Since Tobacco Farm Quarterly began publishing in early 2005, we can’t offer you tons of back content. But rest assured everything we’ve published since then is available here, organized by issue. If you aren’t sure which issue a particular article appeared in, use the “search” feature at the top of the screen and type in a word you know appeared in that article.
»All Archives | 2nd Quarter, May 05
Company fires smoking employees
Weyco Inc., an employee-benefits administrator in Michigan, USA, has terminated employees for smoking—at work or in their private time. The company randomly tested its employees for nicotine in their blood or urine and fired any employees whose tests came back positive.
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Continued uncertainty
Rocky Womack
U.S. growers representative Keith Parrish discusses the challenges facing tobacco farmers after the quota buyout.
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Dimon and Standard close factories in wake of merger
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Industry Voices - Will Snell - Tobacco Policy Analyst
After years of declining quotas and growing uncertainty, U.S. tobacco growers from Kentucky to the Carolinas breathed a huge sigh of relief last October when Congress passed the quota buyout. But the uncertainty is far from over. As growers transition into the next era of U.S. leaf production, they must make a number of decisions that will determine their future and the future of the U.S. tobacco industry.
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Kentucky growers prevail in Phase II dispute
The House of Representatives in Kentucky, USA, has voted to pay burley tobacco growers us$114 million to replace 2004 Phase II payments that they were denied after a judge ruled in December that cigarette manufacturers were not liable for the payments because of the buyout. Farmers protested that they were counting on the payments to help pay off debts.
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Major industry victory in U.S. federal suit
A three-judge panel of a U.S. federal appeals court ruled in early February that the Department of Justice (DOJ) cannot use a federal racketeering law to seek us$280 billion in disgorgement claims in its suit against the tobacco industry. The ruling could cripple the government’s entire case, analysts say.
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Malawai declines to ratify WHO’s framework convention
Malawi’s agricultural minister, Gwanda Chakuamba, says his
country will not ratify the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Tobacco accounts for the lion’s share of Malawi’s foreign currency earnings.
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Partly cloudy
Brandy Brinson
Tax disputes, price wars and pinhookers have all placed a damper on doing business in otherwise sunny Brazil.
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Philip Morris’ continued commitment to U.S. tobacco
February 22, 2005—The tobacco quota buyout will dramatically change tobacco farming in the United States. After years of waiting and hoping, last year brought success instead of disappointment. And it brought uncertainty. With the tobacco program gone, many growers are faced with hard decisions—will they continue growing tobacco? Will they expand their operation? Who will buy their crop and how much will they pay?
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Philippine farmers urged to improve quality
Farmers in the Philippines were encouraged to raise the quality of their tobacco at the 2005 Tobacco Summit held at Baluarte Hills in late March.
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Rain damages some of Pakistan’s tobacco nurseries
Tobacco nurseries in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier province
are suffering from persistent rains.
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Ray Meeks joins GoldLeaf Seed as sales manager
GoldLeaf Seed Co., a marketer of flue-cured tobacco varieties, has hired Ray Meeks as international sales manager. A resident of Irving, Kentucky, USA, Meeks has 23 years of international sales and marketing experience.
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Some U.S. growers ready to call it quits, others stick it out
Nearly half of the 1,000 flue-cured tobacco growers in Georgia, USA, will exit farming and accept the tobacco buyout, according to Michael Moore, a tobacco specialist at the University of Georgia.
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SQM’s 10th International Tobacco Seminar
Brandy Brinson
The tobacco industry gathered in SQM’s hometown of Santiago, Chile, earlier this year, for the 10th International Tobacco Seminar. We at Tobacco Farm Quarterly were honored to be invited to this special event.
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Taking time
Noel Morris
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U.S. legal reform to keep class actions out of states
U.S. lawmakers have passed the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, a bill that requires class-action lawsuits be filed in federal courts rather than in state courts. Proponents of the change contend that it will lead to more rational and consistent rulings, while opponents argue that the federal court will be overloaded with cases, leading it to dismiss many of the suits.
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Ugandan tobacco farmers sue BAT
Tobacco growers in the Hoima and Masindi districts of Uganda are suing British America Tobacco (BAT) for not purchasing their leaf.
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Ugandan tobacco farmers sue BAT
Tobacco growers in the Hoima and Masindi districts of Uganda are suing British America Tobacco (BAT) for not purchasing their leaf.
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WHO’s FCTC comes into force
On Feb. 27, the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) became international law. It has taken nearly a decade for the WHO to get to this point, but the question remains: Will the FCTC be enforced? Since there is no binding power to implement the FCTC, it is up to local governments to enforce compliance.
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Zimbabwean tobacco farmers protest prices
Zimbabwean farmers angry over tobacco prices refused to take part in the annual auction of tobacco, which started in early April, reports The Sunday Times of South Africa.
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Zimbabweans predict significant leaf volume increase
Several groups are forecasting a sizable crop for Zimbabwe’s 2004-2005 season. The Zimbabwe Tobacco Association says this year’s crop could top 100 million kg, while the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) says the crop could reach the government’s goal of 160 million kg.
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