for source water.
For nutrient solutions- Make sure fertilizer has been thoroughly mixed and is completely dissolved. Collect the sample from the emitter (not the stock tank). Use the "NT" code for nutrient solutions. Specify if you are using an organic nutrient solution.

Label each sample with a sample ID and fill out the Solution Analysis Information form, available from county Extension offices or the Agronomic Division website at http// www.ncagr.gov/

agronomi/pdffiles/issoln.pdf. Cost is $5 for North Carolina residents, $25 for samples from outside the state. Mail to the NCDA&CS Agronomic Services Solutions Section at either 1040 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699 or 4300 Reedy Creek Rd, Raleigh NC 27607.

DATES TO REMEMBER

GAP GROWER TRAINING EVENTS

Check with your local Extension Service office for further details. All meetings listed here are free and presented in English. Note to readers: Corrections welcome.

February 11, 1 p.m. Scottsburg, In.

February 11, 6 p.m. Vevay, In.

February 12, 6 p.m. Cadiz, Ky.

February 18, 10:30 a.m. Kingsport, Tn.

February 19, 10:30 a.m. Owensboro, Ky.

February 19, 4:30 p.m. Franklin, Ky.

10 a.m. February 20, 10:30 a.m. Hopkinsville, Ky.

February 21, 10 a.m. Fountain City, In.

February 21, 6 p.m. Sharpsburg, Ky.

February 25, 5 p.m. Clarksville, Tn.

February 28, 1 p.m. West Union, Ohio.

February 28, 6 p.m. Maysville, Ky.

March 1, 1 p.m. Paoli, In.

March 4, 6 p.m. Gallipolis, Ohio.

March 4, 7 p.m. Falmouth, N.C.

March 5, 1 p.m. West Union, Ohio.

March 5, 2 p.m. Russellville, Ky.

March 5, 6:30 p.m. Georgetown, Ohio.

March 6, 9 a.m. Georgetown, Ohio.

March 7, 3 a.m. Central City, Ky.

March 11, 10 a.m. Tifton, Ga.

March 11, 6 p.m. Springfield, Ky.

March 12,10 a.m. Marion, S.C.

March 18, 11 a.m. Lexington, Ky.

March 19, 6 p.m. Glasgow, Ky.

March 26, 6 p.m. London, Ky.

April 11, 6 p.m. Bedford, Ky.

Streptomycin resistance in the Black Patch: Angular leaf spot on dark tobacco is developing resistance to agricultural streptomycin, essentially the only control measure for the foliar disease. An estimated 25 percent of the angular leaf spot in this area has some level of resistance, says Andy Bailey, Extension dark tobacco specialist for Kentucky and Tennessee. Planting dark varieties with some resistance to wildfire could help: Spread of angular leaf spot seems to be a little slower in them.

More bad news on contracting volume: U.S. Tobacco Cooperative, the flue-cured cooperative in Raleigh, N.C., has now cut its contracts 80 percent across the board for 2019. USTC's leading customer is China, and it took a hit when the Chinese elected not to buy any tobacco from the 2018 crop after the Trump tariffs. Look for more details on this situation in the next issue of Tobacco Farmer Newsletter.

Pratt

Goodbye to a bad year: The 2018 burley season is finally over, and most growers are glad to see it end, says Steve Pratt, general manager of the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association. "Due to heavy rainfall, the burley tobacco crop last year has been predicted to be the lowest production on record since records have been kept,” he says. “Planning for the 2019 crop has started with lots of hope this season will only get better.”

But the market outlook is problematic. "The demand for U.S. burley continues to decline each year as smoking numbers go down and cigarette manufacturers maintain their use of imported burley tobacco," says Pratt. "There continues to be a need for U.S. burley, but growers may have to adapt to new methods to meet those requirements. That could mean growing less tobacco with improved yields and greater efficiency."

For dark tobacco growers, contract volume is definitely down. "Even though we had a good crop in 2018, the cut in acreage appears substantial," says Andy Bailey, Extension dark tobacco specialist for Kentucky and Tennessee. "A lot of farmers are getting cuts in the 10 to 20 percent range. I have heard of a few who have gotten 100 percent cuts, particularly with dark air-cured tobacco."

How can that be when quality was better? "It wasn't the best crop we've ever had, but it was definitely above average. But very little overage was bought at any price by anyone," Bailey says. "The dark market depends on sales of snuff products, and the snuff market has been leveling off for the past couple of years."

There was the usual rush to seed before Valentine's Day in North Carolina, but much of the crop remains to be seeded, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. He advises a careful approach to seeding the rest. "The weather we have been having is not conducive to seeding. You need four or five days of good light quality for good germination. The outlook for that is not good, at least not here in Raleigh."

By the way, angular leaf spot is rarely seen in flue-cured in North Carolina, Vann says. "Usually, we [only] see it following a late-season tropical storm."

DATES TO REMEMBER

GAP GROWER TRAINING EVENTS

Check with your local Extension Service office for further details. All meetings listed here are free and presented in English. Eastern Time except where indicated.

February 28, 1 p.m. West Union, Ohio.

February 28, 6 p.m. Maysville, Ky.

March 1, 1 p.m. Paoli, In.

March 4, 6 p.m. Gallipolis, Ohio.

March 4, 7 p.m. Falmouth, N.C.

March 5, 1 p.m. West Union, Ohio.

March 5, 2 p.m. Russellville, Ky.

March 5, 6:30 p.m. Georgetown, Ohio.

March 6, 9 a.m. Georgetown, Ohio.

March 7, 3 a.m. Central City, Ky.

March 7, 6 p.m. Abingdon, Va.

March 8, 6 p.m. Ben Hur, Va.

March 11, 10 a.m. Tifton, Ga.

March 11, 6 p.m. Springfield, Ky.

March 12, 9 a.m. CST. Murray, Ky.

March 12,10 a.m. Marion, S.C.

March 18, 11 a.m. Lexington, Ky.

March 19, 6 p.m. CST. Glasgow, Ky.

March 25, 9 a.m. Turbotville, Pa.

March 26, 9 a.m. Quarryville, Pa.

March 26, 1 p.m. Quarryville, Pa.

March 26, 6 p.m. London, Ky.

March 27, 9 a.m. Quarryville, Pa.

March 27, 1 p.m. Quarryville, Pa.

March 28, 9 a.m. New Holland,, Pa.

March 28, 1 p.m. New Holland, Pa.

April 11, 6 p.m. Bedford, Ky.

The pressure is on for the USTC flue-cured cooperative (headquraters shown above) to deal with a whole season's production for China languishing in storage,

There's still some hope as this issue was prepared that Chinese buyers might return to the U.S. to buy from the 2019 crop, but not much, since they apparently bought almost no U.S. tobacco from the 2018 crop (NOTE: there are a few exceptions. See below). The U.S. Tobacco Cooperative, which has sold much of the American tobacco that has gone to China in the last 10 years, has cut its contract volume by 80 percent across the board and has closed two of its marketing centers, in Smithfield, N.C., and La Crosse, Va. Both were owned by the co-op. The Smithfield facility has been sold. La Crosse is up for sale. Marketing centers that will operate this season are in Wilson, NC; Nashville GA; Mullins, SC and Danville, VA.

A big part of USTC's problems arise from the unconventional way China buys tobacco here. Instead of contracting with individual growers, China communicates its anticipated need to USTC in the winter and the cooperative assigns pounds to its growers. Every season until 2018, the Chinese confirmed their order close to planting time. But last spring, the message was "Purchases suspended." Since planting was already under way, USTC honored the contracted amount intended to meet China's stated needs, hoping the political situation would change. But it didn't. Most of the 2018 leaf that USTC hoped to sell to China is in storage.

The exception to that protocol: China has contracted directly with a few American growers for most of the past seven years, including 2018. Reportedly, it honored those contracts, signed before the Trump tariff controversy, making those growers the only ones who sold American leaf to China from the 2018 crop. But, again reportedly, those farmers have received no contracts for 2019.

Remember: Nearly all of the US tobacco sold to China is flue-cured, reflecting the fact that the dominant blend in China is the British blend, made entirely of flue-cured.

The harsh reality of 2019 is that the tobacco industry is in crisis. "But our tobacco farmers do not have to face this crisis on their own," says Darrell Varner of Versailles, Ky., the president of the Council for Burley Tobacco. "The Council is working across state lines to strengthen alliances with other tobacco organizations, including Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina and the Burley Stabilization Corporation. We all realize that there is strength in numbers, and if we are the voices for our grower members, it is important for all tobacco growers--burley, flue-cured and dark fired--to work together."

You can find out more about the group effort to stabilize the tobacco economy at the annual meeting of the Council for Burley Tobacco annual meeting on March 19 on the Western Kentucky University Campus in Glasgow, Ky. Keynote speaker will be Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles.

Will hemp become a realistic alternative? Thanks to the latest Farm Bill, which removed hemp from the controlled substance list, hemp may now have a place on tobacco farms, says general manager Steve Pratt of the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association in Lexington, Ky. "Hemp farmers will now be able to buy crop insurance, apply for

loans and grants and write off their [hemp-related] business ex-penses on their taxes like any other farmer." In addition to legal-izing the growth and production of domestic hemp, this new law gives each state the opportunity to oversee production." Added benefit: "Hemp farmers and researchers will now be eligible for competitive federal grants as well," Pratt says. But make sure you have a workable method of marketing it.

Editor's Note: I am beginning to get intrigued about the concept of hemp as a companion crop to tobacco. Reportage seems appropriate on my part, so starting with the next issue, I will include news on an occasional basis on the agronomic side of hemp in the Southeast. If the feedback is good, it will become a regular feature. Let me know what you think.

DATES TO REMEMBER

GAP GROWER TRAINING EVENTS

Check with your local Extension Service office for further details. All meetings listed here are free and presented in English. Eastern Time except where indicated.

Mar 5, 1 p.m. West Union, OH

Mar 5, 2 p.m. Russellville, KY

Mar 5, 6:30 p.m. Georgetown, OH

Mar 6, 9 a.m. Georgetown, OH

Mar 7, 3 p.m. Central City, KY

Mar 7, 6 p.m. Greeneville, TN

Mar 7, 6 p.m. Abingdon, VA

Mar 8, 6 p.m. Ben Hur, VA

Mar 11, 10 a.m. Tifton, GA

Mar 11, 6 p.m. Springfield, KY.

Mar 12, 9 a.m. Murray, KY

Mar 12, 10 a.m. Marion, SC

Mar 12, 3 p.m. Hopkinsville, KY

Mar 18, 11 a.m. Lexington, KY

Mar 18, 6 p.m. Lafayette, TN

Mar 19, 6 p.m. Glasgow, KY

Mar 25, 9 a.m. Turbotville, PA

Mar 26, 9 a.m. Quarryville, PA

Mar 26, 1 p.m. Quarryville, PA

Mar 26, 6 p.m. London, KY

Mar 27, 9 a.m. Quarryville, PA

Mar 27, 1 p.m. Quarryville, PA

Mar 28, 9 a.m. New Holland, PA

Mar 28,1 p.m. New Holland, PA

Mar 29, 9 a.m. Mechanicsville, MD

Apr 11, 6 p.m. Bedford, KY

Jun 25, 5 p.m. Hopkinsville, KY

Farmers began planting in Florida and Georgia on a limited basis in the past week. Setting should reach full speed in two weeks. (File photo of Ferrari F-MAX transplanter courtesy of Granville Equipment, Oxford, N.C.)

Planting began March 12 around Gainesville, Fl., says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist, and started March 18 in Georgia around Jesup. "These growers had all been able to get Telone II in early, and with soil conditions good, they decided to ahead and set out," he says. All tobacco in both states is flue-cured.

Some more will plant in the next few days, but Moore expects that planting won't begin in earnest in Georgia for another two weeks.

There might be a risk in planting this early, he says. "It is before the April 7 date we usually think of as the end of the first flight of thrips." A high rate of thrips could mean more problems with tomato spotted wilt. The winter was mild in Georgia so there will be plenty of host plants for thrips to spread, he adds.

No planting has occurred in North Carolina, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. "But it is safe to say that our seeding efforts are behind us in the flue-cured areas, although much of the burley crop remains to be seeded," he says. Flue-cured seedings in the state fall generally a quarter to half way through their development. Houses seeded around Valentine's will be ready for planting around mid-April, Vann says.

Flea beetles were an unexpected problem on burley in middle Tennessee and Kentucky last season, says Eric Walker, Tennessee Extension tobacco specialist. Admire in the greenhouse is a good strategy, and a relatively new chemical, called either Exirel or Verimark has given good control in field demonstrations. But more research is needed.

A tool for tomato spotted wilt: Exirel/ Verimark is also labeled as a tray drench for tomato spotted wilt control and has been tested in Georgia. Some reduction of the disease can be obtained, says Moore, but more research is planned before any recommendations are made.

Cutting back to reduce hired labor: Tom Ingram, a burley farmer from Shelbyville, Ky., says he will cut his plantings from 25 acres in 2018 to about 10 acres this season. Scarcity of labor is the main reason. "If I make this cut, I will be able to 'barn' my

tobacco with the family labor I have," he says. "I have been able to find enough local labor to harvest [in the past] but it is just getting too hard to find them." H2A guest workers would be available but the farmer thinks he would need at least 70 acres to justify the management work that program would require. He doesn't have the infrastructure to grow that much.

The basics of hemp production, Part 1: Although industrial hemp has been touted as a low-input crop that is highly adaptable to marginal lands, maximum yields are realized with inputs equivalent to current grain production systems and on productive land. If maximum industrial hemp yields are your goal, select good corn land with deep, well-drained soils and plan on inputs equal to current grain crops. If maximum yields are not the goal, industrial hemp can be expected to perform on marginal lands with lower productivity and with reduced inputs much the same as our current commodity crops would.--Derived from writings of D.W. Williams, Plant and Soil Sciences, and Rich Mundell, Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center.

Happening this week: The annual meeting of the Council for Burley Tobacco, March 19, 4 p.m., Western Kentucky University Campus in Glasgow, Ky. Keynote speaker will be Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles.

GAP GROWER TRAINING EVENTS

Check with your local Extension Service office for further details. All meetings listed here are free and presented in English. Eastern Time except where indicated.

Mar 27, 9 a.m. Quarryville, PA

Mar 27, 1 p.m. Quarryville, PA

Mar 28, 9 a.m. New Holland, PA

Mar 28,1 p.m. New Holland, PA

Mar 29, 9 am Mechanicsville, MD

April 4, 6:30 p.m. Weston, MO

April 11, 6 p.m. Bedford, Ken.

Jun 25, 5 p.m. Hopkinsville, Ken.

Prepping for the season: Rod Kuegel of Owensboro, Ky., (left) and son his son Clay load sticks on pallets back in mid January to have them ready for the harvest season.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture published its annual Prospective Planting Report, and the estimates for tobacco plantings in the United States are disturbing. Based on surveys of farmers conducted during the first two weeks of March, the report projects that tobacco plantings of all types in 2019 are expected to total 244,040 acres, down 16 percent from 2018. If realized, this would be the lowest tobacco acres harvested on record. For the individual types:·

Flue-cured--165,000 acres, 17 percent below 2018.
Burley--53,800 acres, down 12 percent from last year.
Fire-cured--14,740 acres, down 22 percent from 2018.
Dark air-cured--6,900 acres, down 30 percent from last year.
Cigar filler--2,200 acres, down eight percent from the previous year.
Southern Maryland--1,400 acres, no change from 2018.

Why dark is more appealing than burley: Rod Kuegel, a burley and dark air-cured grower near Owensboro, Ky., says he will maintain his tobacco plantings (both types) at 80 acres, the same acreage he had last season. But he had to think seriously about growing burley at all because of poor market prospects. "Dark is more profitable now. And the communications between the farmer and the dark company is better than with burley companies. I really think if it weren't for my foreign workers, I would switch to all dark," he says.

The basics of hemp production, Part 2: How to plant hemp: It appears that industrial hemp seed is quite sensitive to a lack of soil moisture at planting. Seed should be planted in soils with adequate moisture to encourage rapid germination. If soil moisture is inadequate for industrial hemp germination, it is likely still adequate to support the germination of many weed seeds. Without the availability of labeled herbicides for industrial hemp production, we rely heavily on rapid hemp canopy development and closure to reduce or eliminate competition from weeds. Adequate soil temperature (>/=50oF) and moisture at planting will help accomplish this.--Derived from writings of D.W. Williams, Plant and Soil Sciences, and Rich Mundell, Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center.Hemp

International tobacco report

Zimbabwe: There will be no bumper crop in Zimbabwe. Tobacco was damaged by an extensive drought and then by the well-publicized African cyclone Idai. The loss in production has been variously estimated as five percent or as much as 13 percent this year, industry sources said. That would place production at 485 million to 529 million pounds, both figures lower than the 555 million pounds that were grown in 2018. The auction markets opened on March 20 to lackluster prices.

Malawi: The market opening has not been set. An industry survey projected burley production at just under 450 million pounds, or just slightly more than in 2018. Malawians growers didn't suffer nearly as much from drought and the cyclone as their Zimbabwean neighbors.

Canada: Most greenhouses in Canada's production area in southern Ontario have been seeded, says Mitchell Richmond, Team Leader for the Canadian Tobacco Research Foundation. In a post on tobacco, he goes on to say, "As the seed germinates and seedlings grow, pests, fertility and contamination due to drifting of pesticides may arise and affect the crop. Algae, black root rot, Pythium damping-off and Rhizoctonia damping-off are highly controlled when trays have been cleaned and steam sterilized at 80ºC (176ºF) for 60 minutes, and when beds are adequately steamed at 82ºC (180ºF) for 30 minutes at a 15 cm depth." For some pests in float trays, chemical control is not available. "Therefore, steam treatment is essential," says Richmond.

Awards for 2019:

The Tobacco Growers Association of N.C. conferred six awards for 2019: Outstanding Director: Jeffrey Lee of Johnston County; Farm Family of the Year: Pace Family Farms of Johnston County. Lifetime Member: Steve Troxler, North Carolina agriculture com-missioner. Extension Service Award: Rod Gurganus of Beaufort County; Distinguished Service: Larry Boyd, Foxfire Farms, Pinetown, N.C., and Lee Wicker, deputy director of the North Carolina Growers Association.

The Tobacco Farm Life Museum of Kenly, N.C. conferred two farmer awards for 2019: Excellence in Agriculture: Pender Sharp, Sharp Farms, Sims, N.C., and Innovative Young Farmer of the Year: Joshua Phillips, Son Light Farms. Kenly, N.C.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Last GAP train-ing events of the season:

Wed Apr 3, 10:30 a.m. Alma, GA

Apr 4, 6:30 p.m. Weston, MO

Apr 11, 6 p.m. Bedford, KY

Jun 25, 5 p.m. Hopkinsville, KY

A transplanting crew on a burley farm in Ohio prepares to go back in the field after reloading plants in this file photo by Chris Bickers.

Seeding in western Kentucky was held up in some greenhouses by a cold snap in March. "I delayed seeding until eight says after I meant to start because of those colder temperatures," says Shiny McLimore who produces commercial plants in Owensboro (Stanley), Ky. "We have had a number of warm nights since then, and now my plants are growing ahead of schedule. They are as big as if not bigger than neighbors who seeded earlier."

Weather definitely affects germination in the greenhouse, according to the N.C. Extension tobacco team. Cool, cloudy conditions of the type reported in Kentucky in March can delay germination. But unseasonably warm temperatures in February and March can increase the rate of plant growth, causing problems with stem and root diseases, particularly if the seeds are planted in the greenhouse too early. Consult weather forecasts before seeding.

Following: Field dispatches through mid-April

(From NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report)

FLUE-CURED

In Georgia, growers had planted 46 percent of the crop by mid-month while in South Carolina growers had planted five percent. Georgetown County, S.C., farmers began setting the week ending April 14, said Kyle Daniel, Extension agent. Heavy rain the week before slowed progress for a few days. In North Carolina, wet conditions continued. Significant acreage had not been fumigated, said Don Nicholson, N.C. Agriculture Department agronomist in central N.C. "Others are planning to begin trans-planting as conditions dry." In Virginia, planting was for the most part still in the future. But in Greensville County, Extension agent Sara Rutherford said beds were being prepared. Liming and fertilizing continue as the weather allows."

BURLEY

In Kentucky, intermittent rain continued to stymie progress of finishing field work, according to NASS. Three quarters of the crop was seeded in the greenhouse by April 14. Of that, seventy five percent of the transplants were under two inches, with 22 percent two to four inches, and three percent above four inches. Transplants were report-ed as in mostly fair to good condition. In Tennessee, some sunshine and warmer temperatures have made things look better, said A. Ruth Correll, Wilson County Extension Service. "This has allowed field work for crops along with lots of spraying and fertilization projects."

Planting projections too high? I've received several comments from some members who believe the USDA projections were too high. "I believe that the number of acres of flue-cured will possibly be much less than USDA is estimating," said grower Tim Yarbrough of Prospect Hill, N.C. "Tobacco seed companies have said that their sales were down 35 percent to 40 percent. I think we may be looking at 125,000- to 130,000-acre crop." USDA projected 165,000 acres of flue-cured, 17 percent less than 2018; and 53,800 acres for burley, down 12 percent.

________________________________________________

Zimbabwe market not improving. Through April 4,the eighteenth day of marketing, a total of 12.3 million kilograms of tobacco, mostly flue-cured, had been sold on the auction and contract markets in Zimbabwe. That was 62 percent less than had been sold at the same point in last year's sales. The price too was way off from last year: US$1.72 per kilogram so far compared to $2.76 per kilogram. Severe drought conditions during the season lead to an expected drop in production. Quality was apparently significantly lowered also.

Disaffection among farmers may be part of the reason for the low level of deliveries. Shadreck Makombe, president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers' Union, told NewsDay of Zimbabwe some farmers were holding their tobacco in hopes of better prices. "The opening prices were low, and they demotivated farmers," he said. "The buyer is saying this year's quality is lower than last year. But as farmers we are saying the quality is good. It seems they [buyers] don't have money."

The basics of hemp production, Part 3: Variety selection will be the key to success for industrial hemp in the south. One of the most important consideration is days to maturity. Varieties bred primarily for grain production could have significantly different maturity dates relative to each other and would have very different establishment dates for maximum yields and harvestability with standard equipment. Research varieties based on what you want to harvest--fiber, grain/fiber or cannabinoids--then choose varieties that are proven performers..--Derived from writings of D.W. Williams, Plant and Soil Sciences, and Rich Mundell, Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center.

DATES TO REMEMBER

GAP training events:

Apr 23, 6:30 p.m. Owenton, KY.
Apr 26, 9 a.m. Lawrenceburg, TN.
Jun 25, 5 p.m. Hopkinsville, KY.

Workers load trays on a transplanter on a flue-cured farm near Raeford, N.C., in this file photo by Chris Bickers.

In fact, transplanting in the Deep South is done. The last of the Georgia crop was transplanted by April 27, says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. Florida's tobacco had gone in earlier. "We have had good weather generally," he says. "There weren't a lot of extra plants, but we had enough."

The earliest Georgia tobacco was planted around the end of March and it is growing well, but tobacco planted after that is growing slowly. It has been dry the last two weeks, and that may have suppressed tomato spotted wilt. 'There has been

very little tomato spotted wilt so far, but we may see more once it starts raining," Moore said. He suspects planting will be down about 30 percent when all is said and done.

Growers in N.C.'s Coastal Plain are transplanting at full tilt. The fields that have been transplanted are about a week behind average in development. That's partly because some growers delayed seeding until they had a clear idea about the contracts that were going to be available to them. "It has only been in the last two weeks that the conditions for transplanting were good," says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialiston May 3. "We had warm soil, warm temperatures the soil was not saturated."

Now, the crop looks good, says Vann. The southern and central Coastal Plain is leading the pack, as you would expect. The Old Belt will begin planting in earnest next week." The greenhouse season went really well and there appears to be an

ample supply of plants.

In South Caroli-na, farmers in the leading leaf coun-ty --Horry-- had favorable condi-tions for setting plants and are doing so at a fev-erish pace, says Rusty Skipper, Horry Extension agent. USDA esti-mated transplanting was 27 percent complete for the state as of April 29.

Good weather is helping Kentucky growers get into the field. "We have had a little planting, but I doubt we are up to five percent yet," says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. "So far, it has been the best start to a season we've had in some time." He thinks plantings in Kentucky may be down 20 percent.

Growers in Virginia had just started transplanting through April 28. According to USDA, Virginia flue-cured was four percent transplanted and burley and fire-cured were two percent transplanted.

He may be in a minority, but Scott Travis of Cox's Creek, Ky., still uses small balers to bale his burley. "I have three," he says. "I bought one big baler, but it didn't work out for me."

To go entirely to big bales, Travis would have had to buy two more big balers (one for each grade) and modify his physical facilities for all three to fit. "All told, it would have cost $50,000," he says. "In this tobacco economy, that didn't make sense." Besides, it's a whole lot easier to control moisture in the small bales, he says.

He ran into resistance from tobacco companies to the small bales. He has bypassed that by selling all of his crop for several years at auction, mostly at Farmers

Warehouse in Danville, Ky.

Bailey bails out: The small independent cigarette manu-facturer S&M Brands Inc. of Keysville, Va., has ceased ope-rations. Its doors were closed in March after the company was sold to an unidentified buyer, according to newspaper reports. S&M has manufactured the discount brands Baileys, Tahoe and Riverside, among others for the past 25 years. It was launched by tobacco growers Mac Bailey and his son Steven. The Baileys will retain--at least for the moment--their leaf dealer business Golden Leaf Tobacco Co. No word yet as to whether Golden Leaf will participate in any of the tobacco auctions. They will continue growing tobacco as has been a family tradition since the 1800s.

The basics of hemp production, Part 4: Industrial hemp seed is quite sensitive to lack of soil moisture at planting, and it could readily contribute to stand failures. So seed should be planted in soils with adequate moisture to encourage rapid germination. This also impacts weed control: Without the availability of labeled herbicides, you must rely heavily on rapid development and closure of the hemp canopy to reduce or eliminate weed competition. Adequate soil temperature (>/=50oF) and moisture at planting will help accomplish this.-D.W. Williams, University of Kentucky, and Rich Mundell, Kentucky Tobacco R&D Center

DATES TO REMEMBER

GAP training events:

Jun 25, 5 p.m. Hopkinsville, KY

__________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

The flue-cured in the Deep South looked good
a week ago, as in this north Florida field
(above).But intense heat caused some
sun scald (right, in south Georgia)to
set in."About the only thing
to do about it is to irrigate to make sure soil
moisture meets the needs of the plants,"
says J. Michael Moore, Extension tobacco specialist.

A wave of 90-degree temperatures has struck tobacco in Georgia and Florida, and they are expected to continue for the rest of this week. They could slow the good start the crop had gotten, says J. Michael Moore, Georgia Extension tobacco specialist. "We had a beautiful crop a week ago, but now the soil moisture is beginning to be depleted." Farmers are seeing some sun scald. "About the only thing to do about it is to irrigate to make sure soil moisture meets the needs of the plants," Moore says.
When you cultivate in intense heat, try to disturb as little of the existing root system as you can, says Moore. There is a danger of breaking turgor, or aninterruption of the movement of water into the plant. Much of the Georgia crop will soon be ready for layby.
But Florida is farther along: At least one Floridi-an may be applying contact sucker control this week, Moore adds. "This farmer had planted the second week of March," he says.
On the bright side, Geor-gia and Florida have suf-fered very low levels of tomato spotted wilt virus and low levels of budworm so far. "There have been no other appreciable insect or disease problems to this point," Moore says...Transplanting is complete in both states.
Reports from the field (from USDA Crop Progress and Condition surveys):
South Carolina--Statewide, 95 percent of the crop was transplanted by May 12. In Horry County, tobacco is reportedly doing well for this time in the growing season.
North Carolina--Statewide, 79 percent of the flue-cured crop and 16 percent of the burley crop was transplanted. In Alamance County, transplantingmade great progress last week, but that will be slowed if it doesn't rain. Tobacco is doing well. But there have been a few reports of seedling disease or possible herbicide injury in a few fields. In Franklin County, plants look good in the field with no ma-jor issues. In Craven County, isolated ar-eas of tobacco farm-ers had to replant a few fields due to strong winds and rains.
Virginia--Through May 12, 36 percent of the flue-cured crop had been transplanted, 17 percent of the fire-cured crop had been transplanted 17 and 13 percent of the burley crop had been transplanted.
Kentucky--Seventeen percent of the crop had been transplanted through May 19. Supply of transplants were reportedly 92 percent adequate.
Editor's Note: A bit of hope. This may be wishful thinking, but I just can't help but think the trade war with China will be resolved by market opening. Both sides--but especially China--have too much to lose. Even if it is resolved, there is no telling if China would buy any of our leaf from this crop. But I feel like they would, since their go-to source of flue-cured, Zimbabwe, appears to have produced a short crop. The Chinese could go to Brazil, but I don't think they like the Brazili-an government any more than they like ours. Cigarette demand in the developed world, meanwhile, has continued to decline, but at a more or less predictable rate; I am not very good at numbers, but it seems to me that if China did come back on the U.S. market to any significant degree, there might not be any excess of tobacco to meet the resulting demand. If our leaf supplies are short but are of average or better quality, the market could be fairly strong. But a bumper crop and/or poor quality could scuttle that faint hope.

DATES TO REMEMBER

GAP training events:
Jun 25, 5 p.m. Hopkinsville, KY.

Harvest just ahead: "It looks like we will begin harvesting in about two weeks," says flue-cured grower Kenneth Dasher of Live Oak, Fl. "Some other farmers around here may start sooner." The big problem so far has been the intense heat. "We had four days in a row when it got to 100 degrees or above," Dasher says. "We have had to put a lot of water to it." But so far, he hasn't had much sun scald.

In Georgia, the crop is completely set, and one per cent has been topped. Even irrigated fields in some counties are struggling due to too many pivots being on the same pump. "Many of these were not being turned off in an attempt to keep up with the demands of the crop," says Seth McAllister, Terrell County Extension agent.

In South Carolina, planting is complete and topping ready to begin shortly. In Horry County, the leading tobacco county, some much-needed rain was received last week, says Rusty Skipper, Extension agent. "But it could be too little too late for some corn crops in the eastern part of the county," he says.

Most flue-cured in North Carolina looks good at this point, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. There has been some hail to go along with

high temperatures, but with good weather from here on, the damage could be inconsequential. It was so dry early that one can reasonably expect healthy root systems. It wasn't till the last week of May that rain began to fall. "Much of the crop will soon be ready for layby, and a few growers have already started," he says. "First contact applications of sucker control chemicals will probably begin around the end of June in the Border Belt."

In Virginia, 88 percent of the flue-cured has been transplanted, 77 percent of the fire-cured has been transplanted and 71 percent of the burley has been transplanted, according to USDA. In Appomattox County, where all three types are grown, wet weather has delayed tobacco transplanting and the cultivation of already transplanted tobacco, says Bruce Jones, Extension agent. "We have experienced extremely wet soil conditions for the past seven days." Tobacco plants still in the greenhouses are holding reasonably well, he says.

In Tennessee, 39 percent of the burley had been transplanted. In Cheatham County, just west of Nashville, a little rain fell on June 30. "We were getting a little dry," says Extension agent Ron Barron. "Most all of the early tobacco has been set, due to two previous weeks of dry weather."

In Kentucky, transplanting was 49 percent complete. That is well behind the 57 percent completed by this date a year ago. Fieldwork was interrupted at times by heavy rain, which in some cases led to standing water in low lying areas, says USDA. Despite the adverse conditions, farmers were able to make planting progress last week.

A new cigarette containing no leaf other than flue-cured--The U.S. [Flue-Cured] Tobacco Cooperative has announced that it will soon launch a new super-premium cigarette made entirely of leaf grown by its grower members. Called Manitou, it will be a cigarette of the "Virginia" or "British" type, meaning it will contain only flue-cured tobacco (and water). Virtually all other American cigarette brands are made using a blend of flue-cured, burley and oriental tobaccos. Called the "American" blend, it has been the dominant U.S. type since soon after Richard Joshua Reynolds introduced it in the Camel brand in 1914. Before that, the "British" blend was the market leader in this country.

Manitou packaging

Manitou will be marketed by USTC's consumer products division, Premier Manufacturing of Chesterfield, Mo. Some observers have suggested that Manitou will compete with Natural American Spirit cigarettes, which are thought to contain a high percentage of flue-cured. It was not apparent from a USTC statement if Manitou will be manufactured in the cooperative's factory in Timberlake, N.C.

What does Manitou mean? It is a Native American word referring to the primitive life force in all of us.

DATES TO REMEMBER

July 22, 8:30 a.m. N.C. Organic Commodities Field Day. Till 12:30 p.m., followed by lunch. Cunningham Research Station, Kinston, 200 Cunningham Rd., Kinston, N.C.

July 23, 9 a.m. Tobacco Tour-Field Day, Upper Coastal Plain Research, 2811 Nobles Mill Pond Rd., Rocky Mount, N.C. Ends approximately 3 p.m.

GAP training events:

Jun 12, 9 a.m. Lancaster, PA.

Jun 25, 5 p.m. Hopkinsville, KY.

Working young tobacco: A burley grower supervises field work on a small farm in Harrison County,Ky. File photo by Chris Bickers.

BURLEY

Kentucky tobacco looks good early: Topping will probably start on burley by the first of July, says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension tobacco specialist. "A few may start sooner. There are no issues in the field so far. I would say at least 70 percent is planted, and we are in good shape to get the rest planted soon." He has seen no major shortage of plants, he says.

In Tennessee, 80 percent has been transplanted. In Virginia, 96 percent of the burley, and in North Carolina, burley is 74 percent set. In Yancey County in western N.C., soil conditions had been very wet at the beginning of the week ending the 16th because of the heavy rains the week before, but conditions improved enough by mid week to allow some field work.

FLUE-CURED

In Virginia, flue-cured is 98 percent set in the field. Continued rain has added to the existing moderate flooding In Brunswick County in the southeast part pf the state. Several roads were closed. Some ponding occurred in fields. In Appomattox County in central Virginia, it had been dry, so rain fall last week came as a relief. Hard dry soil had been a problem, but after the rain, tobacco farmers were able to walk and replant later-planted fields as needed. So stands should be good.

In South Carolina, Horry County in the Pee Dee received much needed rain over the weekend. The tobacco crop, which had been suffering from drought, showed improvement going forward. The crop is completely set out, and more than 30 percent has been topped.

In neighboring Georgia, an estimated 22 percent has been topped.

In North Carolina, flue-cured got off to a fast start in the Old Belt. Around Winston-Salem, N.C., planting is for all practical purposes complete, and much of the crop is a little ahead of schedule. "A lot of it is laid by already," says Dennis White, owner of Old Belt Tobacco Sales auction warehouse in Rural Hall, N.C., north of Winston. "Usually we don't expect that till the Fourth of July. There are a few who may start pulling the second week of July."

in other tobacco news

A few Piedmont growers quit after last season, says White. "But those who stayed in tobacco look to have planted about the same acreage as last year."

Burley planting on nontraditional farms in the Piedmont seems to have nearly disappeared, says White. "We have sold some burley at our auction in the past, but I don't know if there will be any to sell this year."

One more opinion on H2A workers in burley: Mark Turner of Livermore, Ky., began using guest workers to grow burley and dark air-cured tobacco six years ago and says it has proved a godsend. "It is expensive to bring in H2A workers, but I think it is still cheaper than relying on local labor," he says. "With H2As, you know you will have enough help to get your crop harvested in a timely manner." There is a definite price to not getting things done when they need to be done, says Turner, "and that happens when you depend on local help."

DATES TO REMEMBER

July 22, 8:30 a.m. N.C. Organic Commodities Field Day. Till 12:30 p.m., followed by lunch. Cunningham Research Station, Kinston, 200 Cunningham Rd., Kinston, N.C.

July 23, 9 a.m. Tobacco Tour-Field Day, Upper Coastal Plain Research, 2811 Nobles Mill Pond Rd., Rocky Mount, N.C. Ends approximately 3 p.m.

August 13 9 a.m. The Kentucky Burley Tobacco Industry Tour will be held at the University of Kentucky Spindletop Research Farm in Lexington. It will end about 3 p.m. Note: The event will last one day only.

Safety and compliance: GAP Connections will host 11 Farm Safety & Compliance Training Events this summer. The free training events are presented in English and Spanish. Attendees will rotate through interactive stations as they learn about safety and compliance topics required by the GAP Program. There will also be an opportunity to earn CPR & AED certification during the events at a registration fee of $25. You must pre-register. Visit www.gapconnections.com or call GAP Connections at (865) 622-4606. Dates and places appear below.

GAP Farm Safety & Compliance Events:

June 18, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. & 2-5 p.m. Rest-A-Bit Farm, Pinetops, NC.
June 20, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. & 2-5 p.m. Lasley Family Farm, Ruffin, NC.
July 9, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Garden Spot Fire Rescue, New Holland, PA.
July 11, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Ferrell Farm, Wylliesburg, VA.
August 5, 5-8 p.m. Danville Tobacco Services, Danville, KY.
August 7, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. & 2- 5 p.m. Breckinridge County Extension Office, Hardinsburg, KY.
August 9, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. & 2-5 p.m. Gallatin Redrying & Handling, Gallatin, TN.

GAP annual training events:

Jun 20, 9 a.m. Blackstone, VA
Jun 25, 5 p.m. Hopkinsville, KY.

HOW TO HANDLE THE HURRICANE

A REPORT ON WHAT'S LEFT OF THE 2018 CROP

THE RAINY END OF THE 2018 SEASON

FLUE-CURED MARKET COMING TO AN END

THE SMALLEST U.S. BURLEY CROP IN HISTORY?

Will the short U.S. crops of 2018 lead to aggressive buying?

THE PROSPECTS FOR PLANTING IN 2019

COULD YOU MAKE MONEY GROWING LOW-NICOTINE LEAF?

AS WE REDUCE PLANTINGS, OUR COMPETITORS EXPAND

THE SOUTHERN FARM SHOW RETURNS TO RALEIGH

SETTERS IMPRESS AT SOUTHERN FARM SHOW

CONTRACTING PROSPECTS CONTINUE TO LOOK BLEAK

WILL CHINA BUY ANY US LEAF THIS YEAR?

THE SEASON BEGINS IN THE DEEP SOUTH

WILL THIS BE THE SMALLEST TOBACCO CROP IN U.S. HISTORY?

EARLY SEASON REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

TRANSPLANTING AT FULL THROTTLE

NINETY DEGREE HEAT THREATENS GEORGIA-FLORIDA TOBACCO

GROWERS TOPPING IN FLORIDA, STILL PLANTING IN KENTUCKY & TENNESSEE

CROP REPORT: A GOOD START FOR MOST GROWERS