Tobacco Growers Gather to Discuss Production Practices

Source from:  Click-2-Listen By Amanda Karr The Daily Reflector Friday, January 05, 2007 01/08/2007

With flue-cured tobacco production up in Pitt County and across the nation last year, local farmers gathered Thursday to look ahead to the coming year. Two crop specialists from N.C. State University led Thursday's annual tobacco production meeting organized by the Pitt County Cooperative Extension office. The meeting introduces local farmers to new research and production practices that will reduce costs or improve yields, said Pitt County Extension Director Mitch Smith. "That's what's important, because that's how you play the game," Smith said. "Reducing inputs and increasing yields is what it's all about." Exactly how the coming tobacco season will play out remains to be seen. Not all manufacturers have released the prices they'll pay for the coming year's tobacco crop, which will influence farmers still trying to decide whether to plant, Smith said. Prior to the federal tobacco buyout, which did away with quotas and allowed farmers to grow as much tobacco as they want, there were about 325 farmers growing tobacco in Pitt County. At the end of last year there were about 150, Smith said. Even with fewer farmers planting the golden leaf, the amount of tobacco grown increased, Smith said. In 2005, the year the federal tobacco buyout took effect, 7,233 acres of tobacco were grown in Pitt County. Last year, it jumped about 13 percent, putting the county back on par with the amount grown in 2004 before the buyout, Smith said. It was a jump that was mirrored across the state and the nation. In North Carolina, acreage of tobacco increased about 20 percent to 150,000 acres with a production of about 330 million pounds, said Robbie Parker, a crop specialist at N.C. State. Across the nation, flue-cured tobacco acreage increased about 18 percent. Since the buyout, the cost of U.S. tobacco has dropped, leading other countries to look at purchasing U.S. leaf, Parker said. However, selling overseas requires the tobacco meet foreign regulations and desires, something growers will have to take into consideration, he said. Parker also discussed studies done on the amount of nutrients and fertilizer needed for ideal tobacco yields. He also reviewed a study done on the effect of harvest time on yields. "How long a variety will hold in the the field for you is something you really want to look at," he said, It's particularly important for farmers with a large number of planted tobacco acres since the harvest will take longer. About 70 Pitt County farmers who attended the meeting also listened to a presentation by Grant Ellington from N.C. State. Ellington discussed efficient curing and energy consumption practices. Energy consumption is of particular importance in a time when the cost of energy is rising, he said. Automatic curing systems are becoming more popular, he said. His presentation also included pictures of a farm that recently began using a wood burning, hot water system to cure tobacco. Enditem