Annual Tobacco Tours

Each year, Tobacco Tours bring together growers, industry professionals, and researchers across the Southeast. Georgia and Florida tours are held in June, followed by South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia in July. Links will be added here as tour details are finalized.

Participants will visit working tobacco farms, experience live demonstrations, and gain insights into the latest research on varieties, insect control, and key issues impacting tobacco production today.

The 2026 Georgia–Florida Tobacco Tour brought together growers, Extension specialists, and industry participants for a multi‑day field tour across north Florida and south Georgia, focused on observing current production practices and applied research in real farm settings. The tour began in Live Oak, Florida, with an evening check‑in and kickoff supper, followed by a full day of coordinated travel to multiple farm locations.

Participants first visited the Jackson Lord Farm in Suwannee County, Florida, where they viewed demonstrations of released tobacco varieties and discussed cultivar performance under local growing conditions. The group then traveled to the Fred Wetherington Farm in Madison County, Florida, where large‑scale tobacco production practices were highlighted, offering insight into commercial operations.

As the tour continued into Georgia, the focus shifted to applied field research. At the Herring Farm in Lowndes County, attendees observed a nematode management trial that addressed soilborne pest challenges. The tour concluded its main stops at the Stanley Corbett Farm in Echols County, where a variety evaluation trial demonstrated tobacco lines with improved resistance to black shank disease.

Overall, the tour provided a structured opportunity to examine tobacco production systems and research trials across the region, giving participants a comprehensive view of current issues and advances in variety selection, pest management, and production practices.