Welcome to the Georgia Tobacco Hotline

1-800-659-7288

J. Michael Moore,
Editor

INTRODUCTION
HEAT EXCHANGER TESTING
CURING PROBLEMS
BURNED BARNS
GEORGIA AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE ESTIMATES
SOUTHERN AREA FLUE-CURED TOBACCO AUCTIONS (TYPE 13)
SOUTHERN FLUE-CURED CONTRACT CENTERS

INTRODUCTION
Tobacco harvesting began to pick up this week in Georgia as we entered the second week of sales at contract buying points and the first week of auctions. Most of the state's tobacco crop has been harvested for the first time with some tobacco in water damged areas and in the southern portion of the production area beginning the second harvest. Most areas damaged by the excessive rainfall of mid to late June are recovering well and production will not be off as much as expected earlier. Afternoon thunderstorms continued to wet parts of the production area this week causing some tobacco to be harvested wet, but generally being welcomed by growers who could use the rainfall. Hornworms seem to be the major insect pest which is present, but are generally being controlled. Damage from target spot has generally been harvested or subsided.

HEAT EXCHANGER TESTING
Georgia Extension Agents and Specialists continue to assist growers in fine tuning the operation of newly installed heat exchangers using a gas analyzer to adjust the amount of air the burner pushes the through the burner and the heat exchanger improving the efficiency of operation of the entire system. Although some burners were very accurately adjusted by installers who used a similar meter, many were found to have been poorly adjusted when no meter was used. A gas analyzer MUST be used to accurately tune the burner. Some gas companies have purchased these meters. Stack temperatures continue to vary from 400 to 800 degrees F and indicate low efficiency of heat exchanger operation and wasted fuel useage.

CURING PROBLEMS
Curing problems relating to the increased moisture content of th 2001 crop and the conversion of barns to heat exchangers which restrict the normal air flow of the barn and provide a much drier air with which to cure the tobacco have caused growers considerable frustration as they have had to become familar with these different curing conditions. Many have found the use of wet-bulb thermometers helpful in utilizing Extension provided Curing Schedules. In general considerably less fresh air is being required during the yellowing process to allow for coloring and wilting of the tobacco. Barn rot has been a problem for some older rack barns for which racks were only partially filled and where the spaces between the last rack on the rail and the door were not covered to block air flow around the tobacco instead of through the rack. Although curing conditions usually improve after the first harvest is cured, problems with air flow will continue to reduce the efficiency of the curing operation and cause grower frustration. Realizing the reduction in the air flow now available after heat exchanger installation, growers can benefit from feeling around the barn to identify and seal cracks and holes which have been allowed to exist previously. Obvious leaks of hot air such as those around sagging doors or from missing/damages door gaskets are primary concerns. After spending more than the value of some barns on heat exchanger installation the job of patching up and tightening up old barns will help to decrease future fuel costs. In some cases growers could benefit from increasing the horsepower of the fan motor used and replacing or adjusting the fan in use to provide greater air flow.

BURNED BARNS
More than 15 barns have burned in the state in the last three weeks with many attributing the increased number of fires to new heat exchangers. Growers should personally inspect the installation of heat exchangers with the understanding of the 1500+ degree F temperatures produced by the combustion chambers and the need for distance or heat shields between the heat exchanger and wooden structures. In some cases it is suspected that construction debris (such as the round piece cut out for the stack to exit the roof of the barn) or materials used during installation (plywood & bale slipsheets) may have been left over or in the cabinet containing the heat exchanger. Similar problems are being reported from other states and production areas as well.

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Tobacco Harvested (%)
Jul 22, 2001 26
Prev. Week 18
Jul 22, 2000 29
5 Year Avg. 37

Tobacco Crop Condition - July 22, 2001
CONDITION (%)
Very Poor ..1
Poor ...........6
Fair ..........27
Good .......53
Excellent 13

Soil Moisture
Jul 20, Prev. 5 Year, 2001 Year Avg.
-----Percentages------
Very Short 13 36 20
Short .........42 41 33
Adequate ..44 22 44
Surplus ........1 01 03

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WEEKLY COMMENTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING JULY 26, 2001
USDA AMS TOBACCO MARKET NEWS SERVICE
SOUTHERN AREA FLUE-CURED TOBACCO AUCTIONS (TYPE 13)
SALES WEEK NO. 1.

The 2001 flue-cured tobacco auction marketing season began July 24 in the Southern Auction Area. Beginning this season, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Border North Carolina markets are combined into the Southern Flue-Cured Area (now Type 13).

Demand was good in South Carolina and North Carolina where carry- over tobacco was predominant. Demand was light in Georgia, and producers rejected many of the companies' bid on new crop tobacco. Volume of sales was light on Georgia markets, with Vidalia passing its sales opportunity. Other selling points ranged from moderate to heavy.

Gross sales at auction this week totaled 3,933,853 pounds, averaging $185.18 per hundred. That's an increase of $28.06 from the first three days a year ago, when 15,627,138 pounds averaged $157.12 per hundred. Much of this increase in the average can be attributed to a larger amount of carry-over tobacco being offered for sale. Resales for the first week amounted to 68,251 pounds.

Southern Area contract sales reported through July 26 were 19,527,022 pounds, averaging $182.12 per hundred. No nonauction sales for the same period last year had taken place. In the old crop leaf grades, most ripe offerings sold in a range of $187 to $192 per hundred, with unripe offerings between $184 and $186. This year's primings and lugs averaged from $151 to $165 per hundred pounds.

Carry-over leaf tobacco dominated auctions, with 92 percent coming from the leaf (B) and smoking leaf (H) groups. Other group percentages were lugs (X) at 4 percent, primings (P) 3, and nondescript at 1 percent. Around 96 percent of sales graded either fair or good quality tobacco. From a maturity standpoint, around 90 percent of all auctions classed as mature to mellow.

The Flue-Cured Stabilization Corporation received 214,468 pounds or 5.5 percent of gross sales at auction this week, compared to 865,520 pounds or 5.5 percent during the first week last year.

Auction bid averages per hundred pounds on several U.S. grades follow:

U.S. Auction
Grade Bid
----- --------
B3F $192
B4F $192
B3K $192
B4K $188
B3KR $188
B4KR $187
B3KM $186
B4KM $184
X3L $165
P4F $151

Questions? Contact: USDA AMS TOBACCO MARKET NEWS 1306 Annapolis Drive Market News Web Page Raleigh, NC 27608 Find this table on the web at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/marketnews.htm

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GROSS SALES, TYPE 14 RALEIGH USDA
FEDERAL-STATE TOBACCO MARKET NEWS JULY 27, 2001, SALES DAY NO. 14 SOUTHERN FLUE-CURED CONTRACT CENTERS,
TYPE - 14 GROSS SALE REPORT FOR THURSDAY, 26-JUL-2001

-------------------------------DAILY------------- GROSS --GROSS -------SEASON
ST, MARKET, LBS, VALUE, ---AVG ----POUNDS -VALUE --------AVG
---- ------------- ---------- ------------- -------- ------------ --------------- --------
TOTAL FL 206,322 $363,097 $175.99 1,518,703 $2,673,862 $176.06
TOTAL GA 873,245 $1,511,009 $173.03 5,210,449 $8,970,787 $172.17
TOTAL NC 513,362 $934,573 $182.05 4,501,595 $8,521,702 $189.30
TOTAL SC 252,689 $433,707 $171.64 8,296,275 $15,396,039 $185.58
TOTAL TYPE 1,845,618 $3,242,386 $175.68 19,527,022 $35,562,390 $182.12

Subject to Revision. Questions? Contact: USDA AMS TOBACCO MARKET NEWS 1306 ANNAPOLIS DRIVE Market News Web Page RALEIGH, NC (919) 856-4550 Find this table on the Web at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/marketnews.htm

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