Just read over at Fair Trade Tobacco, the owner says this storm will most likely wipe out the entire Virginia crop if it lands where expected. So.. stock up on your Virginias now before they go the way of the Reds.
Hurricane To Wipe Out Entire Virginia Crop
- Thread starter jitterbugdude
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Not sure if that's what is grown here or not, its headed right for my state and I've seen farmers getting tobacco in all week.
I think what is more accurate is it would potentially wipe out the crop grown in Virginia. Not all tobacco in Virginia ends up being a Virginia blend and not all Virginia blends are grown in Virginia. Quite different than that in fact. I don't know what kind of season they have had there but I would think a lot of the crops are in. Unfortunately, a lot of those curing barns aren't all that stable so it wouldn't take many high winds to do considerable damage.
Isn’t it just a very small percentage of Virginias are grown there. I think we are safe. Maybe Fair Trade grows theirs there, but Virginia is just the name of the strain. It’s grown worldwide.
Wait a minute!! The Virginia crops have been harvested. I am on my second crop from the roots of the stalks already. Did they really post that? What would be left of the crop? Don’t they harvest whole stalks now?
From the "Tobacco Farmer Newsletter": How much flue-cured has been harvested? As of September 4, USDA estimated that 91 percent of the Georgia crop, 70 percent of the South Carolina crop, 58 percent of the North Carolina crop and 58 percent of the Virginia crop had been harvested.
The estimate is that about 150 million pounds will be lost.
The estimate is that about 150 million pounds will be lost.
Thanks for the clarification. I would like to subscribe to that newsletter. 150 million would be a kick in the pants to the whole industry. 
150 Million Pounds?
Call me a skeptic, but I would like to hear from some experts as that number seems way to huge to be true.
Call me a skeptic, but I would like to hear from some experts as that number seems way to huge to be true.
Pipestud, as far as expert on tobacco farming, Jitterbug is our man. I am guessing that the weight is pre-production weight, which is going to seem a little high in comparison to retail weight. But, it is enough to make a difference. It's not wiping out all Virginias, but it will cause problems for many farmers, for sure. And, I imagine tobacco in the flue machines right now are at risk also. And, I bet they are full.
Latest track projections has the Eye of Florence making landfall at the North Carolina/South Carolina border and moving westward. The tip of the state of Virginia where it borders Tennessee and Kentucky will see some wind and rain on Saturday when the storm is nothing more than a depression.
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?cone#contents
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?cone#contents
I know tobacco farmers frequently take out hail insurance, but I don't know what they do with hurricane risk. I'm tracking Florence like crazy, every four hours or more, knowing full well that hurricanes are never predictable, and what they project is only a highly educated guess. At the moment, which is about 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the center of the predicted track comes ashore at the very southern tip of the N.C. coast and goes inland over South Carolina, which would still bring days of rain and flooding to N.C., but lower speed wind. It would keep it well south of Raleigh, at least the hurricane center, and would definitely keep it far south of Virginia itself, if that is the tobacco growing area we are talking about. Virginias are grown throughout the tobacco belt. It can't go too far south for me, the South Pole would be fine. I'm worried about our friends at smokingpipe.com there in the Myrtle Beach area; hope they have evacuated inland to higher ground well further south or north.
Here's hoping that everything turns out well for all those affected. Many linesman friends have left here in Atlantic Canada and are on there way south.
My state of North Carolina reported 360 million pounds of Virginia tobacco last year. 150 million pound loss is not out of the question because the 2nd growth of the year would still be in the fields now. Of course 99% of that is cigarette leaf. As of this morning the hurricane is projected to turn south away from most of the tobacco farms here in NC but, they are going to get WET!
Thanks Brian, also some crops tend to be more resilient to tidal surges, as long as it isn't just washed away totally. A little saltwater may give this years crop a tangier bite, ha ha. But, anything special would be lost on the cigarette market anyways.
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