Tag: tobacco associates

  • New TA leadership

    New TA leadership

    Hank Mozingo is the new president of Tobacco Associates, effective today.

    During his 27 years of service, Mozingo directed the organization’s international operations, assembled and managed a team of renowned consultants, and secured laboratory facilities necessary to provide sophisticated technical assistance for developing successful tobacco products utilizing the unique qualities of U.S. leaf.

    Mozingo succeeds Kirk Wayne, who retired after serving Tobacco Associates for 47 years, including 38 as president.

    Under Kirk’s leadership, Tobacco Associates advanced from an information provider into a dynamic and unique organization providing education, U.S. leaf grade standards instruction, and assistance in product development techniques to utilize the special quality attributes of U.S.-produced tobacco.

    According to Tobacco Associates, the programs have benefited hundreds of cigarette manufacturing officials by assisting in the development of new successful products and have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in increased export sales of U.S. leaf.

  • Farmers win crop insurance battle

    Tobacco farmers notched a victory Thursday when the U.S. Senate fended off efforts to eliminate the federal insurance program for their embattled crop.

    Tobacco farmer organizations had vigorously objected to the proposal, saying elimination of the program would effectively spell the end of U.S. tobacco production.

    Tobacco Associates of Raleigh, North Carolina, said discontinuation of the subsidy would have rendered any private multi-peril crop insurance unaffordable. And, without insurance, lending institutions would have become reluctant to provide loans to tobacco farmers. No crop under cultivation in the southeastern United States is as susceptible to wind as tobacco in the peak harvest months of July through October.

    In 2012, the farm value of North Carolina leaf tobacco was nearly $770 million.

    Tobacco growers outside of North Carolina were relieved, as well.

    “It was a significant policy win for Kentucky farmers amid a very anti-tobacco Congress,” University of Kentucky agricultural economist Will Snell said.

    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the amendment’s defeat a “big victory” for the state’s tobacco growers. McConnell personally lobbied a number of his colleagues in leading the fight against the amendment, which he denounced as “another assault by Washington to go after” jobs in Kentucky.

    For years, tobacco farmers have been beleaguered by smoking bans and high excise taxes as U.S. cigarette consumption declines.