Author: Carol Hinton
Major Program: Tobacco
Breckinridge County is 44% cropland, producing forage, soybeans, corn, and wheat. However, Breckinridge farmers, when the tobacco buyout was finished, were deeper into tobacco production than any other time in history. Tobacco production in the county accounts for 50% of the total farm income and is deeply rooted into the county. With the absence of the tobacco quota system, producers have to rely on the contracts with the companies. Contracts are hard to obtain, and also hard
Author: William Bailey
Tobacco growers have been required by the tobacco industry to undergo annual training in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) since 2013. During the winter of 2019, I trained approximately 1800 tobacco growers in western Kentucky and Tennessee. 2019 GAP training topics included management of Pythium root rot in transplant production and angular leafspot in field production. Minimizing cost of production was also emphasized. Additional GAP training sections that I presented i
Andrea Keeney, M.S. graduate research associate under the direction of Dr. Andy Bailey and Dr. Bob Pearce, studied the impact of spring applications of potassium chloride to dark and burley tobacco between 2016 and 2018. Potassium chloride has not been recommended in spring applications to tobacco fields due to its association with poor cured leaf quality. However, fall applications of potassium chloride can be made and have been heavily adopted by tobacco growers in Western Kentucky
Author: Shane Bogle
No matter ones feelings on tobacco, its production has a colorful history and its tradition runs deep in Caldwell County. Since the 1800's, this area has consistently produced high yielding and fine quality tobacco. Production levels for dark fired, air cured, and burley in Caldwell County surpassed 1,240,000 lbs. in 2018. Producers face constant challenges in producing a high quality product. Labor regulations, changing GAP procedures, major diseases, and major weather eve
Author: Robert Pearce
Between 2015 and 2017 Mitchell Richmond, a graduate research associate under the direction of Dr. Andy Bailey and Dr. Bob Pearce, studied the impact of chemical topping on the yield and quality of burley tobacco.Chemical topping refers to the practice of using growth regulators, already used in tobacco production, to halt the development of the terminal inflorescence and replace the need for manual removal of the flowers. Studies were conducted to determine the optimum time of application
Author: Ricky Arnett
Even with the changes that much of the tobacco industry has seen across the state of Kentucky since the tobacco buyout in 2001, and the weather conditions tobacco farmers has faced over the last three to five years, tobacco remains a strong and vital component of Green County. According to the Kentucky Agriculture statistics, this $10 million annual crop makes up over 33 % of Green County’s Agriculture economy. A strong joint effort has been implemented by Green, Adair, and Taylor counties
In April of 2019 I began transitioning a portion of my time to support of hemp applied research and Extension for CAFE.Burley tobacco growers in Kentucky have experienced significant declines in demand for their leaf in recent years and have been looking for alternative enterprises to diversify their farming operations. Industrial hemp may provide opportunities for growers but there are still many uncertainties with regards to markets and production practices. Since beginning to tran
US Tobacco GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) is an industry led program designed to insure that tobacco growers in the United States are well informed and follow the best practices for the production of all types of tobacco. Kentucky is the second leading producer of tobacco behind North Carolina, but has the most tobacco growers of any state due to the relatively smaller farm size. Tobacco growers are required to attend an annual training session conducted by Cooperative Extension Specialists.
Author: Samantha Anderson
The 2017 Census of Agriculture reports that grain and tobacco production accounted for 158,557 ($1000) in agricultural sales across Graves, Calloway and Marshall counties. Additionally, these three counties had a combined agricultural sales receipt of 22,831 ($1000) from cattle and calves. Extension Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Graves, Calloway and Marshall counties partnered to address educational training opportunities during a traditionally non-peak production time frame fo
Author: Jay Hettmansperger
The Garrard County Extension Service has sponsored a local tobacco cutting contest for 38 years. The contest is one of the communities' largets events of the year with over 400 people attending. Tobacco production has declined dramaticaly since the buyout in the year 2000 but tobacco is still a major source of income for farmers in Garrard County. The Cutting Contest is an community effort supported by local businesses and individuals. The contest showcases the hard labor involved in h
Author: Samuel Cofield
Tobacco production remains a very important part of the Ag economy for many Trigg County producers making up 17% of the total Crop sales. For producers, new diseases, increased regulations and as always the weather in 2018 made producing a high quality, high yielding crop very difficult. Trigg and Caldwell Counties have worked together to put on an educational meeting each year to help them find answers to the issues they are facing in the field. This year more than 60 producer
Author: Mark Purschwitz
The GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) FY19 training in Kentucky, organized by the national GAP organization at three different locations, included key safety training provided by UK Extension. Some 879 people, including 102 owners/co-owners, 772 employees, and 5 other, received training in farm equipment safety. Because 753 people self-identified as Spanish speakers, live translation was provided, including during equipment demonstrations. The translation was very effective, allowing clarificati
Author: Clinton Hardy
Diversification of Daviess County agricultural enterprises has been an ongoing effort the past 20 years following a period of enterprise consolidation. Farms spent much of the 1980’s and 1990’s transitioning from multiple livestock, grain and tobacco enterprises to concentration of resources of only two or three grain crops in rotation, an expansion of tobacco production following the introduction of the H2A guest worker p
The Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation reports that Kentucky ranks 1st in burley tobacco production, 1st in fire-cured tobacco productions, 1st in dark air-cured tobacco production, and 2nd in total tobacco production nationally. In cooperation with University of Kentucky Extension specialists, the University of Tennessee and the Murray State University Hutson School of Agriculture, the Graves and Calloway County Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources Education hosted the annual Tobacco Twili
Author: Matthew Chadwick
2018 Tobacco twilight Tour The 2018 Tobacco Twilight tour was a great success, for thethird year in a row; we saw an increase in producer attendance. Dr. Andy Baileypresented producers with a brief update on the status of the tobacco cropthrough-out western KY and north west tn. Dr. Emily Pfeufer discussed ongoingefforts to address the issues caused by angular leaf spot. Producers enjoyed awonderful meal provided, and we able to dodge the rain despite cloudy skies. Multipleproducers comment
Author: Susan Fox
Tobacco farmers are facing increased need to comply with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) requirements. In cooperation with the local farmers a GAP training was held in Lyon County for 99 tobacco farmers and their H2-A workers. The program included collaboration with the Western Kentucky Regional Migrant Education Program, the Department of Labor, local farmers, and local emergency services.Presentations and speakers included:Interpreters: Debbie Bourland and Eugenia Luna, Western Kentucky Regi
