Board Sets Rates for Tobacco Growers Trust

Source from:  theleafchronicle.com 12/05/2005

The Tennessee Tobacco Farmers Certifying Board announced revised payment rates for the distribution of 2004 funds from the National Tobacco Growers Settlement (Phase II) Trust. The board set a payment rate of nearly 66 cents per pound of burley tobacco marketed in 2003 and a little more than 8 cents per pound of burley tobacco quota owned in that year. This is expected to be the final payout from the private trust that was created in 1999 and funded by tobacco manufacturers to help offset farm losses from the Master Settlement Agreement. Checks will be issued by the end of this month to nearly 50,000 Tennessee burley tobacco growers and quota owners who were certified in 2004. The board approved a plan last year that allocates 90 percent of the distributable funds to growers and 10 percent to quota owners. A total of $29.3 million is expected to be distributed to growers based on the certification of 44.4 million pounds of burley tobacco marketed in crop-year 2003. For more information and to check on certification status, Tennessee burley tobacco growers and quota owners can call the toll-free Tennessee tobacco information line at (877) 332-0711, or for general information about the tobacco growers trust, visit online at www.picktnproducts.org/trust. Enditem