Hail-Damaged Tobacco Should be Young

Source from:  enough to recover - 5/17/06 By PHYLISS BOATWRIGHT, C-T Staff Writer  05/19/2006

Person and surrounding counties got a good dose of severe summer-like weather last Sunday, when high winds, hail and heavy rain moved across North Carolina. Some farmers reported damage to crops, but there was no widespread crop loss, according to county Extension Service Director Derek Day. Some sections of the county were more affected than others, with the Hurdle Mills and Gordonton communities being hardest hit. Some eastern sections of the county also suffered some damage, but " not as bad as Hurdle Mills and Gordonton," Day said Tuesday. In the two areas where the bulk of damages were reported, Day said, "four growers got a taste of" hail. But, tobacco plants are still young enough, he said, that they will recover. "It may slow them down by a week or two," Day said of the damaged crops. He said, in addition to crops that were injured by the hail, one grower also lost a greenhouse cover and some had reported windshield damage. Person County growers this year will raise about double the amount of tobacco they grew last year, according to Day. That increase is the result of more tobacco companies offering more contracts. And, Day reported earlier this month, prices will be a bit better this year than they were in 2005. The per-pound payment will not be high enough to cover increases in chemical, fuel and labor costs, however, Day said, but nonetheless, growers are optimistic about this year's potential. Companies offering contracts include U.S. Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Cooperative, which operates in Timberlake in the old Crown Crafts building, along with Reynolds American, Alliance One, Universal and Phillip Morris. Burley tobacco acreage will increase this year as well, Day said, in addition to the amount of flue-cured tobacco. Last year, as a trial, several Person growers planted a combined 108 acres of burley tobacco. The burley turned out better than expected and was not as difficult to grow as farmers had feared. The amount of burley grown this year is expected to be about 230 acres. This small tobacco plant is one of hundreds that suffered damage from hail during a storm in Bushy Fork area Sunday afternoon. Enditem