North Carolina Farmers Tackle Tobacco Transplanting Despite Dry Conditions

Growers are making progress with planting despite dry conditions.

LOUISBURG, NORTH CAROLINA (RFD News) The next phase of tobacco planting is underway across North Carolina, with farmers working long hours to get plants in the ground.

At N&N Farms, fourth-generation farmer Travis Nelms is moving from greenhouse to field, transplanting tobacco into rows despite ongoing dry conditions.

Nelms says planting season is one of his favorite times of year: “Planting time is a good time, and it’s the start of everything. I love to see it go in the field. When it goes in the field, things are going good.”

Even with drought concerns, the work continues. Nelms plans to plant about 400 acres this season, averaging roughly 40 to 45 acres a day. While the crop thrives on predictably dry weather, yields and crop quality can suffer dramatically if producers are unable to get a good gauge on unpredictable hot and dry weather patterns.

North Carolina leads the nation in tobacco production and is responsible for about 60 percent of the U.S. crop.

Related Stories
While the U.S.-China framework for soybean trade is in place, Ohio farmer Chris Gibbs tells us he will believe it when he sees it.
Global nitrogen and phosphate prices remain high despite improved supply fundamentals, with limited Chinese exports and stronger fall applications tightening availability.
Record output, larger stocks, and softer exports point to a well-supplied domestic ethanol market as harvest progresses.
U.S. sugar producers and processors should brace for price pressure and challenging export logistics with global sugar supply ramping up — driven by Brazil, India, and Thailand — especially at the raw processing level.
David Klein with the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) shares an end-of-harvest update and a peek at the farmland market in Central Illinois.
The Farm Bureau urges trade enforcement, biofuel growth, fair input pricing, and pro-farmer policy reforms to restore long-term certainty.

Knoxville native Neal Burnette-Irwin is a graduate from MTSU where he majored in Journalism and Entertainment Studies. He works as a digital content producer with RFD News and is represented by multiple talent agencies in Nashville and Chicago.


LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

The uncommon delivery has kept one farmer busy caring for four newborn kids at once.
The fifth-generation operation continues balancing family tradition with a focus on growth and sustainability.
The Nevada cattle operation continues focusing on sustainable land management for future generations.
The country artist’s “Stand By Your Pan” blends vintage-inspired recipes with stories, humor, and Southern hospitality.
New data from the Illinois Farm Bureau show that farm financial conditions are stabilizing, even as debt per acre and borrowing costs continue to climb.
New trade access, tariff concerns and international negotiations are reshaping the global beef market.
Agriculture Shows
Hosted by Scott “The Cow Guy” Shellady and RFD News Markets Specialist Tony St. James, Commodity Talk delivers expert insight into the day’s ag commodity markets just before the CME opens. Only on RFD-TV and Rural Radio SiriusXM Channel 147.
A look at the news, weather and commodities headlines that drove agriculture markets in the past week.
Everything profits from prairie. Soil, air, water — and all kinds of life! Learn how you can improve your land with prairie restoration, cover crops and prairie strips, while growing your bottom line.
Special 3-part series tells the story of the Claas family’s legacy, which changed agriculture forever.