Tobacco Legislation on Capitol Hill. Those of us watching the House/Senate Farm Bill Conference Committee have tended to overlook legislative activity of the tobacco program. Things such as payment limitations, peanut quota buyout, counter-cyclical payments and loan rates have overshadowed Georgia's third rated single income crop - flue-cured tobacco.

Tobacco directly contributes over $120 million annually to Georgia's farm economy. But the drop in demand for tobacco fueled by aggressive public health policies - higher cigarette prices to fund the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement -- and higher state cigarette taxes, have left tobacco farmers with 40% less farm income over a four year span.

The Presidents's Commission on Tobacco recommended a quota buyout and permitting current grower to produce the crop and sell it without price supports. Currently most of Georgia's crop is being sold under a marketing contract and the price received is generally greater than the auction price.

In the midst of all this change, there is talk in Washington of a quota buyout. But many questions remain - How will it be funded? Will there be any type of a post buyout program? If not, will there be a license to grow the crop that cannot be sold or leased?

Any type solution to these questions is not likely to come soon. Any hopes of getting it contained in the farm bill are long past. But the economic health of those in the state who grow tobacco hangs in the balance. Tobacco as we have known it is grown on a relatively small acreage, and there is not sufficient acreage available to permit production of other field crops to replace this lost tobacco revenue. In fact, given the major commodity prices of the past few years, tobacco is one of the few profitable crops our growers have.

So we'll watch with interest as events unfold on capitol hill. The future of a large number of Southern farmers depends on what happens. (Bill Givan)

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