Farmers Bring in Last of Tobacco for Contracts

Source from:  hindu.com Washington, Aug. 20 (UNI) 08/21/2006

Farmers in the Twin Counties are harvesting the final leaves of their tobacco crop. Henry Phillips, who owns and operates Goldleaf Farms in Pinetops with his father, Tommy, and brother, Tony, said it's still to early to speculate about this year's tobacco crop. "It's not going to be anything like it was last year," Phillips said. "We've got about two-thirds of a tobacco crop." Goldleaf Farms planted 140 acres of tobacco. The farm is back up to capacity and is able to fill all its tobacco barn space, Phillips said. "We had gotten below our barn capacity in prior years, but we grew what we wanted to grow for the first year in a long time," Phillips said. "But we will come up about 100,000 pounds short because of wind and water damage." Phillips said his family faced a labor shortage when wind blew tobacco over. "We managed to find enough help to get us through," he said. "Most of the tobacco harvesting is mechanized, so we don't need as many people. "We expect to wrap up our tobacco crop in about three weeks." The Phillipses contracted with Philip Morris to sell more than 300,000 pounds of tobacco, but the loss of tobacco to Mother Nature will cut into their profits. Goldleaf Farms planted more than 1,200 acres of cotton and raises feeder calves. "We're a true family farming operation," Phillips said. "We are happy with our contract with Philip Morris. "When we harvest that last barn, it will be delivered and within 30 minutes, you can leave with a check in your hand." Edgecombe County Cooperative Extension Service Agent Art Bradley said this year's tobacco crop is spotty. "Some areas have come along and done fairly well," Bradley said. "Water hurt early on, and farmers have not recovered very much. "We also lost a good bit of tobacco this year due to the wind and water." Bradley said Edgecombe County farmers had more than 600 acres of tobacco destroyed because of wind and water damage. Farmers did get insurance, if their tobacco was covered, but the amount varied from farmer to farmer, he said. "Farmers choose their own level of insurance," Bradley said. "That affects how much premium they have to pay." Tobacco harvesting is about 50 percent to 60 percent completed in the county, Bradley said. "Many farmers, particularly those in the southern part of the county, are stripping the upperstalk leaves and getting the last harvest," he said. Farmers contracted with companies - including Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, United, Hale and Cotton, United and Alliance One - or with U.S. Flue-Cured Stabilization Cooperation to sell this year's crop, Bradley said. The cotton crop in the county is progressing, Bradley said. "The crop is probably better than fair," he said. "It's certainly a lot better that we thought it would be in the spring." Edgecombe County farmers planted 52,000 acres of cotton this year, compared to 48,000 acres last year. "That's an increase, but not the biggest," Bradley said. "Farmers have gotten up to 58,000 acres in past years." Tobacco in Nash County is coming out of the fields at a steady pace, said Nash County Cooperative Extension Service Director Charlie Tyson. Farmers in the county planted 9,031 acres, up 28 percent from last year, he said. "We are a little ahead of normal on harvesting," Tyson said. "Tobacco is ripening fairly quickly, and some fields have been stripped. "Tobacco is weighing heavier than we first thought, and the longer it stays in the field, the heavier it will be and the higher the yield will be. It is curing very well." Tyson said the peanut crop is developing underground pods and nuts. "We need timely rainfall this month to produce a high-yield peanut crop," he said. Cotton is beginning to mature, Tyson said, and soybeans are blooming and setting pods. "We have the potential to have a good cotton crop," he said. Nash County farmers planted 15,500 acres of cotton this year, up 8 percent from last year, Tyson said. Enditem