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ATTENTION 609 TOBACCO FARMERS
I am asked by farmers every day, "Why is there Country Buying?” The truth is: there are two places to
get tobacco- Auction or Country. If tobacco buyers cannot get their fair share at auction, THEY
HAVE TO BUY IN THE COUNTRY. All buyers would like to buy all at auction only, but for some
reason, the other auction favors one buyer, even if he pays less money! The farmers can stop the
country buying by supporting the fair auction. Farmers Tobacco Whse. realizes that happy buyers
will pay the highest pnces. This makes farmers happy also, no fuss, no fight. We have the highest
prices & averages, paid by the buyers. We sell the most tobacco to the highest bidders. Farmers,
please wake up and see what’s happening to our auction. We need tobacco at KIRKWOOD. Don't let
the other warehouse force country buying to increasel Call me for the truth! Do the farmers want a
fair and honest auction or should we shut it down? I lost money in 1996 to provide 609 growers a fair
auction. Will you help me now?
FARMER’S TOBACCO WAREHOUSE
Company
GOLDEN LEAF TOB
IDEAL LEAF TOB.
LANCASTER LEAF
PENN-LEAF
WINSTEAD TOB. CO.
HOUSE
Assessment
ACTUAL PRINTOUT
Paradise Tobacco Auction 609 Buyer Summary Date: 01/06/97 Time: 02:32 PM
BUYER’S NAME
GOLDEN LEAF
TOBACCO
IDEAL LEAF
LANCASTER LEAF
Buyir With Mott Monty Got Lttt Thin 1/2
VICTOR WINSTEAD CO. 3,569.00
PARADISE
TOBACCO SALES
C °^scrt' eM
HYBRID C
• 7343, 7036, 6742 ALFALFAS
• 7222 Liberty Link . Forecast ! 000
• 7224 Pursuit Tolerant . ForecaBt 3000
SILAGE IWO
• Prop Plus
Plus Our Other Exceptional
Products: Hybrid Corn,
Soybeans, Field Seeds, Alfalfas qnd
Pasture Mixes
PO BOX 40 - R 472 & NOBLE RD.
KIRKWOOD, PA 17536
(717) 5X9-6426
BUYER TOTALS
Pounds Shsets
11,727 24 $19,559.69
2,859 5 $4/17.35
17,724 33 $29,414.09
4,996 9 $8,243.40
604 2 $996.60
9.547 22 $15.909.00 Done on Sale In Front Of
47,457 95 $78,840.13 Farmers And Buyers
The Competition Is Trying To Put Us Out Of Business!
$949.14
TOTAL LBS. 2%
PURCHASED GROSS COMMISSION NET
2,154.44
85,778.16
33,410.35
1.342.00
53.030.00
20.179.00
5,888.85
25.618.00 43,536.13
103.738.00 170,767.93
If we at the warehouse supply each buyer with an
adequate amount of tobacco, we will have
competition in the warehouse. That means we must
make sure that,each buyer can buy tobacco in
volume - keeping them injhe warehouse is what we
want to do. We no longer can move tobacco'but the
back door to meet minimums.
START THE NEW YEAR
OFF RIGHT
NEW BOOTH #4BB-491
ASK US ABOUT
MAKE YOU Ml
RN SE
ULAWT
AVERAGE PRICE: $1.66
Net Amount
1.66 N. Golden Leaf &Lanc. Leaf
1.65 Paid More & Got
1 More Tobacco
1.65
1.65
1.67
THIS CAUSES
* COUNTRY
1.61 BUYING
1.62<" 1 Buy«r Wlth »
„ Least Money 4
166 Gets More 7 •
Tobacco
5,960.23 1.65
26.84 2,181.28
1,060.60 86,838.75
403.58 33,813.93
71.38
512.36 44,048.49
2,074.76 172,842.69
STOP IN TO SEE US AT THE
PA FARM SHOW AT OUR
NEW PRODUCT
RE PROSPER
UEWTIAL MATURITY
AVERAGE
PAID/SKID
/ Only 2 Skid*
1,70 V Bought On Sal*
~c c >For 1.70 Silent
1.85 Bidding Hurt*
_ Auction
3 Buyers No
Longer Follow
Sale Because Of
Being Treated
Unfairly In Dec.
They Are Buying
At Kirkwood
Chemgro
P.O. Box 218, East Petersburg, PA 17520
(717)569-3296
(800)346-4769
(GROW)
Foliar Application,
Leaf Sorting Contribute
To Tobacco Show Success
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
—lf R. Michael Mellon had a for
mula for success in growing tobac
co. it would include not only using
a natural foliar fertilizer, but also
taking a lot of time to sort out the
best leaves for show.
Perhaps it was a combination of
the two that has allowed Mellon to
gamer top ribbon at the Lancaster
County Tobacco Show in the open
division for the third year in a row.
Mellon, Quarryville, grows five
acres of tobacco half Pennsyl
vania 41 and half Maryland 609.
Mellon won grand champion of
the open show with his Pa. 41
wrapper. Raymond Rinehart, leaf
purchaser with Lancaster Leaf
Company and one of the show
judges, said that Mellon had a
“very good hand of tobacco.
There’s plenty of life to it, plenty
of stretch and plenty of oU in the
leaf.”
The other show judge was Geof
frey H. Ranck, Domestic Tobacco
Company.
Mellon attributes success in
growing a champion hand by using
a new kind of liquid fertilizer. He
used a multimineral, all-natural
foliar type, sprayed three times
during the season: a week after
transplanting, two weeks before
topping, and a couple of days after
topping.
Mellon noted he had no troubles
with etch or mold in the fields.
While the wet, cool season chal
lenged a lot of farmers, Mellon
believed he was fortunate that dry
weather in September helped pro
vide a good crop.
THAT WILL
I IN 1997.
F|mloo, FrW§y, J*iu«y Ip, 19P7-4W
Mellott received a top {vice of
$1.67 per pound for his Maryland
609 variety and a top price of $2.05
per pound from the field that grew
the winning hand.
During stripping, Mellott said
he keeps track of the nicer leaves.
“Those I kept aside as I was seat
ing through them for the show,”
he said.
Mellott said that he has lots of
help from his wife, Denise, and
some part-time hired help.
Grand champion Pennsylvania
41 smoking tobacco vo ag division
went to Keith Frey, 18, son of
David and Norma Frey, Washing
ton Boro. Keith said he helps his
dad farm 40 acres of tobacco and
had one grand champion at the
Lancaster County Tobacco Show
several years ago.
Like Mellott, Frey said that he
sorts through a lot of the leaves at
stripping and sets the best leaves
aside for the show. He said the
leaves “were a nice size and uni
form,” which he believes helped
him win the contest.
Some problems Frey exper
ienced during curing included
“shed bum” the leaves deve
loped a type of rot because of the
cooler, wet conditions. For the
Pennsylvania 41 tobacco, the
Freys were able to gamer $1.55 per
pound. For the Maryland 609 they
grow, the Freys received a top
price of $1.75 per pound this year.
John Yocum. Penn State Exten
sion Southeast Research Lab man
ager, indicated that during the past
wet growing season, two things
concerned growers: one was thin
ner leaves because of lack of sun
light and, thus, decreased yields.
The other was some shed bum
because of the moist curing condi
tions, although a few weeks in
(Turn to Pago A 35)