01 1 VI THE BRUNSfflQCAftACON
U[ OL4l JL ?U?SO?r. AUGUST It, 19*4
INSIDE THIS SECTION:
UPlonf Doctor, Page 5
? Events Calendar, 8
SUMMER WORKERS Keith Ludhun (left) and Travis Hewett slide another ruck
of tobacco into the barn. It takes about seven days for the green leaves to cure.
\ rJ
Tobacco Remains Brunswick County's High-Dollar Crop
f
BY DOUG RUTTER
rody Clemmons has worked in tobacco fields for
16 of his 22 years. It's hard work, especially un
der August's scorching sun, but be likes it just
i same.
"I was raised on my daddy's farm. I don't know no
"~er," said Clemmons, who runs a 45-acre farm in
rrv
"I wonder about it sometimes. Am I doing the right
ing? If you're happy doing something I guess the
st thing is to stick with it"
Clemmons, a graduate of N.C State University's
?culture business management program, is among
Brunswick County growers who will produce
F. 15 million pounds of tobacco this year.
David Nash of the Brunswick County Cooperative
tension Service said there are 1,573 acres of tobac
in the county. Based on a price of $1.74 per pound
and 2,000 pounds per acre, local growers should gen
> crate about $5.47 million in revenues.
I1 "It's still a major, major economic crop in
| Brunswick County. Of the field crops, it's still the
high dollar crop in the county," Nash said last week
| during a visit to Clemmons' farm.
I The sweet smell of flue -cured tobacco filled the air
last Friday as Clemmons and three teenagers hired for
the summer busily "bamed" loads of green leaf
brought in fresh from the fields.
"It's hard work but there's nothing that compares to
the consistency of the outcome of it," Clemmons said
of tobacco. "Out of all the crops it is the most consis
tent year in and year out"
Clemmons started working tobacco at age 6 and
basically took over his family's operation at age 15
after his father had back surgery. "That's when I real
ly took hold of it, and I haven't really slowed down,"
he said.
For Clemmons, tobacco season began in February
with the planting of seeds in a greenhouse. Starting
the plants in a greenhouse improves the quality and
uniformity of the leaf.
"With the greenhouse that's when your season
starts. It's a crop you just have to spend a lot of time
with," Clemmons said
After 8 to 10 weeks, it's time to move the plants in
to the fields. Many growers start setting their fields
the Monday after Easter, while others use April IS as
the starting date.
"The main thing is trying to prevent any frost,"
Clemmons explained. "After we set, we plow three or
four times and apply fertilizer two times/'
During the summer, it's imperative that growers
break ott the flowers that
blossom on the plants.
The flowers use energy
to produce seeds ? ener
gy that is needed to pro
duce better leaves.
"If you let that big
flower stay there it's us
ing ail the energy. Every
day the flowers stay out
there in the fields you're
losing money,"
Clemmons said.
"You try to take the
energy that plant would
put into seed production
and put it into leaf pro
duction,'' added Nash.
The tobacco harvest
and curing starts around
the Fourth of July and
lasts 10 to 12 weeks.
Between 20 and 22
leaves are stripped from
each plant and brought in
for racking baraing and
curing
After seven days in the
bam, the product is ready
for bundling and delivery
to tobacco warehouses.
Clemmons and other local growers take their leaf to
Tabor City and Whitevilk for sale.
Despite problems in the tobacco industry,
Clemmons says he has faith that North Carolina legis
lators will help him and other growers.
Politicians are well aware that tobacco is North
Carolina's largest farm commodity and cash crop and
is responsible for one out of every 11 jobs in the state.
They know 18,000 farm families grow tobacco in
89 of North Carolina's 100 counties. They know that
more than SO percent of all cigarettes made in the
United States are made right here in North Carolina.
Tobacco is not known as "the golden leaf" because
of its color alone. It generates nearly $6 billion in in
come for North Carolinians, creates more than
:.~Ms stffl.oiipton
major economic crop
in Brunswick
County.. ..It's hard
work but there's
nothing that
compares to the
cqnsistency of the
outcome of it Opt of
all the crops it is the
most consistent year
in and year out."
280,000 jobs and ac
counts for $700 million
in and local taxes.
"It's a tremendous in
come for this state," Nash
said. "If you go back and
look at our history, tobac
co probably paid for most
of the universities and
hospitals in this state."
Clemmons said the
federal tobacco program,
which is funded entirely
by growers and buyers
and hasn't cost American
taxpayers a dime since
1983, is in good shape.
"Our politics in North
Carolina arc pretty
strong. The guys we have
are backing it. I think
deep down they have
enough power to keep it
from changing drastical
ly," he said.
One of the industry's
biggest problems is com
petition from foreign
growers who don't pay
the same wages or follow
the same regulations that
have been placed on U.S. growers.
Also, Clemmofts said recent media attention on the
dangers of tobacco use have resulted in a decline in
cigarette and tobacco sales in the United States.
"It's the backbooe of everything in this state. It's
disappointing that people have turned against it This
is what put North Carolina on its feet," Clemmons
said.
While tobacco consumption in the U.S. is decreas
ing, worldwide tobacco use is expected to increase 2
percent per year through the end of the century.
"That's going to have to be our goal to get back
strong in the world market and export," Qemmons
said.
Clemmons said he has no plans of giving up tobac
co despite its uncertain future.
"My intentions are to stay in it The situation in to
bacco right now is in turmoil. We don't know which
way we're gonna go. We're gonna grow tobacco as
long as we can."
Master Gardener
Program To Be
Offered In Evenings
An evening "Master Gardeners" program will be
available this fall in Brunswick County.
The Master Gardener program in North Carolina is
a joint endeavor of the N.C. Cooperative Extension
Service and volunteers who wish to learn bow to be
better gardeners and help other gardeners by sharing
their knowledge.
Classes for the Brunswick County Cooperative
Extension Service Master Gardener Program will be
gin on Sept 13. Class will meet oo consecutive
Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. at the
Cooperative Extension Office in the Brunswick
County Government Complex in Bolivia.
Participants in the Master Gardener program will
receive 30 to 40 hours of training in many aspects of
horticulture and home gardening. Upon completion of
the training, participants are expected to give back
volunteer time working on the telephone hotline, the
plant clinic or other extension horticultural education
projects.
Those interested in becoming Master Gardeners
should call the Brunswick County Cooperative
Extension Office at 253-4425 far an application and
additional information.
Class size is limited and applications must be re
turned by Sept 6, said David L. Nash, agricultural ex
tension agent
1
'Seagull, Seagull,
Silting On The Sand '
BY BILL PAVER
I have always been fascinated by some of
the rhymes or "sayings" having to do with
weather conditions ? not only the words them
selves, but some of the explanations of why
they we likely to be true and how they came to
be used.
One good example has to do with the activi
ty of sheep when the barometric pressure is
foiling:
When sheep collect and huddle,
Tomorrow will become a puddle.
Sheep become unsettled because of the low
pressure and collect close together for security.
This is taken to be a sign of impending rain,
which usually happens when the pressure
drops, whether sheep are present or not
Another one having to do with predicting
rain is based on honey bees being sensitive to
humidity and air pressure: "Bees stay close to
hive, rain close by."
Low barometric pressure and high humidity
? also irritate flies, and they
seem to bite more. This is
supposed to be a sign of
rain is well. Sometimes an
imal* with earn are very
sensitive to changes in air
pressure and, in the case of
some birds, like swallows,
they tend to fly closer to
the ground. "When swal
FAVEK lows fly low" you can be
pretty sure it is going to rain sometime soon.
One of the sure signs for the beach has to do
with gulls sitting on the sand. Drops in baro
metric pressure and thinned air updrafts make
flying hard for some birds. You can be sure of
rain when you see them and recall:
Seagull, seagull, sitting cm the sand;