A TIME TO PLANT

Apr 23, 2009      The Daily Southerner

T.J. Royal

Apr. 23, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- While Tommy Quincy's crops weathered severe drought conditions for the past two years, the Edgecombe County farmer is concerned that new tobacco taxes will put a "hurt" on his business this year.

Quincy, 62, talked to Edgecombe County Extension Director Art Bradley about his fields and crops Tuesday as several workers laid out new tobacco stalks on one of his plots off Hart's Mill Run Road.

Quincy said he had just bought the land last year, and it was among 235 acres of tobacco, which he expects to finish planting by next week.

While he has corn and soybeans also planted across his other tracts, tobacco is definitely the crop that "pays the bills" for his farm operation he runs with his two sons Stacy and Hunter.

Even though his farm has a tobacco contract with Winston-Salem-based cigarette maker Reynolds American (NYSE:RAI) , Quincy said that new taxes already enacted, and one that's being proposed in the state legislature, are "definitely going to hurt" his farming business this year.

On April 1, a 62-cent federal tax on each pack of cigarettes took effect. Also, the state Legislature is considering whether to pass a proposal from Gov. Beverly Perdue to increase the state's cigarette sales tax by a dollar to $1.35 per pack.

And as county farmers deal with the prospect of reduced contracts from cigarette manufacturers, almost all of them are trying to find a viable second crop that can help round out their incomes.

In the past, Quincy said he had farmed cotton and still owns a lot of equipment based on cotton production. But he has dropped the crop completely this year, planting his other acres with corn and soybeans to fill out his income this year.

Bradley said that cotton prices have fallen sharply in the past few years, but that there's "not a lot of money" to be made in planting soybeans, either. The benefit for planting soybeans, Bradley added, is that the financial loss is not as severe if a poor planting season occurs.

Also, one other Edgecombe County farmer has said the company he is contracted with for tobacco has already requested less crop this year than anticipated, Bradley said.

There are, however, a few bright spots Bradley noted about Edgecombe County crops.

Due to the weak value of the U.S. dollar, domestic tobacco is "really competitive" against other tobacco crops grown around the world, Bradley said. And even though Edgecombe County has lost around 3,500 acres of farmland used for crop production, the county rebounded in its farm-related income in 2007 after years of reduced revenues.

Still, Quincy said that he has been "looking for a second option" in his crops to plant, hopefully to generate more income.

He has tried to plant cantaloupes recently, he said. But since petroleum prices spiked within the past five years, Quincy said the cost to buy acres of plastic sheets to cover the melons ran into the "hundreds of thousands" of dollars, and he had to completely do away with planting cantaloupes.

For the time being, Quincy said that tobacco will still remain "what's paying the bills," and that he looks forward to a good tobacco crop this year.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0373-34363420

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