Tobacco crop looking good
By Steve Herring
Published in News on July 20, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Cousins Clark Daw, left, and Paul Daw examine tobacco in a field off New Hope Road on Tuesday.
June rains proved timely for Wayne County's corn crop, and while tobacco, the county's No 1 cash crop, can better handle drought and heat, it, too, was bolstered by the moisture.
But now tobacco farmers like cousins Paul and Clark Daw, who tend about 150 of tobacco, are hoping for drier conditions so that they can begin the harvest.
They also tend 1,700 acres of soybeans, 400 acres of corn and 200 acres of sweet potatoes, all of which are 'looking good," they said.
"We were really needing the rain when we got it," Clark Daw said. "It (tobacco) was really stressed at the time. It hit us just right. The thing we have been worried about during the past couple of weeks, we have been getting a little bit more than we were asking for.
"It hasn't hurt the crop yet. We may have a little spot here or there that had a little bit too much water. But it has helped the crop more than it has hurt it. It has brought it right on out."
The moisture will help fill out the tips (top leaves), he said.
"That is where the money is at," Clark Daw said. "It is filling that right on out."
Things are looking good, but there is a long way to go yet, Paul Daw said.
Compared to last year, the crop looks a "little better," he said.
"I have told somebody we went from drought to drown in a week," he said. "But it is just delayed harvesting, but the crop is good. I wouldn't say an excellent crop, but it is a good crop.
"Every day is a different challenge. We change our mind about every week about what we are going to do."
During the dry periods tobacco was rooting, Wayne County Extension Director Kevin Johnson said.
"It was sitting there basically rooting and looking for moisture," he said. "We have gotten this rain that has really helped fill it out.
"Now they are basically cleaning it up, getting out tops and suckers (lateral shoots that siphon off nutrients and that can reduce yield). A few farmers have started putting in some of the lugs (bottom leaves). In the next week or so you are going to be seeing a lot of tobacco going in."
The Daws have done that and are hoping to start harvesting a 23-acre field on New Hope Road on Thursday.
That work was delayed between one and two weeks by the previous dry spell, they said.
The market does not want the lugs, Clark Daw said. But he said he hopes the market is interested in the other lower leaves although the upper-stalk leaves are the ones most in demand.
The Daws said they would like to see conditions remain a little dry because the leaves can't be put in the barn wet, especially low-stalk leaves because they will rot.
Also, too much rain washes off the gum that gives the tobacco its weight and body, he said.
Some fields in Greene and Wilson counties have been hard hit by winds. When that happens, workers have to straighten the stalks by hand -- a labor-intensive job, the Daws said.
In some cases, fields have been a total loss, they said.
The Daws said some of their crop had been affected by winds and that they had to hire additional labor to straighten the stalks.
According to data compiled by Dr. Michael Walden, an economist at N.C. State University, agriculture and agribusiness account for 8,916 jobs in the county.
The economic impact on the county is $1,035,971,476 annually.
That breaks down to agriculture and food industries, $949,307, 476; natural fibers industry, $32,706,000; and forestry industries $53,958,000.
Tobacco acreage is fairly consistent since it is driven by contracts, Johnson said.
The actual acreage for tobacco and other crops won't be available until farmers complete their crop reports, Johnson said.
However, normally 8,000 to 10,000 acres of the leaf are planted in the county. That probably will be cut back somewhat this year because of contract cuts, he said.
Prices are "OK" on the leaf, Johnson said.
Tobacco is expected to bring a $1.70 per pound for lugs up to $2.10 for tips.
It depends on the company and leaf quality, Johnson said.
The Daws say they need to average $2 to $2.05 per pound to make a profit. They said $2.10 per pound or more for the tips would be even better.
Clark Daw said he is more concerned about what the lower leaves bring.
Those leaves will not command $2 a pound, he said.
"I'd like to get a $1.80 (per pound), a $1.75 at least," he said.
The problem with tobacco is that the companies have cut contracts, cutting some growers out completely, Johnson said.
"Until you go and take it to the receiving station, and they tell you what they will give you for it, they put a grade on it, you don't really know (the price)," Johnson said. I have not seen any tobacco come out of a barn so we do not know what the quality is right now."
The problem is the glut of tobacco available, he said.
"Everything is driven by the world economy, and there is just a lot of tobacco in the world supply chain," Johnson said. "So they (companies) don't need as much. A lot of American tobacco, they buy it for quality purposes. We have the best tobacco in the world. It has good flavors.
"But they are going to buy a lot of cheap tobacco out of Brazil, China, Africa and then they will just fill it with ours for flavors and aromas."
Both corn and tobacco are expected to produce good yields -- something that will needed in light of the current low commodity prices, Johnson said.
"I can tell you farmers are concerned," Johnson said. "They have had a couple of bad years, especially last year was really bad. The soybean crop was bad. The tobacco crop was not that good. We just came off a disastrous wheat crop. The wheat crop was horrible. So they really need a good year.
"We need a good tobacco crop, corn crop, sweet potatoes. We need it all to do well. The problem is, and the fear is, is the prices. We have got to have good yields and good quality on tobacco, just to try to make a profit. It's a tough year. Even with the great corn yields, that does not mean that life is good on the farm. There are just so many factors there."
Rain was the culprit in the poor wheat yield, and hurt last season's soybean crop as well, he said.
Excessive rainfall when wheat was planted in November and throughout the spring hurt, Johnson said.
"The soybean crop was bad in 2015 due to inability/delays in harvest from excessive rainfall last fall," he said. "Probably half the wheat crop was not even planted because of the wet conditions. The weak (soybean) crop in 2015 hurt the seed supply for 2016. That is why our acres are down this year. So far the current crop looks pretty good."
Sweet potatoes and cotton look pretty good right now, Johnson said.
The rains have been timely, he said.
Johnson said he would guess there are about 6,000 acres in cotton.
Cotton is selling for 70 cents per pound up from 60 cents per pound when it was being planting it.
"Soybeans are $10.50 a bushel," he said. "Sweet potatoes I have no idea. They are fresh market and vary."
Weather is not the only variable outside farmers' control, he said.
"You know we live in a global economy, and if you have a good soybean crop in Argentina, then that pulls our prices down," Johnson said. "With the corn market, it is really controlled by the Midwest. If they forecast a big corn crop then that pulls the prices down.
"It really is all global now, and we can't control the prices. All we can do is our best and try to put the crop out there, have the best yields possible, as much quality as possible and hope for the best."
Corn and soybeans will be about the same in acreage this year. Normally around 65,000 acres are planted in soybeans, but that will be off this year because farmers could not get the seed they wanted, he said.
As such Johnson is expecting 35,000 to 40,000 acres in both crops and possibly 3,000 in sweet potatoes.
Despite all of the issues, Johnson said he still thinks the local farm community is fairly positive.
"They are going to push forward," he said. "Our farmers love what they do."