Connect with us
https://yoursportsnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/call-to-1.png

Sports

Tobacco takes top spot in crop earnings

Yields from the fields Helped by a fair yield and excellent quality leaf, tobacco gross income topped the list of local farm products in 2017. The estimated total gross income in Wilson County from the sale of farm products in the year was $141,403,967. Norman Harrell, director of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension office in […]

Published

on

Tobacco takes top spot in crop earnings

Yields from the fields

Helped by a fair yield and excellent quality leaf, tobacco gross income topped the list of local farm products in 2017.

The estimated total gross income in Wilson County from the sale of farm products in the year was $141,403,967.

Norman Harrell, director of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension office in Wilson County, calculated the estimates based on the vast majority of farm products reported at the end of the year.

“This would be my estimates of the yield that was generated in the county times an average selling price per commodity,” Harrell said. “We’re close to finishing it but we are not completely finished. We’re down to just a few minor crops, so the bulk of it is complete. It probably won’t go up a whole lot because we’re down to some smaller acreage crops.”

The top three products were flue-cured tobacco at $49,215,769, nursery and greenhouse plants at $32,100,000 and sweet potatoes at $20,650,000.

“The tobacco crop this year, we had pretty much an average yield, but we had outstanding quality, so that really helped with the 2017 tobacco crop — particularly for the growers being able to sell their crop,” Harrell said.

Yield was 2,519 pounds per acre. Tobacco farmers planted 9,818 acres this year in Wilson County. The average price for tobacco was $1.99 per pound.

Tobacco earnings for the year were more in line with the $47,276,207 income in 2015. The year 2016 was way down in earnings at $37,181,997 due to low yields and poor-quality leaf.

“We have had two challenging years in ’15 and particularly ’16, so this year is a more normal yield. We really needed 2017 to happen,” Harrell said. “This year helped make up for the two prior years.”

Nurseries and greenhouses, which had gross income of $32.1 million, were down from the $47.9 million earned in 2016, and the $53.3 million of gross income in 2015.

According to Cyndi Lauderdale, horticulture agent for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension office in Wilson County, the dip in earnings from nurseries and greenhouses was due to two factors.

Intense rains and floods in April caused the loss of many plants at the Fair View Nursery.

“We have also had the restructuring out at Gardens Alive,” Lauderdale said. “It was during that interim that not much sales were going on.”

Gardens Alive, formerly Zelenka, is the largest nursery and greenhouse operation in Wilson County.

“During that process, they downsized as they got their new managers in and things like that, so they are now back on a growing cycle,”

Sweet potatoes earned the third-highest gross income with $20.6 million for the year. Yield in 2017 was 425 bushels per acre.

“We had a pretty good year, but the only downfall was the price,” said Tommy Batts, commercial horticulture agent for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension office in Wilson. “We had a saturated market so the price wasn’t very high.”

The earnings in 2016 were $44.3 million and in 2015, they were $42 million.

The $24 million decrease in 2017 was because the calculation methodology was changed.

“We wanted to look at the farm value of sweet potatoes as they leave the field. After they are packed, they have a higher value, but all the growers of sweet potatoes don’t necessarily capture that value,” Harrell said. “So I think the number previously would have included an average packed-out number for sweet potatoes where as we are now using an average value, like a farm gate value. That’s the reason you see such a big decrease. We have changed the methodology, but the price of sweet potatoes has gone down a lot, so that is kind of a twofold reason why we see that change in sweet potato income.”

Wilson County had 9,800 acres of sweet potatoes planted in 2017, which is down from 10,400 acres in 2016.

“It is an extremely important commodity in the county. We changed a little bit how we are reporting it, plus a decrease in price.” Harrell said.

Soybeans earned a gross income of $14,379,886 for the year. That is up slightly from the $12.4 million in 2016 and the $9.3 million in 2015.

There were 34,000 acres of soybeans planted in Wilson County in 2017. About 40 percent of the farmland in Wilson County is planted in soybeans.

“That’s our largest acreage crop in the county and I believe we saw a modest increase in acres this year,” Harrell said.

Wilson County soybean fields had a yield of 42 bushels per acre.

“That’s a good yield,” Harrell said. “The national average is 49, so it would be nice to be getting up to the national average, but it’s good for our area.”

Corn had gross sales of $5,099,567 in 2017. In 2016, corn sales were higher at $8.1 million and in 2015, gross sales were $2.8 million. Corn had a yield of 130 bushels per acre in 2017.

“We had a slightly above-average corn yield this year. We saw some acres shifted out of corn and that’s why we saw the numbers drop, and the yield was less than last year,” Harrell said. “We had a really good corn year last year. We are back to more typical corn yields for our area now.”

Cotton had gross sales of $4,930,585 in 2017.

“We finally saw the return of yields that we should make in cotton, a little better than normal, which is two bales per acre.,” Harrell said. “That’s where we need to be with cotton. We saw the income numbers increase significantly for cotton, but it was primarily due to good yields and an increase in acres.”

In Wilson County, there were 7,329 acres of cotton planted, which is up from the 3,762 acres planted in 2016. Yield on cotton was 1,035 pounds of lint per acre.

Wilson had the potential to produce as many as 8,181 bales from Wilson County in 2017.

The Silver Lake Growers Cotton Gin reported producing 22,000 bales of lint when it ceased operation for the year on Dec. 14. The gin brings in cotton grown in Lenoir, Nash, Wilson, Edgecombe and Johnston counties.

Peanuts had gross income of $2,344,508 in 2017. That is a modest increase over the $2.1 million in 2016 and higher than the $1.6 million in 2015.

“We’ve got a pretty good peanut year. The peanut specialist at North Carolina State has estimated the North Carolina peanut crop at 4,100 pounds per acre. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wilson County did a little better than that,” Harrell said. “The peanuts that I have seen have looked good and the growers that I have talked to have indicated good yields. Good weather conditions and good management have relayed into some good yields.”

Yield is 4,097 pounds per acre, two tons to the acre. Wilson County had 2,500 acres in peanuts in 2017.

Wheat earned $1,604,344 in Wilson County in 2017. Yield was 60 bushels per acre.

“If you look at the wheat numbers, 2016 was the worst wheat year I have ever seen. It was horrible,” Harrell said. “That’s why that number is so low. The wheat yield last year for 2016 was 30 bushels compared to 60 this year.”

Harrell blames the weather.

“It was all too much water and growers were not able to get their crop out in a timely fashion,” Harrell said. “The excessive water led to disease problems and it was just bad.”

Grain sorghum earned a gross income of $55,000 in Wilson this year.

“It is a crop that we have struggled to make money on because of low commodity prices and a new insect that we have to spray for,” Harrell said. “We dropped down from 700 acres last year to 253 acres this past year. We just do a little dabble,” Harrell said. “It’s a wonderful crop, but the profitability has just made it where there is just not a lot of it planted.”

Wilson grew a few scant acres of oats and rye.

“For the most part, those crops are planted to either feed horses or planted for cover crop,” Harrell said. “They are really not any income generated from rye and oats.”

Batts said that cucumbers earned $1,800,000 for Wilson County farmers in 2017. The county had 340 acres of cucumbers, mostly pickling cucumbers, and had a yield of between 300 and 325 bushels per acre.

Numbers are incomplete for other fruits and vegetables.

“We had 560 acres of watermelons planted in Wilson County in 2017,” Batts said. “Those range from seedless to common to personal/mini-watermelons.”

Wilson County had about 20 acres of strawberries, and most of them were grown by James Sharp at Fresh-Pik Produce.

“Our strawberry crop was a good-quality crop,” said Sharp. “The yields were average at best. We started that strawberry crop with Hurricane Matthew last fall, so once we recuperated from that, we had to do the extra frost protection from that really cold and early spring that we had. So it all worked out in the end. Frost-protecting those strawberries was a very stressful time but fortunately we were able to start harvesting our berries earlier and that helped offset some of the extra cost we had in the crop.”

Harrell reported $5,150,000 gross income in Wilson County for livestock, including poultry and eggs, swine and cattle.

Forestry acreage was 84,000 acres in the county with sales of timber at $3,753,200.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Semifinal day at women’s water polo

Day 13 Schedule Classification 7-8 Match 45. 16:00. Classification 3-4Match 47. 17:35. Classification 5-6Match 46. 20:00. Classification 1-2Match 48. 21:35. Overview In classification matches, China reversed the result of last year’s Doha play-off, beating New Zealand 10-6. Great Britain defeated France for the second time after day-one round play, to take out 11th position. Match […]

Published

on


Day 13 Schedule

Classification 7-8
Match 45. 16:00.

Classification 3-4
Match 47. 17:35.

Classification 5-6
Match 46. 20:00.

Classification 1-2
Match 48. 21:35.

Overview

In classification matches, China reversed the result of last year’s Doha play-off, beating New Zealand 10-6. Great Britain defeated France for the second time after day-one round play, to take out 11th position.

Match Reports

Classification 9-10

Match 40, CHINA 10 NEW ZEALAND 6 (4-2, 2-1, 0-1, 4-2)

In Doha last year this match was also for ninth classification and the Kiwis won 16-15. Today China held sway for all of the match and finished with a flourish despite a multitude of Kiwi goals on target or hitting the frame.

China almost swam away with the match in the first quarter such was the ferocity of its attack. Yan Siya and two Zhou Shang forward goals had China at 3-0 by 4:46. It took two Morgan McDowall goals — the first off the left-post position on extra and the second on counter — and an Emily Nicholson centre-forward backhand  at 3:06 to level the score, However, a VAR review showed the ball was still in hand at the buzzer and the goal disallowed. It did slow the China charge, however. With eight seconds remaining, Zhang Yumian nudged the score to 4-2. Zhang Yumian started the second quarter from the top left. Nearly three minutes later, McDowall scored off the left post on extra again for 5-3. Yan Siya hit the crossbar on penalty at 1:09 but found a gap at 0:30 for 6-3 at halftime.

A Kiwi timeout at 5:48 yielded several shots at goal with McDowall picking up the rubbish and muscling in her fourth goal. As the thunder ripped through the city and rain and intruded the media tribunes, New Zealand had a challenge disallowed. Straight after the ball was stolen and Morgan went on the charge, gaining a penalty foul. China challenged — amazing since Angie Winstanley-Smith and Miki Oca, the respective coaches, chatted in the stands for a long period before the match. The challenge was lost and Millie Quin hit the right post. Tough defence denied both teams a goal before the final break.

The last period was excellent for China sneaking in two goals before McDowall stopped the trend with her four-metre strike. Shao Yixin countered for 9-5 and Emmerson Houghton converted a penalty after a violent action was challenged as two Chinese players left the water clutching their eyes. Wang Huan sent in a slider from well outside for 10-6 at 2:15, which proved to be the winner.

Match Heroes
McDowall
was the best in water by far with her dynamic play, gutsy intervention and power shooting, netting her  five of the Kiwis’ six goals. She finished the tournament with 19 goals. Emmerson Houghton, who scored the penalty was second with 14. For China, Zhang Yumian, Zhou Shang, Wang Huan and Yan Siya scored twice each. Yan was best for China with 15 goals and Shao Yixin, one today, took 10. Goalkeeper Shen Yineng stopped eight today and 50 for the week.

Turning Point
The opening three goals.

Stats Don’t Lie
China may have only scored one from three on extra but denied the Kiwis nine times from 11. China missed its one penalty shot and New Zealand one from two. China stole 11 to eight and shot 31 to 27.

Bottom Line
Two classy teams with a point to prove and both played strongly.

What They Said

Classification 11-12

Match 39, FRANCE 9 GREAT BRITAIN 14  (1-2, 3-4, 2-4, 3-4)

These two teams were meeting for the second time in Singapore with Great Britain having beaten France 12-9 on the first day of competition in their round clash. Today, it was a similar score at 14-9 but with a different dimension that included two French red cards. Whereas Britain was 2-1 ahead after the first period today, last week, France held the edge at 4-3. Tiziana Raspo opened for France from centre forward with Lily Turner on penalty and Katie Brown from the top deciding the period in Britain’s favour. Turner had her penalty attempt blocked at the top of the second quarter with Ema Vernoux making sure of her penalty chance at the other end. Anya Clapperton on extra from the top; Turner from the outside left and Kathy Rogers off a cross pass to the right post on extra rocketed Great Britain to 5-2. Vernoux converted another penalty foul for 5-3, much like in that first match. Valentine Heurtaux sent in France’s third penalty goal and Rogers dragged down a cross pass to the left post from the right on extra for 6-4 — the exact score as on day one. One of the keys to British supremacy was the nine saves from goalkeeper Sophie Jackson.

Toula Falvey scored on extra off the right-post position on the first British attack of the second half and Vernoux finished a clinical extra-player movement for 7-5. Brooke Tafazolli speared one down the left and Amelia Peters turned at the left post to goal at 4:33. Camille Radosavljevic pulled one back for France, although Izzy Howe finished an extra-player movement from top right on double extra at 0:23. A chance for France to narrow that margin failed when Heurtaux bounced into the crossbar on penalty, five seconds from the buzzer. At 10-6, it almost mirrored the first encounter when Britain led 11-6. Pasiphae Martineaud Peret had 11 saves for France at this stage and Jackson was on 12.

Controversy reigned in the final quarter as, after three and a half minutes when Heurtaux scored form the top, Vernoux was adjudged, with the use of VAR, to have allegedly kicked an opponent in the head in an earlier movement. Heurtaux’s effort was scratched, Vernoux sent from the pool deck (reluctantly) and Great Britain on a player up. It was Peters who scored, not on extra, for 11-7 and Radosavljevic made a penalty conversion. Soon after Arianna Banchi was red-carded (Ed: reason unknown), joining team-mate Vernoux in the “naughty box”. Another shot at extra attack yielded nothing and France called a timeout at 2:57, still in with a chance. Lou Jean-Michel converted extra for 11-8 and Turner put away another penalty shot. Britain called a timeout and Brown converted double extra. Emma Duflos did not wish to leave Singapore without a goal, so scored from centre forward at 0:52. Captain Rogers shovelled in a rebound off the second British shot at 0:14 and Britain had grasped 11th place.

Match Heroes
Britain’s Turner (18 in total) and Rogers (8) scored three each. Falvey scored once today for 10. Goalkeeper Jackson made 12 saves for 38 in Singapore. France’s Vernoux scored three for 15 and Radosavljevic three. Heurtaux, who scored one from nine today, was second best with 10 goals. Martineaud Peret also made 12 saves for 49 in all.

Turning Point
Britain coming from one down to 6-4 ahead at halftime and then 10-6 at the last break.

Stats Don’t Lie
Britain scored eight from 15 on extra and stopped five of seven. On penalties, France went four from five and Britain two from three. On steals, Britain made nine to eight and shot 37-34.

Bottom Line
Great Britain, with three wins here, was 11th in 2024 and France 14th, so one team advanced its position.

What They Said

Enjoy this article? Why not share…





Link

Continue Reading

Sports

InZane RL – Can PVL top the AFL’s broadcast deal?

On Inzane Rugby League this week, Zane Bojack and Sam Williams are joined by AAP reporter Joel Gould to talk about the NRL’s discussions in the US with Disney, DAZN and Netflix ahead of the next broadcast deal.  The trio also talked about the skill of keeping your Captain’s Challenge to the dying minutes with […]

Published

on


On Inzane Rugby League this week, Zane Bojack and Sam Williams are joined by AAP reporter Joel Gould to talk about the NRL’s discussions in the US with Disney, DAZN and Netflix ahead of the next broadcast deal. 

The trio also talked about the skill of keeping your Captain’s Challenge to the dying minutes with NZ, Canterbury and Manly coming up trumps at the weekend. 

The panel applauded the appointment of Kevin Walters as Kangaroos coach and also played the Quiz and “Yay or Neigh” game with Zane, Joel and Sam questioning how the NRL’s salary cap will cope with Cameron Munster looking likely to earn $2 million per season at the Perth Bears. 



Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Greece’s men crush Italy 17-11 to advance into water polo semis

Greece’s men’s water polo team has cruised their way into the semi-finals with a dominant 17-11 victory over Italy at the World Water Polo Championship in Singapore. The men’s team dominated in their match with the 2024 runner-up, taking advantage of Matteo Iocchi Gratta’s send-off in the first period to win the quarter-final and book […]

Published

on


Greece’s men’s water polo team has cruised their way into the semi-finals with a dominant 17-11 victory over Italy at the World Water Polo Championship in Singapore.

The men’s team dominated in their match with the 2024 runner-up, taking advantage of Matteo Iocchi Gratta’s send-off in the first period to win the quarter-final and book a ticket against Spain in the semi-finals on Tuesday 22 July.

The win marked an historic moment as both Greece’s men’s and women’s teams reached the semi-finals of the same competition for the first time in the history of the World Aquatic Championships (of which the water polo events are part of).

The men’s team started well, with Kakaris and Nikolaidis winning two penalties in the first few minutes (one of which was converted, and the other seeing Argyropoulos send the ball against the post) and Panagiotis Tzortzatos making consecutive saves.

The Greek team led 3-1 and, at 1.50 minutes before the end of the first quarter, Iocchi Gratta hit Argyropoulos in the head out of phase and the referees, after consulting the video, sent him off.

Playing for four minutes with a numerical advantage, the Greeks had a great opportunity and did not let it go to waste, surging into a 7-1 lead.

The numerical balance was restored, but the Italians seemed helpless to react.

The Greek defence was strong, with Tzortzatos especially standing out with a remarkable 16 saves, and the difference increased even more, with Nikolaidis putting them 9-1 ahead with an impressive 2-meter rebound.

The Italians made a desperate effort to get back into the game, reducing the deficit on various occasions (9-3 and 11-5), but despite the consecutive expulsions and the loss of players with three penalties, the Greek team managed the match well enough without ever being at risk of loss.

The eight minutes (with the typical home team Italy first): 1-6, 1-3, 4-4, 5-4



Link

Continue Reading

Sports

Golden State Valkyries, WNBA fans cheer on for all

2

Published

on

Golden State Valkyries, WNBA fans cheer on for all


Continue Reading

Sports

WNBA All

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on the NFL’s Commanders and MLB’s Guardians to revive their former nicknames. “The Washington “Whatever’s” should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social account Sunday. “There is a big clamoring for this. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, […]

Published

on

WNBA All

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on the NFL’s Commanders and MLB’s Guardians to revive their former nicknames.

“The Washington “Whatever’s” should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social account Sunday. “There is a big clamoring for this. Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past. Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!”

Washington and Cleveland have both used their respective nicknames since 2022. From 2020–21, the NFL franchise was known as the Washington Football Team.

Trump has previously spoken publicly about his preference for both the Commanders and Guardians to use their former names.

D.C. Stadium Deal in Trouble?

Roughly five hours after Trump’s first post Sunday, he weighed back in on Truth Social to insinuate that the Commanders’ deal to build a $3.8 billion domed stadium in Washington, D.C., could hinge on a name change.

“My statement on the Washington Redskins has totally blown up, but only in a very positive way,” Trump wrote. “I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original ‘Washington Redskins,’ and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, ‘Washington Commanders,’ I won’t make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone.”

There have already been some political tensions over the Commanders’ plans to build on the grounds of their former home, RFK Stadium. The franchise is seeking more than $1 billion in public funding from the D.C. Council. 

Commanders owner Josh Harris had previously thanked Trump for his support in the Commanders striking a deal to build a new $3.8 billion stadium in D.C. In May, Trump hosted the Commanders and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at the White House to announce that the 2027 NFL Draft would be held in Washington, D.C.

Harris has previously said a change back to Washington’s former name wasn’t on the table. However, the franchise is leaning into its past, particularly around the reveal of new retro uniforms that will be used this season, which harken back to the team’s glory days of the 1980s and early 1990s. Washington used the Redskins nickname from 1937 to 2019, and they won Super Bowls in 1982, 1987, and 1991. 

Guardians in Trump’s Crosshairs

Trump also added more thoughts about the Guardians in his second post Sunday.

“Cleveland should do the same with the Cleveland Indians,” he wrote. “The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change. What he doesn’t understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election. Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!”

Matt Dolan is the brother of Guardians chairman and CEO Paul J. Dolan, who has been the franchise’s controlling owner since January 2013. Larry Dolan, Matt and Paul’s father, died in February. Matt Dolan was a Republican member of the Ohio Senate from 2017 to 2024; he made unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Senate in 2022 and 2024.

Guardians president Chris Antonetti released a statement after Trump’s comments. “I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago,” he said. “But it’s a decision we’ve made and we’ve gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and we’re excited about the future that’s in front of us.”

Continue Reading

Sports

‘Bagyong Baldo’ ravages PVL On Tour Passi

ILOILO, Philippines — Bagyong Baldo is in the City of Passi Arena.  Alyssa Valdez proved once more on why she’s called “The Phenom,” as she made it rain and stuffed the statistical sheet, recording a triple-double performance in the Iloilo leg of the 2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) On Tour last Sunday, July 20.  Valdez […]

Published

on


ILOILO, Philippines — Bagyong Baldo is in the City of Passi Arena. 

Alyssa Valdez proved once more on why she’s called “The Phenom,” as she made it rain and stuffed the statistical sheet, recording a triple-double performance in the Iloilo leg of the 2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) On Tour last Sunday, July 20. 

Valdez fired 19 points (16 attacks, and three aces), along with 11 excellent digs and 15 excellent receptions to lift the Cool Smashers past Chery Tiggo in four sets. 

The 32-year-old volleyball icon expressed her gratitude to the unwavering support of the Ilonggos, especially when Creamline absorbed a shocking loss against ZUS on the first day of the Iloilo leg.

“It’s my first time here in Passi. It’s great that we have our seventh man here also in Iloilo. It’s just so nice that we have lost the last game but the support is still solid on our second game,” she said.

Get the latest news


delivered to your inbox

Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters

By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

She made an all-around performance and flaunted her defensive side to fill up the absence of Bernadeth Pons, who is with the national beach volleyball team, and Tots Carlos, who has a minor injury.

With “Vintage Valdez” all over in social media, as she showed why she’s referred as the Philippine volleyball icon,  the former Ateneo de Manila University stalwart remained humble and credited her teammates.

“With the help of my teammates, and my coaches, hopefully, I’ll be more consistent and prepare more for the upcoming games,” she said while smiling and with satisfaction.

Coming off from back-to-back losses, an unfamiliar territory for Creamline, Valdez shared that the key to win against Chery Tiggo is to re-learn to enjoy volleyball again.

“Honestly, I think one thing that we realized, and we learned is that to enjoy the game and respect the game,” she said.

“We had a lot of lapses, and very specific lapses during our game (against ZUS) so we adjusted,” she added.

Creamline capped the first round with a 3-2 win-loss card.



Link

Continue Reading

Most Viewed Posts

Trending