Yes, you’ve packed away your equipment or taken it to get those necessary repairs. Yes, your fields are taking a break from tobacco, at least for now. But you know your work doesn’t end with the growing season. Winter’s the best time to get your ducks in a row, to start planning your contracts and […]
This summer has probably left many of you wishing you had giant umbrellas for your fields. After years of worrying about drought, the skies opened up on many growers’ fields, dumping more than 30 inches in just a few short weeks on some fields in the East. With drenched and drowning plants growing thin and […]
Growers, we know you’re all too familiar with the challenges accompanying securing enough labor to efficiently and economically plant and harvest your tobacco. Some of you who grew up on tobacco farms remember watching your own parents experience the same struggles finding help. “For my dad, recruiting labor was a year-round process,” said David Sutton, […]
How do you have the most successful final product possible? You must have a successful beginning. For tobacco farmers, this means starting out with strong seeds that grow into healthy transplants. With a seed so small its volume ranges from 10,000 to 20,000 seeds per gram, transformation from the fragile seedling stage into hardy transplants […]
This economy has everyone taking a hard look at what they spend versus what they take in. Modern tobacco farmers are no different. They are constantly reviewing their input costs to see what they can trim from their expenses without sacrificing the quality of their product. Keeping a record of how every dime was spent […]
This economy has everyone taking a hard look at what they spend versus what they take in. Modern tobacco farmers are no different. They are constantly reviewing their input costs to see what they can trim from their expenses without sacrificing the quality of their product. Keeping a record of how every dime was spent […]
Labor is the largest variable expense in tobacco growing, especially when it comes to burley. Tobacco production studies have generally indicated that despite some gains in labor efficiency over the years, it still takes 150 to 200 hours of labor to grow an acre of burley tobacco. Still, you can take some steps to help […]
The best way to keep good records is to do whatever is easiest for you so that you can track your operations on a daily basis. Laura Powers, University of Kentucky Extension specialist, says she knows of growers who keep a pocket calendar on hand, transferring their handwritten notes to an electronic expense tracking system […]
The best soils for growing tobacco have good internal drainage that keeps standing moisture away from roots and, at the same time, good water-holding capabilities to combat dry spells in the growing season. (Note that you should always avoid transplanting into saturated soils, as tobacco roots require aeration and can begin to die in as […]
Ensuring that the seedlings emerge and grow at the same rate is essential to getting a high percentage of usable transplants. Research conducted by NCSU tobacco specialists has shown that as little as a three-day difference in emergence in a quarter of the seedlings could reduce usability, and clipping could not reverse the negative impacts […]
Most tobacco farmers using a transplant system grow their seeds in a greenhouse. This method of production remains the most popular method for predictable, uniform growth of high-quality transplants. Virginia’s Burley Tobacco Production Guide reports that use of a greenhouse reduces labor required for transplant production, gives greater control of environmental conditions and provides increased […]
The key to controlling weeds, just as in controlling insects and diseases, is proper identification. According to the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Flue-Cured Tobacco Guide, common weeds that affect tobacco crops include nutsedges, morningglories, common ragweed, pigweed and horsenettle. Growers need to identify the types of weeds that are present and should consult their […]
The best soils for growing tobacco have good internal drainage that keeps standing moisture away from roots and, at the same time, good water-holding capabilities to combat dry spells in the growing season. (Note that you should always avoid transplanting into saturated soils, as tobacco roots require aeration and can begin to die in as […]
Proper crop rotation is one of a farmer’s best weapons against disease. Planting tobacco in the same field in consecutive years puts your crop at risk for disease and can also strip the land of vital nutrients. While rotating crops can be more difficult for burley farmers, experts cannot stress the importance of rotation enough. […]
In early October, the European Parliament voted to postpone a ban on menthol cigarettes to 2021 and scale down the size of health warnings on cigarette packets. Instead of approving the proposal that health warnings should cover 75 percent of packaging (up from the current requirement that warnings cover 30 percent of the front and […]
Yes, you’ve packed away your equipment or taken it to get those necessary repairs. Yes, your fields are taking a break from tobacco, at least for now. But you know your work doesn’t end with the growing season. Winter’s the best time to get your ducks in a row, to start planning your contracts and […]
This summer has probably left many of you wishing you had giant umbrellas for your fields. After years of worrying about drought, the skies opened up on many growers’ fields, dumping more than 30 inches in just a few short weeks on some fields in the East. With drenched and drowning plants growing thin and […]
Tobacco country weather puts a web blanket on crop reports According to the USDA’s July 11 Flue-Cured Crop Production Report, total flue-cured tobacco acreage planted was up about 11,000 acres in 2013 from last year. Georgia planted 5,000 additional acres for a total of 15,000, and North Carolina planted an additional 6,000 acres for a […]
Familiar Face in Tobacco Retires After three decades of serving the tobacco industry as both a tobacco specialist assisting Kentucky and Tennessee growers and soil scientist for the University of Tennessee and North Carolina State University, Paul Denton, Extension burley tobacco specialist, will retire at the end of May. “The most enjoyable part of my […]
While things get cooking in the greenhouse, our spring sun is coming out to melt winter’s chill from the fields, readying them for 2013’s season. In this issue, we cover some hot topics to help you get warmed up for the year. Many of you got a jump start on the season by attending Good […]
