Will 2012 Flash Drought & Heat Wave Affect Pipe Smokers?
-
Kevin Godbee - Jul 20, 2012
- 6 min read
Kevin Godbee
It’s been all over the news that the U.S. is experiencing the worst drought and most extreme heat in decades. It’s actually a "Flash Drought" because it happened so fast. The Mississippi River is drying up. Shipping Barges are nearly at a standstill, and it’s expected to get worse before it gets better. "The unusually hot, dry weather that has gripped the nation will not let up its stranglehold in the next few months, federal weather forecasters said Thursday. And that means the heartland’s "flash drought" will linger at least until around Halloween and spread farther north and east." This is according to The Tampa Bay Times / Associated Press.
As reported by The New York Times; "The drought that has settled over more than half of the continental United States this summer is the most widespread in more than half a century. And it is likely to grow worse. The latest outlook released by the National Weather Service on Thursday forecasts increasingly dry conditions over much of the nation’s breadbasket, a development that could lead to higher food prices and shipping costs as well as reduced revenues in areas that count on summer tourism. Already some farmers are watching their cash crops burn to the point of no return. Others have been cutting their corn early to use for feed, a much less profitable venture. The government has declared one-third of the nation’s counties—1,297 of them across 29 states—federal disaster areas as a result of the drought, which will allow farmers to apply for low-interest loans to get them through the disappointing growing season." Here’s the full article in the NY Times: Widespread Drought Is Likely to Worsen
PipesMagazine.com was curious as to how this may affect pipe smokers. Will there be a shortage of tobacco? Will prices increase? What about the special breed of corn used for corn cob pipes?
Bottom Line: Buy tobacco now as prices will never be lower than they currently are.
That said, the above statement is not solely attributable to the current weather problems. It is also related to anticipated tax increases. Tobacco taxes never go down. There are also possibilities that overseas tobacco growing areas will switch to corn because of the growing demand for ethanol, thus decreasing tobacco supplies from international growers.
Here in the U.S., we spoke to Chris Tarler of Cornell & Diehl, and Paul Creasy from Altadis USA. They both stated that their current supplies were in good shape because they order far in advance and maintain sufficient reserves.
However, there are no guarantees for what the future trickle down effects will be.
According to Richmond Virginia Extension Agent Brandon Sears, "Hot, dry weather could have some insects feeding in greater-than-normal numbers on crops like alfalfa, tobacco, and some vegetables. Irrigated tobacco and vegetables will be very attractive to insects like grasshoppers and stink bugs under these dry conditions. Grasshoppers feed on alfalfa stems and leaves, as well as on tobacco and vegetables. Faced with a limited food supply, adults can fly a good distance to feed. Feeding usually starts along the edges of a field. In addition, stink bugs are common pests of tobacco and tomatoes. They feed on the middle of the tobacco leaf, which can collapse the plant leaf tissue starting from that point and turn the leaf yellow, especially in hot weather. Because it takes a day or two for the leaf to turn yellow, the bugs will have moved on before producers can make an insecticide application."
More bad news comes from Katie Pratt, University of Kentucky, "In the past few weeks, plant pathologists at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture have seen numerous cases of black shank. Hot, dry conditions this summer likely are to blame. Black shank is the biggest annual disease threat to Kentucky tobacco. The black shank pathogen attacks a plant’s roots and stem and causes dark-brown to black lesions. While the black shank pathogen is most active during wet, warm weather, dry weather can exacerbate the disease. Plants infected with black shank can’t pull water from the ground as effectively as healthy plants, so they just die when it gets hot or dry. Wilting and death can be so sudden that plants remain green when they die, not showing the yellowing that is characteristic of black shank. The classic blackening of the stem from which black shank takes its name can be less pronounced as well during a drought because of the quick disease cycle."
And that’s not all the grief. In line with other concerns, Chuck Deputy, of the Switzerland County (Indiana) Farm Service Agency said, "The losses are going to be across all yields," he continued. "We’re probably looking at a 50- to 60-percent loss on the soybeans. And it’s probably one of the worst tobacco crops I’ve ever seen in the county." He said that, "excluding the producers who are able to irrigate their tobacco crop, burley producers here in the county are looking at a 60- to 70-percent loss in their crop this year."
Phil Morgan, the General Manager of Missouri Meerschaum (maker of Corn Cob Pipes) was traveling and not available for comment at press time. However, we were informed that while they desperately need rain, one saving grace is that their fields are irrigated. We will update the article if there is additional information when we hear back from Mr. Morgan next week.
While American pipe tobacco manufacturers remain calm, cool, and collected with the current stockpiles, the 2012 flash drought and heat wave is definitely having devastating effects in some areas. How this will trickle down to create shortages and potential price increases in the future remains to be seen.
UPDATE: August 7, 2012: Here is an update on the effects of the drought on Corn Cob Pipe production: Worst Drought in 50-Years Affects Corn Cob Pipe Production
|
Kevin Godbee is the Publisher & Editor in Chief of Pipes Magazine. Kevin started smoking pipes and cigars in 1998 and started an online cigar magazine & community site in 2005. (The site was acquired in 2008 and no longer exists.) He launched PipesMagazine.com in 2009, and in less than three years the site has become the largest trafficked pipe smoking related site, and the #1 Source for Pipes and Pipe Tobacco Information. In the beginning of his career, Kevin worked in the hobby and specialty toy business for 16 years in sales, marketing, advertising and product development for three different manufacturers, and with his own company. Over the last 10 years working in the online business, he has become an expert in Internet Marketing and SEO. Kevin is a Certified Master Tobacconist (CMT) through Tobacconist University, a member of Cigar Rights of America and is a "Media Member" of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association. In his spare time he sings, plays guitar, cooks, and enjoys all the wonderful places to go and things to do in beautiful downtown St. Petersburg, Florida where he lives in his penthouse bachelor pad. Kevin has been smoking pipes and cigars for 14 years. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
9 Responses
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 541! We have a pipe personalities packed show tonight. We’ve been running two different series with two different prominent pipe collectors and authors. We have “Inside Fred’s Head” with Fred Hanna. He is the author of the book, “The Perfect Smoke”, and known for collecting straight grain pipes. The other series is a follow-up to Fred, “Rich Responds” with Rich Esserman. Rich has penned innumerous articles about pipes and tobacco for several publications, and he is known for collecting quite large pipes. We’ll be featuring the final remnants of those two series all in this show. As if that’s not enough, at the top of the show our segment will feature pipe artisan Jeff Gracik with another installment of “Ask the Pipemaker”. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Via Press Release – JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI – January 18, 2023 – For the past ten years, Jon David Cole, owner and operator of The Country Squire Tobacconist, and Beau York, founder of the podcasting company PODASTERY, have been delighting pipe smokers worldwide with their weekly podcast Country Squire Radio. Long time listeners have enjoyed uninterrupted weekly content from the podcast including the celebrated pipe tobacco focused series such as TOBACCO TALK, PIPE CULTURE, SQUIRE SELECT whiskey and pipe tobacco pairings, and PIPE SMOKING 101 as well as the newer series geared to bring the spirit of conversations had over a bowl of premium pipe tobacco amongst good friends such as HALF BOWL HISTORY, FROM THE LIBRARY, and FATHER TO FATHER. As they approach the 500th episode this year, Cole and York have decided the time has come to bring the show to its conclusion with a live recording at The Country Squire in Jackson, Mississippi. “The amount of content for and by the Pipe Community is higher than ever before with newer pipe podcasts, instagramers, youtubers and more” Cole said. “We have enjoyed our tenure representing and at times shepherding a section of the community, but it’s time to increase the spotlight to this next generation of content creators.” Cole and York have often taken cues from their listening audience who, over the years, have made several trips to the famed Country Squire Tobacconist shop in Jackson, MS. This practice has been dubbed a PIPE PILGRIMAGE by fans of the show who have visited the shop that inspired many hours of listening pleasure. “We want to finish strong,” York said. “There is certainly no better way to do this than inviting all of our listeners, who are able to make the trip, to the Country Squire for the grand finale of the show in a Pipe Pilgrimage like no other!” York explained, “we’ll have music, share stories, and record the final episode of Country Squire Radio together, all while enjoying a one of a kind Pipe Tobacco and BBQ pairing of epic proportions.” The Country Squire Radio Finale will be held at the Country Squire, Tobacconist in Jackson, MS Saturday, March 4th. Tickets are on sale today at The Country Squire Tobacconist (thecountrysquireonline.com) For more information, visit CountrySquireRadio.com or listen to the latest podcast “Episode 490: The Time Has Come” from Country Squire Radio (Country Squire Radio on Apple Podcasts)
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 540! Our featured interview tonight is with Pete Prevost. Pete is a pipe maker and the President of the BriarWorks pipe factory in Columbia Tennessee. BriarWorks is a a pipe maker co-op with several other pipe makers, including Todd Johnson, who co-founded it with Pete. Brian and Pete will be talking about that as well as the up-coming 2023 Muletown Pipe Show which is held at BriarWorks. In a past life, Pete was the guitar player in the band Sanctus Real. Our music segment will feature one of their Grammy-nominated songs. At the top of the show, Brian will give us his comparisons between three different vintages of Sutliff’s Kringle Flake tobacco from the last three years. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 539! Our featured interview tonight is with Matthew McCranie. Matthew is the third generation from McCranie’s pipe and tobacco shop in Charlotte, NC. Matthew tells us of the founding of McCranie’s by his grandfather in 1979. There’s a fun Florida connection including inspiration from Edward’s Pipe & Tobacco in Tampa, and some streets named McCranie in Lakeland. We’ll also hear about McCranie’s long-running, highly popular tobaccos, and how things have evolved from the early days. At the top of the show, Brian will give us a recap of his pipe trading from the Chicago and Columbus pipe shows. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
It’s far from a closely-held secret that for years I’ve had a bit of a love affair with the old, Celebrated Bengal Slices. I fondly recall my first experience with it in the late 1970s when, on one of my almost daily visits to Drucquer & Sons, a fresh shipment had just arrived. There it was, in its beautiful gloss black, red and gold livery, dramatically standing out from its peers, calling attention to itself from its perch on the shelf behind the counter. “What’s that, in the black tin?” I asked Ken, who had become something of a tobacco mentor to me. “The Bengal Slices? It’s great stuff,” he said, pulling a tin from the shelf and handing it to me, explaining that it was a Latakia mixture with a difference. The ribbons were pressed in blocks and sliced, so it had to be broken up to prepare it for smoking. “You have to pack it lightly, or it’ll clog the pipe and become impossible to smoke when it expands. It’s got a little bit of scent added to it.” That last bit nearly put me off it; I was still recoiling from early experiences with heavily perfumed, goopy, pouched tobaccos that smelled better than they smoked. But curiosity, as it too often does, had its way with me, and I couldn’t resist the singular beauty of that tin. I bought it, dropped it into my satchel, and off I went. Later that day, I popped the lid and was instantly captivated. The perfect slices, standing at attention in a tight array, dark and mysterious, almost glistening with the same hues as the tin’s lid — black, red and golden. The aroma was rich and bold, ripe with Latakia, orientals and virginias. The scent Ken had mentioned, which I’d taken as a warning, wasn’t at all overbearing, but rather soft and seductive, beautifully integrated with the tobaccos’ natural aromas. It transformed what was basically a “typical” Latakia mixture into something that seemed more luxurious, even opulent. Though still fairly new to smoking flakes at the time, and certainly inexperienced, I had developed a bit of understanding of them. These were different, though — thicker, more robust looking. I gently removed one from the tin, placed it in my palm, and began teasing it apart. It took little encouragement for it to crumble into small fragments. As I filled my bowl, Ken’s counsel about packing forgotten (more likely arrogantly ignored), I looked forward to the first taste of my new treasure. Disaster! The charring light almost went okay, promising something good to come, but the tobacco soon went out, and stubbornly refused to light. Trying to get an ember going was the equivalent to a futile attempt to set fire to a brick of asbestos. Frustrated, I dumped the bowl, and started again, this time heeding Ken’s advice, allowing gravity to do the work. Much better. Even at first light, it was transcendent. The richness of the tobaccos, pressed and fermented in cakes, already set it apart from its ribbon-cut peers, but that scent! Soft and diaphanous, it didn’t clash with the flavor of the tobacco, but somehow enhanced it, bringing another layer, greater dimension to what was already something pretty special, and it remained throughout the bowl, never shouting, but whispering its presence. I was immediately smitten. The next time I was in the shop, I bought three more tins, something I would continue to do periodically through the years. At the time, I thought this was a truly unique tobacco, the only thing of its kind, but I would find out years later that it wasn’t the first, or the only, and that its story was both interesting and infused with dram of controversy. And, as it turns out, the fires of that controversy ultimately forged this tobacco into what became something so very, very special. The Celebrated Bengal Slices was originally made by Sobranie House exclusively for James B. Russell (JBR), and first found its way to market around September of 1977. But, as early as the mid- to late-1960s, Sobranie were making a similar product for Joe Zieve’s Smoker’s Haven in Columbus, OH. Joe wanted to bring something unique to the market, something that hadn’t been done before, so he had Sobranie, who were already making the Haven’s renown Our Best Blend for him, press the ribbons, age the blend in cakes, and cut the cakes into slices. This was different from the more traditional form of flake tobacco, made from whole leaf strips, and resulted in a product Joe called Krumble Kake. It was his intention that this tobacco be compact, like a plug, yet easier than a flake to prepare for smoking. It was a hit, becoming one of the shop’s most successful blends for decades to follow. The controversy finds us in the late 1970s, when JBR contracted Sobranie to make something similar for them. Apparently, it was a little too similar to Krumble Kake for Joe’s liking, and from what I’ve heard, his reaction was predictably cinematic, possibly going as far as threatening to discontinue his relationship with Sobranie over the apparent infraction, so JBR and Sobranie were forced to change the recipe. Whether or not the leaf formulation was changed is unknown, but the changes certainly resulted in that elusive scent joining the party. The Celebrated Bengal Slices was born. (Interestingly, JBR did not register the trademark until March, 1979, though the blend did appear in their catalogue in 1978.) When Sobranie shuttered in 1980, licensing the production of their blends to Gallaher’s, both Bengal Slices and Krumble Kake, being proprietary products, were not transitioned to the new manufacturer. Production of Krumble Kake and the other Smoker’s Haven blends moved to G.F. Germain on Jersey, while Bengal Slices was transferred to Manchester Tobacco Company, where it was produced until 1991, then making its final move to Denmark’s A&C Peterson. For whatever reason, the Danish product didn’t hold my affection like […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 538! Our featured interview tonight is with Rich Esserman. This is our third episode with, “Rich Responds” where we go back to a previous discussion with Fred Hanna, and Rich gives his take. Both Rich and Fred are prominent pipe collectors, researchers and writers on pipes and tobacco for several decades. They are both well-known and well-respected in the pipe enthusiast community. We’ll see where Rich agrees with Fred, and where he has his own take on different aspects of pipes and tobacco. At the top of the show Brian will talk about how to build up your tobacco cellar and what to do in the meantime. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Glad to hear it isn’t immediately effecting the tobacco industry. I wish the best to all the growers both here and overseas. The rain will come. Just not anytime soon. Hurry up with the clean energy allready. We need it now more than ever. And Missouri Meerschaum is thinking ahead with the irrigation! Cool Beans. Thanks for the informative article Kevin. A true journalist. 🙂
Is there a chance that the tobacco industry will be more affected in a year or so because tobacco is aged? I’m sure there is current stock in that process of aging.
I am pleased and surprised that Pipesmagazine thought to investigate the affect of the drought on tobacco.
Sounds like we should take cellaring more seriously with this new information.
Interesting article Kevin, In my local area I wonder how climate change will effect northern Ohio grape growers and also to the east in PA and NY. Will the prime grape growing regions expand with more heat and dryer conditions? Same with tobacco, If the Ohio Valley becomes hotter might that allow for tobacco crops farther north than in the past. It seems to me that agriculture will adapt just like it always has.
Here in north-central Ohio we have had some recent rains and the corn is high. It has been very dry and more rain is needed but crops look good in my area.
That could effect my favorite pipe source. I’ve got to have my corncobs, darnnit. And they were hoping to reintroduce the Bulldog this year.
🙁
Interesting read… Having spent time in North Carolina during my active duty days I had some tobacco farmer friends. I know
that N.C. tobacco goes mostly towards cigarettes, but I’ve seen how a little unexpected weather can affect a crop. I liked
the term “Flash Drought”, I never heard it before but a great analogy for whats going on around the country and other tobacco
growing countries. We can only hope that if bad in one area, better in another. The tobacco growers are spread out pretty good
and should be able to make up for each other. But this won’t work for every product. Just imagine if Saint James Parish had a couple of bad years… We could be without Parique for quit a while in a couple of years.
Good article. I wonder if tobacco differs from other row crops in that stocks on hand for soybeans and corn are almost depleted by the end of the current growing season, so when the USDA starts to estimate lower than average annual yield data, processors and manufacturers are already starting to drive up the futures markets.
It will be lean times ahead for anyone that eats food.
My wife and I recently returned from a visit to Lilbourn, MO, which is near to New Madrid. They’ve had very little rain and the conditions are so dry that the soil is literally shrinking away from the foundations of homes causing cracks and such in the buildings. Thankfully many of the farmers in the area have been using irrigation for many years to save crops. Around here in Northern Middle TN, Conditions have not been that bad but crops of all kinds have been severely hurt. The hot, dry weather we experienced in June and the lack of rain has hurt all around. I don’t know how bad but it has been difficult for sure. It reminds me of 1988 when conditions were just as bad.
Stock up. Cost are going to go up.