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HOW OUR COMPETITORS ARE DOING
In Malawi, buyers inspect burley tobacco on the Lilongwe auction floor. Flue-cured: The 2018 Brazil flue-cured crop--which is currently in the field--has been projected at a volume of just under 1.3...
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EARLY PROJECTIONS: BURLEY CONTRACTS DOWN, DARK CONTRACTS STABLE
Burley curing in an outdoor structure at the Highland Rim research station near Springfield, Tn. (File photo)The global supply/demand balance for burley improved entering 2017 following three years of...
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A NEW SOURCE OF SEED FOR FLUE-CURED GROWERS
Signup for GAP training at the Southern Farm Show several years ago. See below for dates and locations of GAP meetings in January and February. File photo by Chris Bickers.One seed company gets out of...
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WHY TSNA'S COULD BE A BIG PROBLEM
A fire-curing barn for dark tobacco "smokes" near Clarksville, Tn.Could fire-cured tobacco production be on the way to extinction? Dark fire-cured tobacco is facing a serious potential challenge from a...
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HOW TO GET STARTED ON YOUR 2018 CROP
No more tobacco presence: The University of Tennessee has ended tobacco research at the Research & Education Center in Greeneville, Tn. See "End of an era" below.Steaming trays 30 minutes at 176°F...
View ArticleTHE LATEST IN TOBACCO MACHINERY--AND WHERE TO SEE IT
Show time coming up: The Southern Farm Show starts Wednesday, January 31, 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...
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TRAY SANITATION TOPS TOBACCO GROWER SHOPPING LISTS AT SOUTHERN FARM SHOW
With Dorton Arena looming in the background, farmers confer in front of the Company Wrench display at the Southern Farm Show on February 1. The display included the JCB Teleskid (just visible at left),...
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A GOOD START IN THE GREENHOUSE
A new tool for transplanting: This new FMax transplanter from Ferrari in Italy, seen here on display at the recent Southern Farm Show, can plant continuously on different soil types without requiring...
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TRANSPLANTING TO BEGIN SOON
Clipped and ready to go, these flue-cured plants await transplanting in this file photo from eastern North Carolina. There may be a crop or two planted in Florida this week, but most growers there...
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A MAJOR LEAF BUYER TURNS ITS BACK ON U.S. BURLEY
A disappearing breed? A burley grower and his crew in east Tennessee prepare a planter for the field in this photo from the TFN files. Attrition in the number of Volunteer State growers is likely,...
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Another market crisis: Chinese retaliate with tariffs on U.S. leaf
Worsening outlook for 2018: Workers set out flue-cured plants on the Kenneth Dasher farm near Live Oak, Fla., on March 22. Since then, the odds of a profitable crop have declined exponentially after...
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What will happen to our Chinese market?
Spreading the word: Steve Troxler (shown here addressing the crowd at the N.C. State Fair a few years ago) and his staff at the N.C. Department of Agriculture worked tirelessly to make China tobacco a...
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COLD NIGHTS SLOW SETTING
Transplanting gets under way across the tobacco belt.Flue-cured growers in North Carolina have transplanted in the ballpark of 15 to 20 percent of the crop, says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco...
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BURLEY GROWERS PICK UP THE PIECES
Young burley grows on a sunny day in a field near Cynthiana, Ky.BURLEY GROWERS PICK UP THE PIECESThe threat of new Chinese tobacco tariffs may be gone--for now. A special envoy of China's President Xi...
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END IN SIGHT FOR TRANSPLANTING
A no-till planter in action in south Central Kentucky. See story on conservation tillage below.In Kentucky, burley growers are well on the way on transplanting, says Bob Pearce, Kentucky Extension...
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A MID-SEASON REPORT FROM THE FIELD
A migrant crew tops a field of flue-cured tobacco near King in the Old Belt of North Carolina. File photo by editor Chris Bickers.GEORGIA-FLORIDA: It has been wet in Georgia and Florida, but that...
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SIX PERCENT LESS FLUE-CURED?
The best of a bad-looking crop: Rob Glover of Bailey, N.C. stands in his best tobacco field on July 17. A hot dry summer has left much of the U.S. flue-cured crop in poor condition, but enough rain...
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HARVEST SEASON WELL UNDER WAY FOR FLUE-CURED
You saw a lot of this in eastern N.C. in July: A farmer knocks trashy bottom leaves off his flue-cured using a mechanical delugger during the hot, dry spell in July. "In a year like this one, it was a...
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PRICES DISAPPOINTING AT FLUE-CURED MARKET OPENING
Opening sales took place this week for most of the flue-cured auction warehouses, and the prices offered were not encouraging. Best quality lugs generally about $1.20 per pound. Contrast that to the...
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AUCTION SALES IMPROVE--A LITTLE
This tobacco was offered for sale in a live auction last Wednesday at the American Tobacco Exchange in Wilson, N.C. Sales continue today at ATE, Horizon Tobacco and Big M Warehouse, all in Wilson. Live...
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