North Carolina tobacco growers will vote November 19 on whether to continue the self-assessment of 10 cents per 100 pounds of flue-cured and burley tobacco sold for support of tobacco research and education. The Tobacco Research Check-off, started in 1991, has allocated about $300,000 a year to tobacco-related projects at North Carolina State University.  The most recent referendum in 2003 passed by more than 92 percent.

Funds from the check-off are allocated by the NC Tobacco Research Commission, which includes the state agriculture commissioner, the NC Farm Bureau Federation president, the NC State Grange president, the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina president and the NC Tobacco Foundation chairman. If two-thirds of growers vote in favor of the referendum, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will continue to collect the check-off funds at the points of sales of all North Carolina leaf receiving stations.  Any person eligible to vote on the self-assessment must share in the risk of the costs of production for flue-cured or burley tobacco.

IT’S IMPORTANT
“This referendum is extremely important for the future of tobacco production in North Carolina,” says Keith Oakley, president of the North Carolina Tobacco Foundation and state check-off coordinator.  “Federal funding for tobacco research ceased in 1994, and state support has declined in recent years due to budget deficits.  These factors led to the creation and need for the continuation of this self-help program of tobacco production research and education to help tobacco growers.”

Since deregulation (buyout) in 2004, North Carolina has increased its share of tobacco production in the Southeast.  North Carolina flue-cured production has increased from two-thirds of the acreage produced in the Southeast to more than 80 percent.  Burley production has been maintained because of the new production in the area east of the mountains.  The North Carolina increases have been partly because of competitive advantages related to production research and education.

According to Dr. Johnny Wynne, dean of NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the check-off funds have resulted in many important developments for the state’s burley and flue-cured tobacco farmers:

• Variety development, especially for disease resistance to include blue mold resistance in burley tobacco
• Economics of production for burley and flue-cured tobacco
• Revision of nitrogen leeching adjustments to improve nitrogen management following excess rainfall
• Researchers are working to develop a management program which includes source identification and the role of weed hosts – for the tomato spotted wilt virus, a devastating disease.
• New races of black shank are emerging, and research and education programs are being developed to manage this new disease.
• A blue mold management plan includes a forecasting system located at http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/bluemold/.  This research helped U.S. producers gain access to the Chinese market.
• Target spot management
• Insect management programs have lowered production costs, protected gross and net returns, and reduced environmental impacts to include budworm and splitworm management.
• Potential new herbicides are being evaluated for weed management in flue-cured and burley tobacco.   These herbicides could be especially helpful in no-till tobacco.
• Alternatives are being evaluated to reduce maleic hydrazide residues and thus make North Carolina leaf more acceptable to buyers, especially foreign buyers.
• Energy conservation of curing fuels, electricity and curing with wood fuel to include the design, construction, testing and demonstration of advanced flue-cured barns
• Training of professionals for tobacco production research and extension and scholarships for graduate students
• Campus and field faculty in county extension offices with tobacco responsibilities have received support for their research and extension programs (although reduced in recent times) to maintain the best tobacco production research and education programs in the world.
• The grower self-assessment is known to encourage and result in other segments of the tobacco industry to provide support for the tobacco research and extension programs at NC State University.
• Wilson County and Johnston County field days

All leaders of the NC Tobacco Research Commission agree that a favorable vote on November 19 is critical if North Carolina tobacco growers are to remain competitive in the world market.