Tag Archives: Tobacco

U.S. farmers scramble to harvest crops as hurricane looms

FILE PHOTO: Lester "Buddy" Stroud, a farm hand at Shelley Farms, walks through a field of tobacco ready to be harvested in the Pleasant View community of Horry County, South Carolina, U.S., July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo

By Tom Polansek and P.J. Huffstutter

(Reuters) – As powerful Hurricane Florence crept closer to the southeastern United States on Tuesday, farmers in North Carolina rushed to harvest corn and tobacco and stock up on pig rations, while the danger of deadly flooding threatened a state where millions of farm animals are housed.

The forecasts for devastating rain and winds also had WH Group’s Smithfield Foods [SFII.UL], the largest U.S. pork processor, planning to shut two of its North Carolina plants – including the world’s biggest hog slaughterhouse.

Meanwhile, pig farmers across the state were lowering levels of liquid manure in outdoor storage pits in an effort to avoid a repeat of Hurricane Floyd. The 1999 storm flooded manure pits and contaminated waterways with animal carcasses and waste.

FILE PHOTO: Farm workers place harvested tobacco on a conveyor at Shelly Farms in the Pleasant View community of Horry County, South Carolina, U.S., July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: Farm workers place harvested tobacco on a conveyor at Shelly Farms in the Pleasant View community of Horry County, South Carolina, U.S., July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo

North Carolina is the country’s leading producer of tobacco, second-biggest producer of hogs and a major poultry producer. Its crops include corn, soy and cotton, making agriculture the state’s No. 1 industry, valued at $87 billion.

“The governor said that North Carolina is the bull’s eye of this hurricane,” Larry Wooten, president of the North Carolina Farm Bureau, said in an interview. “I’ll tell you, agriculture is in the heart of that bull’s eye.”

Florence, a Category 4 storm with winds of 130 miles per hour (210 kph), was expected to make landfall on Friday, bringing heavy, sustained rain and potentially deadly flooding to the U.S. Southeast coast. Some 1 million people have been ordered to evacuate.

Two-thirds of North Carolina’s farm income comes from poultry and livestock, including hogs and dairy cattle, according to Wooten. The state has 8.9 million swine, 12 percent of the U.S. herd, U.S. Agriculture Department data showed.

In 2017, its farmers raised 830.8 million chickens for meat, 9 percent of the U.S. flock, and 32.5 million turkeys, or 13 percent of the U.S. total, according to USDA data.

It is unclear how many farm animals are in the storm’s path, according to both Wooten and the North Carolina Poultry Federation.

Two years ago, more than a million poultry birds died when floodwaters from Hurricane Matthew covered areas across central and eastern North Carolina. Carcasses were composted inside the houses where the birds were being raised.

More than 20 inches (51 cm) of rainfall are possible across eastern North Carolina, said Don Keeney, senior agricultural meteorologist for weather forecaster Radiant Solutions.

The approaching storm also prompted commodity handler Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] to make plans to close meat processing plants in West Columbia, South Carolina, and Dayton, Virginia, on Friday. Both Cargill and Smithfield said the plant closures were due to safety concerns.

CORN ‘ROUND THE CLOCK

Bo Stone, who raises corn and hogs in Rowland, North Carolina, said he worked into the night to harvest his crop to avoid damage from high winds. On Tuesday, rain halted his progress. “We’ve been running as hard as we can go,” he said.

Stone said relocating animals in the storm zone was not an option for many farmers. “Nobody would have the capacity to handle your animals,” he said.

Tall corn and tobacco crops are most vulnerable to wind damage and difficult to harvest if knocked down, said Rhonda Garrison, executive director of the Corn Growers Association of North Carolina.

“They’re around the clock on corn,” said Andy Curliss, chief executive officer for the NC Pork Council, an industry group.

North Carolina’s corn crop was 43 percent harvested as of Sunday, while the type of tobacco most commonly grown in the state was 67 percent harvested, according to USDA data.

North Carolina has waived transportation rules to help farmers move crops and livestock ahead of the most severe storm to threaten the U.S. mainland this year. “During harvest, time is of the essence,” Governor Roy Cooper said in announcing a state of emergency.

Altria Group Inc, the parent of Philip Morris USA, said the storm could potentially affect tobacco fields, and is exploring its crop-buying options to offset any losses. British American Tobacco’s Reynolds American, parent of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, declined to comment.

North Carolina hog farmers have been spraying hog manure on farmland to lower the levels of waste in storage pits, known as lagoons, said Andrea Ashby, spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

“The levels are in pretty good shape to handle the rain, but it all depends on how much rain we get,” Ashby said.

Most manure pits could handle up to 25 inches of rain, Curliss said.

Smithfield Foods said in a statement it has been lowering waste levels as necessary on its farms and encouraging farmers from whom it buys hogs to do the same.

(Reporting by Tom Polansek and P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago; Additional reporting by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Matthew Lewis)

Glass ceiling for female federal investigators: U.S. watchdog report

An FBI agent exits her car in Austin, Texas, U.S., March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Flores

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Women are not getting hired or promoted at the same rate as men in the U.S. Justice Department’s top law enforcement arms, leaving many female employees feeling they face routine gender discrimination in the workplace, the department’s internal watchdog has found.

A report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz, issued on Tuesday, looked at gender equity issues across the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The low number of women in the ranks and the lack of promotions compared to their male counterparts is a large factor behind a perception of inequality that many women in the agencies have, the report found.

In fiscal year 2016, for instance, women comprised only 16 percent of the criminal investigator population across all four law enforcement agencies, it said.

And of the women employed, many worked in human resources or other administrative roles, and few held top leadership positions.

While a majority of male employees surveyed believed the workplace treated men and women equitably, a minority of women – only 33 percent – believed this was the case.

“We find it concerning that 22 percent of all women and 43 percent of female criminal investigators reported to us in the survey that they had been discriminated against based on their gender,” the report said.

“Additionally, in almost all the interviews and female focus groups we conducted, women reported to us that they had experienced some type of gender discrimination.”

Despite the fact many women reported being passed over for promotions or experiencing gender-based discrimination, few decided to file a formal Equal Employment Opportunity complaint.

Many of the women surveyed said they were concerned that filing a complaint might trigger retaliation, create a negative stigma or else they did not have confidence in the process.

“Underreporting and ineffective handling of EEO claims undermines employee trust and confidence that components (agencies) will address discriminatory behavior,” the report concluded.

The report calls on the Justice Department to take steps to improve how it hires, recruits and retains female employees.

All of the four agencies concurred with the watchdog’s recommendations.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Frances Kerry)

Fire guts U.S. Agriculture Department shed in Maryland

Smoke emerges from wreckage of USDA facility after fire in Beltsville, Maryland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A fire on Tuesday gutted a storage shed at a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) complex in Maryland that was closed last week because of threats, a fire official said.

The blaze at Building 426 at the USDA’s Beltsville facility took firefighters about two hours to extinguish, Prince George’s County fire department spokesman Mark Brady said by phone, adding there were no injuries.

The fire department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the cause, he said.

“Hopefully, we’ll have some type of resolution, or at least which direction we’re headed, in the near future,” Brady said.

The shed housed workshops for such items as masonry and fire extinguishers as well as storing fuel and maintenance vehicles. WUSA, a CBS television affiliate, quoted workers as saying posters also were stored there.

 

Smoke continues to emerge from the wreckage of a U.S. Department of Agriculture facility, closed last week due to threats, which burned down at the USDA complex outside of Washington in Beltsville, Maryland, U.S.,

Smoke continues to emerge from the wreckage of a U.S. Department of Agriculture facility, closed last week due to threats, which burned down at the USDA complex outside of Washington in Beltsville, Maryland, U.S., September 6, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

 

Live TV footage showed the wood frame building engulfed in flames, with part of the walls missing and a section of the roof gone as firefighters poured water onto the structure.

A USDA spokeswoman had no details on whether the building was burned to the ground, or if anything was stolen.

Last week, USDA facilities in five states, including the one in Beltsville, a Washington suburb, were closed after receiving anonymous threats.

Scientists at the Beltsville site research poultry diseases, soybean genetics and genetic modification of food animals, according to its website.

(Reporting by Dan Burns, Ian Simpson in Washington and Tom Polansek and Michael Hirtzer in Chicago, editing by Dan Grebler and Alan Crosby)

CVS Announces End To Tobacco Sales

In a surprising admission regarding the damaging effects of smoking to health, CVS Pharmacy announced they will stop selling all cigarette products effective October 1st.

The company says that the move could cost the company billions of dollars because cigarettes are an effective customer draw for their stores.  Public health advocates praised the move saying that it was a watershed moment and they hoped that other major pharmacy chains would follow the CVS example.

The move is believed to be part of attempts by CVS to further define themselves as a health care provider and not just a pharmacy.  The company has over 750 “MinuteClinics” that provide health services such as flu shots and diagnosis of common ailments like strep throat and ear infections.

The removal of cigarettes and the status as a full-fledged health care provider would allow CVS to obtain better and more profitable deals with hospitals and health insurance companies.

President Obama released a statement praising the company for their responsible decision.