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Rains cheer SE farmers, but deluge late for some 

Farmers in the drought-stricken Southeast halfheartedly celebrated downpours from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay last month, when several inches of rain took the edge off a potentially disastrous season. . . .

The rains were a mixed blessing for farmers growing North Carolina's top crop, tobacco. It won't help the amount of tobacco grown, but the quality should improve, said North Carolina State University crop science professor Loren Fisher.

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Tobacco Heritage Trail plan slated for unveiling  

Roanoke River Rails to Trails is rolling out the Master Plan for the Tobacco Heritage Trail. A presentation of the project is being held Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. in the basement auditorium of the Brunswick County Government Building located at 100 Tobacco St., Lawrenceville. The two-year effort was funded by a grant from the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Program.

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UNC issues warnings for on-campus smoking  

University of North Carolina public safety officers began issuing warnings Tuesday to people smoking near campus buildings.

Smoking has been prohibited within 100 feet of any university building since January to limit exposure to secondhand smoke. UNC officials have worked to educate people about the policy in recent months and to provide smoking cessation resources to students, faculty and staff.

Chancellor Holden Thorp said officials "are increasingly receiving reports of smokers who refuse to move the required 100 feet away from university facilities and who litter the ground with their cigarette butts."

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Baldemar Velásquez journals his experiences during a recent trip to North Carolina 

All day, I was nervous about the nicotine and tar. The “Green Monster,” as they know it, is nicotine poisoning ingested through the skin. I was lucky to find some light gloves with grips on them.

They’ll get wet but at least there would be a shield from the tar and nicotine. . . .

The final tally on my body was the rash on my arms and lower legs and ankles, four blisters on my right hand, sunburn on my nose, face, and lips, and swollen hands that were numb. . . . God put on my heart to call the only pastor I knew who might come and help me do this and come to bless the men and their families. The Rev. Nelson Johnson had been meeting with the RJ Reynolds Co. to advocate a dialogue between FLOC and the company, and after several meetings, the company continues to avoid any responsibility for the production of their tobacco. . . .

He spoke out his heart to God, recalling the many African-Americans who toiled in these same fields, like himself as a youth, the blessing of the workers’ families in Mexico, the success of their work, that the hearts of many would be reached to lift up the yoke of oppression of all tobacco workers, and that there might be unity among brown, blacks, and whites in this endeavor.

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• Toledo-based farm labor leader tackles tobacco in North Carolina 

Worst of all, it was barely 8 a.m. There were still nearly 10 hours of tobacco picking ahead in the humidity-drenched fields of North Carolina, which leads the nation in heat-related farm worker deaths.

And so began a typical day for the 61-year-old labor organizer during his week-long visit to a tobacco farm that concluded Aug. 4 with a return home to Sylvania Township.

In essence, his trip was a fact-finding mission, one that involved as much participation as observation. Mr. Velásquez lived and worked alongside a group of about 14 migrant workers, picking tobacco plants at the most brutal time of the year. . . .

“My feeling is that if I’m going to represent somebody, I better do the work that they’re doing to know what they’re going through,” he said last week upon his return.

The work in the fields was utterly exhausting. . . .

The founder and president of the Toledo-based Farm Labor Organizing Committee, Mr. Velásquez is focusing on securing improvement in pay, benefits, and working conditions for the thousands of temporary guest workers who journey to the United States for seasonal jobs in tobacco fields. He would not disclose his location in North Carolina, citing concerns about growers’ relationships with RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co.

The majority of tobacco field workers in North Carolina have their permanent homes in Mexico. Some are employed there legally for the growing season through the U.S. government’s H2-A agricultural work visa program. But many others are undocumented.

Depending on the farm they’re at, they are paid from $50 to $150 a day, according to Mr. Velásquez. .. . .

In his view, tobacco workers struggle at the bottom of a three-tiered production chain that’s presided over by agricultural corporations such as RJ Reynolds, a subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc.

Second to corporations are the growers, whom he describes as being at the financial mercy of the corporations that buy their crops.

Mr. Velásquez said his immediate goal is to get RJ Reynolds to agree to three-way labor talks between FLOC and farmers from tobacco states such as North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and South Carolina.

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• Senate opponents agree on tobacco  

Both major U.S. Senate candidates say they oppose regulation of tobacco by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration - though incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole goes further than challenger Kay Hagan.

Dole and Hagan argue that the FDA does not have the expertise or resources to regulate the tobacco industry, given the agency's focus on the safety of food and pharmaceuticals.

"The last thing on earth we need is to have tobacco added to that list," said Dole, a Salisbury Republican. "They don't have expertise in tobacco, and heaven knows they don't have the funding to do what they're doing now."

Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, said much the same thing in an interview.

"I don't think FDA has the staff to do tobacco regulation at this point in time," she said. . . .

"This is a back-door way of simply shutting down the industry entirely," Dole said.

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AFL-CIO NOW BLOG | Farm Labor Leader Spends Week in the Tobacco Fields 

Members of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) in North Carolina harvest 26 different crops ranging from cucumbers to tobacco to Christmas trees. By far, harvesting tobacco is considered the worst, the riskiest and the dirtiest of the jobs.

FLOC founder and president Baldemar Velásquez felt compelled to experience what the tobacco workers go through each day. So for a week in July, he worked as an unknown field laborer in an all-male group at a North Carolina farm to see firsthand the conditions of tobacco workers. Tobacco workers are paid between $7 and $9 an hour. Velásquez is donating the money he made to FLOC’s fund for widows of union members.

In his Point of View column “A Week in the Tobacco Fields” on the AFL-CIO website, Velásquez recounts through excerpts of his daily diary his experiences and emotions working with the men in the hot fields.

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Cause of quitting drives Durham teen 

Chad Bullock stands in front of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which, thanks to his efforts, is now smoke-free.

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• Tar Heel Senator Vows to Block Tobacco Regulation Bill 

Sen. Richard M. Burr , R-N.C., has promised to drag out debate, offer amendments, and do whatever he can to ensure “a full and lengthy debate and lengthy amendment process,” should the bill (HR 1108) come to the floor. . . .

In addition to his threats to run out the clock and offer amendments, he was waged a more public campaign to argue that the FDA is not the proper venue for tobacco regulation. Burr has previously argued that cigarette content might more logically be regulated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and packaging and labeling might be placed under the purview of the Federal Trade Commission. . . .

“You can’t represent North Carolina and say regulation of tobacco is not important,” said Burr, when questioned about the reasons for his opposition to the bill. “I haven’t opposed regulation of tobacco, I’ve just opposed putting it at the FDA,” he added.

Burr said the state’s tobacco industry “is not as dominant a manufacturing base as it once was.” . . .

Neither company has given large donations directly to Burr’s campaign, but have instead sent contributions to his leadership committee, the Next Century Fund. Reynolds’ political action committee gave $10,000 in the current election cycle, and Lorillard $5,000, according to data from CQ MoneyLine.

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Wilson tobacco market opens 

Wilson opened its 119th tobacco market season Monday. The traditional leaf auctions are long gone, and farmers now sell directly to tobacco companies.

"It was very exciting. Everyone (was) excited," Rick Smith, with Independent Leaf Tobacco, said of the tobacco auction days.

Back then, Wilson got a lot of attention. . . .

When the federal quota system ended in 2004, so did the auctions. Most tobacco warehouses in Wilson closed.

"It's really a piece of Americana that we've lost, and I really regretted to see go," Smith said.

These days, tobacco farmers contract directly with manufacturers in advance. Farmers still bring in their crops for pricing, but the fanfare is gone.

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Tobacco Farmers Struggle This Summer 

"With fuel prices and high fertilizer prices and weather conditions and the drought, it's been kind of a tough year," said Stilley.

He says they are just starting to harvest their first tobacco crop and admits, "I think the tobacco crop is going to be a little short this year with the drought." The cost of fuel just to dry it will be around $125,000

He will take the final product and try to sell to a company this week but what he thinks is a fair price they might not and it all adds to the uncertainty.

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Bladen clerks cited for selling tobacco to minors 

Clerks in eight Bladen businesses were cited during the months of June and July for selling tobacco products to a minor. They were among the 71 clerks in seven Southeastern North Carolina counties who were cited by Alcohol Law Enforcement agents.

Selling tobacco to a person under the age of 18 is a Class II misdemeanor.

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Tobacco sales starting on NC market  

Sales of tobacco are set to begin this week in Wilson, although the traditional leaf auctions are long gone and farmers sell directly to tobacco companies.

Wilson will open its 119th tobacco market season this year. . . .

Wilson County farmers are no longer restricted by how much tobacco they can plant. In 2004, when government control ended, farmers planted 5,635 acres of tobacco. The number has grown to 9,130 acres this year.

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37 charged in illegal tobacco sales 

State agents charged 37 store clerks with selling tobacco products to minors in Wake, Durham, Orange and Person counties in June and July.

State Alcohol Law Enforcement officers randomly check stores every month to make sure clerks are asking for identification and refusing sales to those younger than 18. In June and July, the ALE agents checked 206 stores in the four counties.

ALE Director William Chandler said in a news release that tobacco sales to underage buyers have dropped significantly since the state started the checks five years ago.

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Golden LEAF to provide  

PLYMOUTH -- Washington County residents will be asked what should be done with up to $2 million that Golden LEAF is providing their county.

On July 9, Golden LEAF announced that Washington County would be receiving the money from its Community Assistance Initiative grant program.

As part of the initiative, representatives from Golden LEAF will conduct forums where the public will be given opportunities to present specific needs they want the county to address. The first is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at Windows On the World in Roper.

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