AlB—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, January 9,1982
Will demand continue for lighter Pa. tobacco leaves?
BY DICK ANGLESTEIN
LANCASTER Will the trend
toward increasing demand tor
Maryland and the lighter-colored
Pennsylvania leat continue in
Lancaster County tor the 1982
tobacco growing season?
This was one of the questions
being asked at this week’s Lan
caster Tobacco Show and one of
many that annually begin facing
the county’s tobacco growers
about this time of the year.
While the majority of tobacco
grown in the county remains the
Pennsylvania type headed for the
chewing market, there has been a
growing segment in that overall
market for the lighter-colored,
better leaves for several years.
Particularly during the past
couple of years, buying activity for
the lighter leaves has picked up.
Growers like it since the lighter
Pennsylvania leaves have been
bringing a bit of an extra premium
from buyers.
Youthful Jere Neff, of Sheeplane
Rd., Rl, Millersville, member of
the Manor FFA, is an example. He
and his cousin Gary sold off a total
of about 30 acres on Monday.
About three-quarters of the crop
was sold for 85 cents q pound - the
same price it brought last year.
But a quarter of the crop, the
lighter leaves, brought 95 cents a
pound - an extra 10 cents.
And in these difficult economic
tunes, an extra premium on even a
portion of a cash crop is a welcome
bonus for farmers.
But where does this lighter
colored leaf goV
That’s just another of the many
unanswered questions that
characterize the tobacco industry
and the secret way it goes about
getting its raw material.
The best speculation is that the
lighter-colored leaves head down
South for the cigarette market.
For example, it’s known that
there was a short burley crop in
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' growing seasons. But this past
year’s crop was pretty good.
So, it’s possible that the heavier
buying of the lighter Penn
sylvania leat was done to help
make up tor the burley shortfall.
If this is the reason, another good
burley growing season in 1982
might seriously cut into the
demand for the lighter Penn
sylvania leaves when the 1982 crop
is sold.
But there’s also- the possibility
that the cigarette manufacturers
are changing their tobacco blends -
- going to more use of lower
nicotine tobaccos to make
cigarettes with this selling appeal.
' If more lower-nicotine- tobaccos
are going to continue to be used by
the cigarette manufacturers, it
might indicate that there will be a
continuing higher demand for the
lighter Pennsylvania leaves.
Air-cured tobacco, such as the
Pennsylvania and burley, is lower
in nicotine that other tlure-cured
tobaccos. And the lighter Penn
sylvania leaf is closer in ap
pearance to burley and Maryland
than the other greener Penn
sylvania varieties.
But since tobacco blends are as
closely guarded secrets as the
buymg of tobacco, it’s just another
phase of the annual guessing game
that the tobacco growers face each
year.
So, as growers conduct their
individual negotiations with
buyers concerning this year’s
crop, such questions of outlook
toward the coming year will be in
the back of their minds.
Thus far, there has been limited
major buying activity for the
straight-strip Pennsylvania
tobacco - the bulk of Lancaster
County’s crop.
It’s expected that brisk buymg
will wait until after the Farm
Show. In fact, buyers will use next
week to travel to Wisconsin the
the many annual unanswered
other prmcipal location for the
growing of tobacco which goes into
the chewing market.
Most of Lancaster County’s
tobacco - goes into the chewing
market.
In 'Tuesday’s Lancaster County
Show, a dry-run for the Farm Show
competition, many of the top
awards went to MiUersvilie area
growers.
Many top winners in Monday’s
show, which attracted 143 entries
as compared to 238 last year,
hailed from the MiUersvilie area.
Champions included Kandy
Kohrer, 808 Georgetown Kd.,
Konks, wrappers; Bill Wiggins, HI
MiUersvilie, tillers; Gary Nett, HI,
MiUersvilie, binders.
Other first-places went'to Roger
Kohrer, Honks, short wrapper;
Jere Nett, Kl, MiUersville, short
tiller; and Gary Nett, short binder.
in 4-H, the grand championship
was won by James Stauffer, Penn
Manor.
The FFA champion was John
Dohner, Rl, Elizabethtown.
Results;
Long Wrappers
1 Kandy Rohrer 2 Mike Cassel Rl Manheim
q Rnppr Rohrer 4 Garv Npff 6 Warlm
Rl Manhelm 6 Bob Burkholder Rl Washington
Boro
1 Roger Rohrer 2 Gary Neff, 3 Steven
Reinhart Rl MiUersville 4 Lois E Rohrer 1428
Lime Valley Rd Lancaster, 5 David Cassel Rl
Manheim 6 Donald Rohrer 1428 Lime Valley Rd
1 Bill Wiggins 2 Gary Neff 3 Roger Rohrer 6
Kandy Rohrer. 5 Dawn Rohrer 6 Jere Neff
1 Jere Neff 2 Roger Rohrer 3 Gail Rohrer, 4
Eugene Rohrer 5 Henry Bowman Rl Washington
Boro 6 Mike Cassel
1 Gary Neff 2 Marlin Cassel 3 Rebert Barr
269 Strasburg Pike 4 Tern Rohrer 5 Jere Neff.
6 Donald Rohrer
Short Binder
1 Gary Neff. 2 Mike Cassel. 3 Dawn Rohrer 4
Roger Rohrer 5 Donald Rohrer 6 Jere Neff
4-H Wrapper
1 James Stautler 2 Troy Muser 200 S
Donervitle Rd
1 James Stauffer
. FFA Wrapper
1 John Dohner 2 Jay RZ. Conestoga
Short Wrappers
Long Fitters
Short Filters
Long Binder
4-H Filler
uestions:
Jere Neff, of Rl, MiUersville, examines leaf that made him
one of class winners at Lancaster Tobacco Show.
3 Dan White Rl Washington Boro 4 Robert
Musser. R 2 Lancaster 5 Jere Neff 6 Jett
Brenneman Rl Millersvill 7 Kevin Bauman Rl
MiUersville 8 Duane Shelly R 6 Manheim 9 Jeff
Barley. R 2 Lancaster 10 Clarence Eckman R 2
Conestoga
FFA Filler
1 Mike Acord Rl Washington Boro 2 Jere
Neff 3 Lars White Rl Conestoga. 4 Kevin
n-Mmar, 5 j e ff Rarlpy 6 Jay Frey Jr 7 Jeff
Grape growers to meet
LANCASTER - To plan for 1962
and to look back on 1961 as a growing
and vintage year, the Southeast
Pennsylvania Grape Industry has
scheduled a meeting for Sunday, Jan.
17, 2-5 pm, at the Farm and Home
Center, 1383 Arcadia Road.
'Hie program topics include: >
harvest reports and reactions on the'
•81 crop year; plans for 1982 trom a
Brenneman 8 Duane Shelly. 9 Dan White u>
John Wiker Hi Conestoga
FFA Corn
1 Brian Hess R 1 Conestoga 2 Jav Frey Jr 3
Barry Getb Rl Manhetm 4 Jeff Barley 5 Gearry
Bitts Rl Millersville. 6 Clarence Eckman 7 Steve
Mam R 2 Lancaster. 8 Dean Obcr, 9 Nelson
Horning Rl Denver 10 Wayne Huber R 2
Conestoga
growers standpoint; the new wine
Jaw now in effect and the potentials
tor our industry; 1982 Wine Con
ference, Jan. atj-27, at Hershey
Convention Center; Kecertiiication ot
private applicators pesticide licenses^.
' and short business meeting. ’’P
For the social period and wine
tasting, bring a tavonte snack tood
and wine to share.