NEWS
Farm Service Agency
Public Affairs Staff
1400 Independence Ave SW
Stop 0506, Room 3624-South
Washington, D.C. 20250-0506
Release No. 1419.04
Jillene Johnson (202) 720-9733
jillene_johnson@wdc.usda.gov
USDA ANNOUNCES PRELIMINARY FLUE-CURED TOBACCO
REFERENDUM RESULTS
WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2004 -- USDA's Farm Service
Agency (FSA) today announced that preliminary results from
a mail referendum held Jan. 5-9, 2004, indicate that
flue-cured tobacco growers voted to continue
acreage-poundage marketing quotas for their crops for the
2004-2006 marketing years.
Results show that 6,149 of the 6,244 producers who
voted in the referendum (or 93.06 percent) voted yes. A
vote of at least two-thirds in favor was necessary to
continue acreage-poundage marketing quotas.
The 2004 flue-cured tobacco marketing year begins
July 1, 2004, and ends June 30, 2005. Marketing quotas
limit the amount of tobacco a producer can sell in a given
marketing year. Flue-cured tobacco is the main type of
heat-cured cigarette tobacco that, together with burley
tobacco, accounts for more than 90 percent of total United
States production.
Flue-cured tobacco is grown in Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The
state-by-state results are as follows:
Percentage
State Votes Cast Favoring Quotas
Alabama 1 100
Florida 92 91.3
Georgia 418 91.4
North Carolina 4,274 92.51
South Carolina 461 95.22
Virginia 903 95.5
Total 6,149 93.06
Final referendum results are expected to be
announced in April 2004.
In the last referendum, held in January 2001, 97.6
percent of the voting growers favored marketing quotas on
an acreage-poundage basis for the 2001-2003 crops.
Further program information is available from
Rebecca Harrington at (202) 720-4281, e-mail
rebecca_harrington@wdc.usda.gov
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NOTE: FSA's news releases and media advisories are
available on the Web at FSA's home page:
http://www.fsa.usda.gov |
