Some tobacco farmers say government's quota increase isn't enough

ALBANY, Ga. - Growers of flue-cured tobacco have grumbled for four years about government-mandated production cuts that slashed their profits and idled machinery and curing barns. <br> <br> The government increased the quota by 6 percent this year because of a disastrous 1999 crop, but it hasn&#39;t stopped the complaining of farmers who say they need a government buyout. <br> <br> &#34;You don&#39;t really need to get excited about a 6 percent increase because we&#39;re not at our true supply-demand numbers,&#34; said Lamar DeLoach, a grower in Statesboro. <br> <br> DeLoach called it a &#34;fake&#34; increase that highlights the need for a government tobacco buyout and a new crop program that enables U.S. producers to recapture foreign markets. <br> <br> Growers in the six flue-cured tobacco states -- Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia -- will be able to produce 582 million pounds of leaf this year, 33 million pounds more than last year. <br> <br> The quota, based on the purchasing intentions of domestic cigarette makers, the three-year export average and reserve stocks, sets the production limit for the U.S. crop. The USDA reduced the quota by 43 percent from 1997 to 2000, but gave growers a 1 percent increase last year. <br> <br> A commission appointed by President Clinton to examine smoking-related health problems recommended a $16 million buyout of growers and quota holders who wanted to get out of the business. The plan would have been funded by excise taxes on cigarettes. <br> <br> Under that plan, the government would have licensed farmers who wanted to continue growing the crop, with the Agriculture Department maintaining production controls and price supports. <br> <br> Several Washington lawmakers proposed buyout plans, but none passed. Prospects of a buyout now are slim, said J. Michael Moore, a University of Georgia tobacco specialist. <br> <br> &#34;Nobody has laid out a plan,&#34; he said. &#34;Will there be funding for a buyout? After Sept. 11, there is little excess funding available from Congress. And with the master settlement and continuing lawsuits, there is little available from the tobacco companies.&#34; <br> <br> Under the 1998 master settlement, tobacco companies promised to pay 46 states $206 billion over 25 years to reimburse them for health costs related to smoking. <br> <br> Despite the improbability of a bailout now and the crop&#39;s uncertain future, growers are already making preparations for spring planting. Tobacco plants are sprouting in some seed beds and will be transferred to fields in March. <br> <br> Moore and Gerald Peedin, of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, said they believe the benefits from this year&#39;s quota increase will be negligible since good weather gave tobacco farmers a bumper crop last year. <br> <br> Many opted to sell 3 percent more than their quota, which is allowed, and many still have 10 percent or more of the 2001 crop stored on their farms, Moore and Peedin said. <br> <br> Since they have to adjust production to offset last year&#39;s excesses, many growers may wind up growing fewer acres than in 2001. <br> <br> Tobacco remains one of the most dependable crops for Southern growers, offering a higher profit margin per acre than any other row crop or vegetable, Moore said. <br> <br> Farmers have been complaining about production cuts since 1997, when the quota hit a decade-high of 974 million pounds. The USDA lowered the quota in response to declining demand, and by 2000, it had slumped to 543 million pounds. <br> <br> Tobacco farmers say the cuts have seriously eroded their earnings potential and make it difficult to plan for the future. <br> <br> &#34;A buyout would ... give quota owners and tobacco farmers a better picture of where they stand,&#34; said Fred Wetherington, a grower in Lowndes County and a board member of the Georgia Tobacco Commission. &#34;But as much as I would like to see a settlement, my advice to farmers would be that you can&#39;t count on that happening. You&#39;d better try to just scratch out another year with what you have on hand.&#34; <br>

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