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PROGRESS SENTINEL
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VOL. XXXXV1I NO. 1 USPS 162-860 KF-NANSVILLE. NC 2M4V ? JANUARY ti. IW 12 PAGES THIS WEEK 101 1 M S PI I S I AX
Tobacco Exports Suffer,
Experts Say High Prices Are The Root Of The Problem
The hiah orice of U.S.
tobacco is cutting export
sales and forcing costly flue
cured tobacco production
quota reductions, a nagging
worry for tobacco experts
who gathered in Kenansville
last week.
A major tobacco manu
facturer. Witcher Dudley,
vice president of Philip
Morris USA Inc.; Fred Bond,
managing director of Flue
Cured Tobacco Stabilization
Cooperative: and Charles
Pugh, a N.C. State, Univer
sity tobacco economist, dis
cussed the problems and
questions of tobacco farmers
in a meeting arranged by the
Duplin County Agricultural
Extension Service this past
week.
The 1982 flue-cured crop ?
of less than a billion pounds
was the smallest in about
three decades,but only three
fourths. about 750 million
pounds, was purchased by
customers..
More than a fourth of the
tobacco offered, about 260
million pounds, failed to
bring prices in excess of the
support level and was pur
chased by the tobacco co
operative under the price
support program.
Farmers for four decades
have periodically voted to
comply with production limi
tations in return for price
support protection. Produc
tion is limited by both
acreage allotments and
poundage quotas.
"Very little should have
gone to Stabilization beeause
of the low supply." said
Dudley, "but the depression,
overseas profit squeeze, high
priee and possible inventory
reduetion eut into sales.
The worry of farmers fac
ing reduced income beeause
of the production cuts sur
faced in their questioning of
the panel members.
The often repeated ques
tion. "Who got us into this
trouble and who'll get us
out?" was put to Calvin
Turner, a farmer and Duplin
County commissioner. The
county commissioners will
face the consequences of an
effective 2b percent redue
tion in the county s tobacco
production quota for 1183
when it comes to estimating
county tax income and pre
paring the 1183-84 budget.
Because Duplin farmers
produced more than their
quota in 1182, they placed
almost 2.3 million pounds in
the surplus pool to be sold
after July 1. 1183. That
poundage will be deducted
from the 1183 production
quotas of the affected farms.
The county had an effec
tive quota of 21. million
pounds in 1182. Its effective
1183 quota is 18.382.351
pounds. The 2.3 million
pounds of surplus tobacco
will be deducted from the
1183 quota, leaving the
county an actual production
authorization of about 16.1
million pounds, said David
English, the county's Agri
cultural Stabilization Service
executive director.
Several eastern North
Carolina counties arc in the
same position.
English said this sharp
reduction will be felt by
businesses throughout the
county, as well as bv the
affected farmers.
At the estimated $171 per
hundred pounds 1183 sup
port level, this could mean a
potential $10 million loss in
income from 1182 for Duplin
farmers.
Willard Edwards ques
tioned putting what he called
non-compliance tobacco in
this pool, suggesting it
should have been destroyed.
Several of the 150 farmers
attending the session ex
pressed agreement.
Bond said the surplus or
non-compliance pool plan
may be dropped for 1183.
Stabilization buys tobacco
that fails to receive bids
higher than the price support
level. It stores and later
resells that tobacco. The
surplus pool is separate from
the tobacco purchased at the
warehouses during the
marketing season. It will be
sold on the basis of the 1183
support price level.
Several farmers asked
Dudlev at what price level
would U.S. leaf become
competitive in world mar
kets. The current high U.S.
price is blamed for loss of
much of the potential foreign
market U.S. farmers once
enjoyed.
"There's no perfect
price." Dudley replied.
"Competitive price is simply
the price at which (tobacco)
will sell. At present, our
price is so far above the
world price we sell less every
year."
U.S. flue-cured tobacco
averaged $2.48 per pound in
export trade in 1180. about
three times the average price
of flue-cured tobacco pro
duced in other countries,
Dudley said.
Farmers Expect Less
From 1983 Leaf Crop
Many area farmers seem
to agree that they are "just
going to have less money"
because of a tobacco assess
ment fee of seven Cents a
pound and a cut in produc
tion quotas next year.
The seven-cents-a-pound
assessment on tobacco sold
in 1983 was ordered by
Secretary of Agriculture
John Block to defray costs of
the federal tobacco price
support program. The money
will be paid to the Flue
Cured Tobacco Cooperative
Stabilization Corp., which
borrows money to buy to
bacco thai fails to receive
bids in excess of the support
price level.
Farmers agree to limit
production in return for price
support protection.
Melvin Herring of Warsaw
summed up opinions of
farmers and agribusiness
people throughout the region
concerning the 1983 crop.
Herring and several other
farmers spent a rainy Tues
day morning in C.M. Out
law's store between Warsaw
and Kenansville last week.
Their talk turned to to
bacco, the area's major cash
crop, and the worries of
Southeastern North Carolina
farmers. Their discussion
centered on the assessment,
the quota cuts and the high
cost of leasing quotas or
allotments to grow tobacco.
Last year, the owners of
about 40 percent of the
flue-cured tobacco quota
leased their quotas to other
people, according to John
Cyrus, chief of tobacco af
fairs for the N.C. Depart
ment of Agriculture.
"I feel the farmer's voice
is never heard," Herring
said. "When they had those
hearings last winter, we sug
gested they freeze the sup
port price. But they let the
support price climb and cut
our pounds."
The tobacco production
quota was cut 10 percent for
1983. The cuts to individual
farmers will vary from less
than 10 percent to more than
20 percent, depending upon
production levels of the last
two years.
"It just doesn't seem fair
for the warehouse to charge
five cents (a pound) to keep
tobacco 24 hours when Stabi
lization keeps it for years for
seven cents a pound," Her
ring said.
Morris Kornegay, a Ke
nansville area farmer, and
James Stallings, a farmer in
the Northeast community
east of Wallace, agreed with
Herring that the assessment,
up four cents from the 1982
fee of three cents a pound,
will take money from far
mers' pockets.
Joe Coleman, a Tabor City
farmer and warehouseman,
said. "1 think it's something
we must have to protect the
future of the program. 1 don't
think anyone likes to pay it,
but the program has to
operate at no cost to the
government."
A new feature of the
assessment this year is the
charge of seven cents a
pound to owners who lease
their tobacco quotas to
others. The owners must pay
this fee to Stabilization at the
time leases are formalized.
The growers pay their
assessment at the time they
sell tobacco.
"If the producer does the
physical work to protect the
allotment, the allotment
owner shouldn't mind paying
something to protect it too,"
Coleman said.
He said the assessment
against some allotment own
ers will encourage more
people to have tobacco grown
on their land.
"I think tobacco belongs to
land and not man and must
stay on its own farm,"
Coleman said. "It belongs to
the land through fhe original
allotment owner having,
worked the land or the
present owner having pur
chased or inherited the
land."
Coleman sees some limi
tation on leasing costs,
"because some farmers are
just backing off and refusing
to pay the price and simply
not planning to grow the
tobacco because they can't
afford high prices."
Cyrus, however, said the
pressure on many farmers to
maintain previous production
levels will force them to bid
lease prices up.
"I'm afraid that in many
instances, the farmer who
will grow the tobacco will end
up paying both his seven
cents and the owner's seven
cents a pound, or a total of 14
cents, and the farmer can't
afford it." Cyrus said.
Work To Begin Soon On Freezer
Warehouse Near Wallace
Site preparation for the
Williams Refrigerated Ex
press freezer warehouse,
long proposed for the
Wallace area, is expected to
begin early ir. January, ac
cording to John Gurganus,
Duplin County economic de
velopment director.
The sale of S3.6 million in
tax-exempt bonds to finance
the project was scheduled to'
be completed in Chicago last
Thursday. Gurganus said.
The Duplin County Board
of Commissioners took the
final step in a complicated
process to obtain the tax
exempt status for the bonds
in a special meeting last
Thursday when it authorized
the Duplin County Economic
Development Authority to
sell the bonds.
Although the bonds are
tax-exempt, the freezer firm
will pay county property
taxes after the facility begins
operation.
Exemption of interest on
the bonds from federal in
come taxes usually permits
the sale of such bonds at
interest rates under the reg
ular market rates, making
the bonds less expensive to
the issuers.
Principal and interest on
the bonds is to be repaid by
the refrigeration company
over a 20-year period, Gur
ganus said.
Williams Refrigerated Ex
press is headed bv Charlie
Williams of Eastern Shores.
Md.. who has similar enter
prises in the Delmarva
poultry producing area.
The warehouse is to be
located on a site adjacent to
the Swift & Co. turkey pro
cessing plant near Wallace.
The business will employ
about 30 people after con
struction is completed. Wil
liams said.
Swift is expected to be a
major customer of the ware
house. Swift now ships tur
keys to several freezer ware
houses in North and South
Carolina for storage pending
shipment to domestic and
overseas markets.
Kenansville Board To Hold Public
Meeting To Discuss Zoning
The public will take notice
that the Town of Kenansville
planning board will hold a
meeting on Thursday, Jan. 6
at 7 p.m. at the town hall.
The purpose will be to dis
cuss proposed zoning
changes.
The public and interested
citizens are invited and en
couraged to attend, accord
ing to George Penney, chair
man of the planning board.
QUESTIONS - J.W. Branch of the Scott's Store area,
asked David English of the ASC'S office about over
production and how it affects the leasee, at the tobacco
meeting sponsored by the Duplin County Agricultural
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Extension Service English stated that if it is move d "? th<
farm, there would he no effect, over-produe J r
under produced.
TOBACCO MEETING AUDIENCE - Some of the 125
attending the tobacco meeting held in Kcnansville at the
old Kenansville Elementary School last week
^OBACCO MEETING - Fred Bonds, managing director of
Flue-Cured Tobacco Stabilization Cooperative, listens to
questions bv Calvin Turner about the seven-cent fee for
t
1983 at the tobacco meeting held at Kenansville
Elementary School last week. Shown, left to right. C.C.
Key, Turner, S.L. Norris and Bonds.
Duplin Wine Cellars To Host Homemade Wine Contest
From time to time, the -
folks at Duplin Wine Cellars
have been called upon to
sample some of North Caro
lina's finest homemade wine.
Many hobbyists with access
to grapes have dabbled in the
mysterious art of winemak
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ing and more than a few have
at least dipped into a bub
bling barrel from a neigh
bor's smokehouse.
For the second year,
Duplin Wine Cellars feels
these enterprising wine
makers deserve the lime
ugtii. .d.ng to tradition,
our original recipes and
techniques of wine-making
were developed by the Ger
man-Swiss who settled near
New Bern in the early 1700s.
These recipes and tech
niques have been preserved
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for over 200 years by the
North Carolina grape farmer.
On Saturday, Feb. 19th,
there will be a homemade
wine contest at the winery.
All winemakers are invited to
enter their wines for the
judging which will take place
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at 3 p.m. Awards will be
presented for white, dry,
medium dry and sweet and
red. dry, medium dry and
sweet. Judges will be David
Fussell, winemaker, Paul
King, cellarmaster, and one
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of Duplin County's extension
agents.
Each wine will be judged
according to taste, color,
bouquet and clarity. The
presentation of awards will
follow the contest.
To obtain an entry form,
contact Pam Pope at Duplin
Wine Cellars. Box 75b. Rose
Hill. NC 28458 or phone
289-3888.
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