Tobacco Crop Needs Some Moisture Now

Source from:  John Boyle • JBoyle@CITIZEN-TIMES.com • Updated November 9, 2008 11/10/2008

What burley tobacco growers need right now is some good steady rain, or at least some consistent overnight fogs. "The weather has been so cold and dry, it's just dried it plum out in the barn," said 72-year-old Lathern Franklin, who grows 25 acres of burley on his farm near Marshall in Madison County. "What we need is just fog and no wind, or a light soaking rain that lasts all day." Mountain tobacco growers, a dwindling breed, were able to grow a good crop in the field this year. Burley tobacco actually does well without a lot of rain — dryness cuts down on blue mold and other fungus problems — so this year's persistent drought didn't hurt growth. But come fall, burley needs rain or fog for a more desirable deep red color and a better moisture content. "This year was a good yield year in the field, but like last year, it's curing out yellow," said Harold Hunter, a Spring Creek grower who worked six acres this year. "My yield is looking like about 2,000 pounds an acre, which isn't too bad, considering last year was about 1,500 pounds an acre, even 1,200 in some fields." If growers get rain or consistent fogs in the next couple of weeks, the tobacco hanging in barns will take in the needed moisture. Hunter, 55, grew about half what he normally does, mostly because he had a surgery in mid-summer that curtailed his activity. But a lot of mountain growers have scaled back in general, and many have gotten out of tobacco altogether since the 2005 buyout that ended a price-support program in place since 1938. The buyout provided a payout to tobacco growers spread over 10 years, and by the spring of 2006 about half of the mountains' 4,000 growers had quit. That number has dwindled even further now. In Madison County, traditionally the state's largest producer of burley tobacco, the exodus has been striking. "We're probably at less than 100 growers," said Ross Young, director of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service office. "It used to be 2,000 at one time. There are a lot of factors, but with no program to guarantee a price, it makes it as risky as other commodities."' Last year, growers found they got about $1.65 a pound for their crop. This year, they're expecting that to go up by 7-10 cents a pound. With prices relatively stagnant and expenses up because of higher diesel fuel and fertilizer costs, growing tobacco is tougher than ever. So the drop-off in growers doesn't surprise Hunter. "I know in this community, there used to be 25, 30 growers, and now it's gotten down to six or seven — and I know one or two of them are going to retire," he said, noting that the physical nature of the work is hard to carry on as farmers age. "I'm kind of sad about it. It dropped off a lot quicker than I thought it would." Enditem