-
orking Together For Common
Good Controls Tobacco Future
By K. R. KEUCK
Director of Tritacn Research
North Carolina Male Oritafe
Tobacco's future in North Car
olina hinges on one primary
tiling: the willingness of everyone
\?bo has on Marat io tobacco
to ?work together (or the common
good.
Tobacco is a great crop. It
ranks lWt Id acreage and 5th in
vshie of all farm crops produced
in the United States.
Here to the Southeast, and es
pecially to North Carolina, tobac
co to even more important. Ap
proximately half a million south
ern families to the five Boe-oured
producing states grow tobacco.
About 180,000 of these families
are to North Carolina. Tobacco
manufacturing gives employment
to thousands of additional fam
ilies.
As a nation, we are the world's
largest producer of tobacco. We
are the world's largest exporter
and the third largest importer of
this important commodity.
Tobacco provides our federal,
state and local governments
about $3.2 billion to tax monies
annually. Our overseas sales
help keep our exports and im
parte on an even keel.
On the surface, it would appear
that these of us interested m to
bacco enjoy an enviable position.
We do.
But positions of bigness and
leadership bring problems, end
our leadership in tobacco is no
exception. Tobacco has had its
problems ever since John Rolfe
grew his first crop at Jamestown
Colony in 1613. put never before
has the attention of so many peo
ple in this country been focused
so sharply on tobacco. It is no
exaggeration to say that the to
tal effects of several of these
problems are artnally threaten
ing the survival of certain to
bacco types.
Chief among these problems is
this business of quality. Buyers
of our tobacco? both foreign and
domestic? have said repeatedly in
recent years that our cured leaf
often tails to meet manufactur
ing standards.
Since joining the staff at North
Carolina State College, it has
been my good fortune to travel
in foreign countries and to talk
*Di people who use our tobaoco.
1 visited people in 1968 who
I was iahle to visit again in 1862.
Know The Weather
By E. H. SIMS
What are the months of the
most rainfall, in most parts of
the country.
Contrary to the popular be
lief, the winter months ? which
often bring three or four-day
spells of bad weather ? are not
the greatest producers of mois
ture.
In most parts of the country
nature has provided us with a
water supply that arrives in
close harmony with the needs
of crops.
For example, the amount of
precipitation usually begins to
pick up in the spring, when
things have been planted, and
increases until about June, or
even July, in some cases, and
then tapers off. This fits in
nicely with the needs of grow
ing crop*, moat of which are
r
harvested in the months follow
ing peak rainfall.
AT & T Leads
U. S. In Spending
The Architectural Forum mag
azine reported that the A. T. &
T. Company was the nation's
number one spender an construc
tion last year, according to W. R.
Ooofce, Jr., Lenoir manager of
Southern Bell.
The publication said A. T. &
T. spent $193 million during 1962.
| Approximately $19 rmilioo was
spent for remodeling existing
structures, $23 million for new
office*.
Over one-half of the cigarettes
consumed in the United States
are of the fitter tip variety.
Their comments were still the
same:
"Your tobacco farmers are rec
ognized throughout the world for
their potential ability to produce
a superior leaf," they said. "And
until recently we regarded your
tobaccos las the tiailmark' of
quality. We atiU want your to
baccos when the Quality is there
and the price to competitive,
but . .fc"
"Why to the gap between the
qualify of our tobacco and tobac
co produced to other nations be
coming narrower and narrower?
For one thing, we have a tend
ency to Judge quality to terms of
our own particular interest, and
ignore the overall picture. Wo
are like the Mind man who at
tempted to describe an elephant
by feeling acty one portion of
his body.
Qualify tctooco to a farmer
may mean the tobacco that
brings him the most money
Quality to the oooeomer may
tnua the flavor and aroma.
An we really ready to face
up to this quality prohi era? Are
each <1 f us? crower, warehouse
man, dealer, taper, manufactu
rer, exporter? ready to mmim
some ohMgation lor our tobacco
problems' Of will we continue
to blame oar trouble* on each
other or sonwoe else Trends
for the future may be determined
by the marketing roaponae to the
current crop, iReaaarch and edu
cation may out solve all ol our
tobacco problems, but they are
our only hope.
If we wHl cooperate within
the industry; if. we will keep the
Unas of comuoloations open, to
baooo will continue to ptay a
major role to the economy of
our' state and iMfion. If we tail
to cooperate, our tote of tobacco
.leadership will he lost.
Easy Way To
Reset Burley
Williimston ? fierniee Cayton
of Oak City ha* figured an easy
way to react tobacco. Bernice
took the boom off hi* (prayer
and hooked up a garden hose.
Wit hone man driving the
tractor and another man walk
ing along behind, he can water
tobacco faster than four people
can reset. The roller pump
gives enough pressure to work
the dirt well around the newly
set plants causing a much high
er liveability.
Cayton believes this method
is much easier than lugging
buckets of water up and down
the rows, according to L. L
Hodges, associate agricultural
extension agent in Martin
County.
SENATOR > SMITH AND 'M
Senator Margaret Chase
Smith is seriously considering
entering some Presidential pri
maries to offer Republicans a
"third choice" in the selection
of their 1964 nominee.
Senate vote* to suspend equ
al TV time law.
P
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