The dreaded blue mold is close and tobacco mosaic virus is here threatening what is turning into an otherwise good tobacco growing season.
Extension agent Larry McPeters said tobacco mosaic virus is "real bad on some farms."
But blue mold, although close, isn't here yet.
Tobacco mosaic virus is sunburning and baking the leaves and also stunting the growth of some leaves, he said.
One the virus is in the field, he continued, in contaminates the soil, forcing farmers to make different management decisions to keep from infecting subsequent crops.

"Certain fields are worse than others," he said, and although everyone does not have the virus, "it is going to impact some growers in a big way.
"It is causing severe damage to some producers," he continued. Those who are at the topping stage, should be affected very little by the virus.
Another disease making its way through is rhizoponia--a stem rot disease.
"This disease seems to be more prevalent in the field," McPeters said, and is probably because of hail damage.
The disease could have gotten a foothold after fields were hit by hail, damaging the stems. It also could have been caused by other sources such as wire worms, flea beetle larvae or it could have come out of the greenhouse.
But on the bright side, McPeters said, those who have no disease problem, this have been a very good season.
"After a dry period, it was a challenge to get a stand of tobacco," he said.
But since that dry period, it has been a very good season.
"I look outside my window in Halifax and I see green, which is unusual for the middle of July," he said.
Farmers suspecting disease or other problems with their crop should contact McPeters at 476-2147.

By KIA SHANT'E BREAUX
Associated Press Writer
DANVILLE, Va. (AP) - Financially strapped tobacco farmers in Virginia may find hope in growing another crop: grapes.
Two recent graduates of Cornell University with ties to Virginia have designed a proposal that would create a wine growers' cooperative and winery in Pittsylvania County. The cooperative would help area farmers convert tobacco fields into wine grapes - a crop that could yield as much profit as growing leaf.
The plan excited some experts in the tobacco industry.
''Farmers have been looking for alternate crops to grow and grapes have been at the top of the list,'' said Bruce Jones, Pittsylvania County's tobacco extension agent. ''I'm sure this will be welcomed news for a lot of people.''
The proposal was drafted by Andrew Harwood, who completed his undergraduate work at the College of William and Mary, and Michael Lukianoff, whose father operates a farm in Gordonsville. The duo was looking for a socially conscious business plan for a class  project.
The plight of tobacco farmers caught their attention. Many tobacco producers are not making much money these days because of the decreasing demand for tobacco. Other factors include competition abroad, backlash of the national tobacco settlement and cuts in quotas - the amount of tobacco the government allows farmers to grow.
''Tobacco farmers are facing great difficulty right now,'' Harwood said. ''People in Southside Virginia have the skills and resources to grow valuable crops but are in need of a product that is in demand.''
Grapes certainly are in demand in Virginia because of the state's booming wine industry.
The number of wineries in Virginia jumped from six on 286 acres in 1979 to 60 on 1,963 acres last year. Virginia now ranks 10th  among wine and commercial grape-growing states and sixth among vinifera grape-growing states. Vinifera grapes are those from vines of European origin as opposed to native American grapes.
Under the proposal, the wine cooperative would teach tobacco  farmers how to grow grapes and provide them with technical support and access to equipment needed to produce wine grapes. In turn, the  farmers would sell their grapes to the cooperative, which would then make wine.
The idea is farmers to initially do business exclusively with the cooperative. Later, farmers would be free to do business with wineries in other parts of the state.
Jones said some farmers were skeptical of converting their crops to grapes because of the high start-up cost. He also said there is some concern about the maintenance demands of keeping certain grape diseases under control.
Bill Dickinson, the state's assistant commissioner of agriculture, said some uncertainty remains about whether farmers can produce high-quality grapes on a widespread basis in Southside Virginia.
''My personal opinion is that wine grapes are not the total answer to agricultural change in Southside,'' Dickinson said. ''But they may provide an alternative to some farmers in some areas.''
While there currently are no organized cooperatives in Virginia,  there are a few wine growers working together in the Northern  Piedmont area, Dickinson said.
''Co-ops are a good way of doing business because they allow farmers to retain more value from the products they grow,'' he said.
The students' business plan ranked among the top eight of the 66 teams that competed for the best proposal for a socially conscience business at the University of California-Berkeley's Haas School of Business this year.
Harwood and Lukianoff currently are trying to raise money and attract investors for the proposal. They hope to have things up and running within two years.
''Tobacco farming is a culture in Virginia and it's being threatened,'' Lukianoff said. ''Growing grapes is a long-term solution, not just for tobacco, but for other farmers who want to align their resources with the demand in the marketplace.''

Lynda Johnson Robb visited South Boston on Friday as part of a two-day fact-finding mission through Southside Virginia in support of the candidacy of her husband, United States Senator Charles S. Robb.
Charles Robb, a Democrat and former governor of Virginia, is running for a third term against another former governor, Republican George Allen.
Robb, the daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, describes herself as a "professional volunteer."
She is the national chairman of Reading Is Fundamental, Inc., the nation's largest children's literacy organization, which has provided free books and other literacy resources to more than five million children this year.
Mrs. Robb's agenda included stops at the new Continuing Education Center, The Prizery, Halifax Regional Hospital, the Halifax County/South Boston Historical Museum and The Software Factory.
"I've had a busy day," remarked Mrs. Robb as she paused a few minutes while at The Software Factory in South Boston.
"I'm going to take as much back to my husband to get as many people as possible to support our campaign, including Republicans, Democrats and Independents."
It was the last stop of a two-day swing through Southside, starting with activities in Collinsville, Bassett and Martinsville on Thursday.
"I saw a lot of things going on in education, including a consortium of colleges working together at the CEC.
"It was ironic that I also ran into a lot of math teachers, since my daughter Jennifer will be teaching math in Fairfax County."
The idea of the revitalization and use of a tobacco warehouse for educational purposes struck a familiar chord with Robb.
"It is obvious to me that the people in this area love their homes and tradition. Chuck (Senator Robb) is very committed to programs involving the reuse of buildings.
"Chuck is such a fiscal conservative - this appeals to him."
According to Mrs. Robb, the Concord Coalition Award, given to the most fiscally conservative senator, has been awarded to Senator Robb several years consecutively.
Mrs. Robb noted local efforts to retool the local work force for a more high-tech economy.
"They realize that they have to change what they're doing but not lose what they've had. Education is the key.
"With the things that have happened in industry and tobacco, we need to make sure people are educated to get the jobs that are out there."
Robb was particularly impressed by her visit to the Halifax County/South Boston Museum.
"I have to brag on the museum. I love the way they've gotten local people to donate some of their things.
"When a child comes to a museum, things can appear to be irrelevant or far away. But when they see things donated by 'Uncle Harry,' they can relate to it.
"The museum staff is not tied to what you normally see in a museum."
Mrs. Robb also spoke of her husband's commitment to the rapidly growing senior citizen segment of the population.
"With the large increase of senior citizens, what better reason to reinforce Social Security and Medicare.
"If there is a budget surplus, we should put the money into Social Security and Medicare. Otherwise, we'll put that on our children."
Lynda Robb's day ended in South Boston with a reception at the home of Betty Hudson in Merritt Hills.

By PHILIP BRASHER
AP Farm Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Imagine Nebraska without any farmers.
While that is not going to happen anytime soon, government officials are alarmed that fewer and fewer young people nationwide are going into farming, either because they do not want to or cannot afford it. To stem that decline, tax incentives and other new programs are under consideration.
''The capital is the biggest hang-up, then finding the land,'' said Ryan Fisher, 29, of Amherst, Neb.
The number of farmers age 25-34 peaked in the 1980s and has fallen since then, according to a new Agriculture Department report. In 1985, producers under 35 accounted for 25 percent of all farmers. Now, it is 15 percent, and the median age of the nation's farmers has risen from 48.1 to 50.1.
Nebraska, with 55,000 farms, has fewer than 1,000 producers under 25 and about 5,500 under 35.
''Clearly, farmers must sense a comparative shortage of young colleagues, given this degree and rapidity of change,'' the USDA report said.
The public should be concerned because there will be fewer producers managing larger and larger operations, which could threaten the environment, said Mike Duffy, an economist who directs Iowa State University's Beginning Farmer Center.
''There's more to it than just having some American gothic here on the hillside'' he said.
Low-interest loan programs started in the middle of an economic crisis in the 1980s have not reversed the decline. Some states now are starting mentorship programs for beginning farmers and offering incentives to retiring farmers to rent or sell their land to young producers.
Beginning next year in Nebraska, retiring farmers can get a credit against their state income tax equal to 5 percent of the rent they charge a beginning producer. A farmer who rents out 200 acres of cropland at $50 an acre would get a tax credit of $500.
''We're hoping this will help us get our foot in the door. It's a little extra incentive for someone to work with us,'' Fisher said
He and his brother Brad are raising corn, soybeans and beef cattle on 500 acres of land that was homesteaded by their great-great-grandfather in 1886. They need at least twice to four times that much land to be profitable, however, and both men took full-time factory jobs to save enough money to buy more acreage.
Already, they have purchased $120,000 worth of used equipment, including a combine. They do the farming on weekends and in their off hours.
Their problem is finding someone willing to sell or rent them land. Better financed, more established farmers have an edge both in bidding for land for sale and in getting landowners to rent to them, said Ryan Fisher, who has a degree in animal science from the University of Nebraska.
The brothers bid $800 an acre for 240 acres of nearby pastureland recently only to have another farmer offer $850.
In other states:
-Michigan legislators are considering a similar program to Nebraska's and recently eliminated a provision in state law that caused property taxes to jump - in some cases as much as 49 percent - when farmland was sold or transferred.
-Minnesota is starting a farm apprenticeship program this fall for high school students.
-A network of universities, state agencies and farm groups that includes Iowa State, Cornell University in New York, the Ohio Farmers Union and the Michigan Farm Bureau is helping beginning producers find older farmers who will help them get established.
The Agriculture Department formed an advisory committee last year to make recommendations for assisting young farmers.
Federal inheritance taxes have been blamed by Republicans and some farm groups for the decline in young farmers, but Duffy said that is seldom a problem for most farm families.
The bigger problem is that older producers do not make plans for a successor to take over their farms, Duffy said. The land often gets divided up by the squabbling heirs and is sold to neighboring farmers, he said.
A survey of 581 Iowa farmers found that only 29 percent had identified someone to take over the operation and only 45 percent had an estate plan.
''They need to think about what they want. Is the farm a business that they've built up that they want to continue or isn't it,'' Duffy said.
A 1997 law gives family-owned businesses and farms an exemption of up to $2.6 million per family this year, compared with $1.3 million for other estates. They also can take advantage of special reduced-value rules for estate purposes and defer tax payments for up to 14 years at low interest rates.

Halifax Commonwealth's Attorney John E. Greenbacker Jr. released on Friday a statement regarding an incident on April 8 that resulted in the death of Steve Shelton after a confrontation with Sergeant Todd Moser of the Halifax County Sheriff's Department.
The statement reads as follows: "Today I have received an 104-page report from the Virginia State Police reflecting the results of an exhaustive investigation into the tragic death of Steve Shelton on April 8, 2000. After reading this report, I have concluded that Mr. Shelton's death was unavoidable.
"Accordingly, I will not be recommending that any charges be placed against the officer who shot him. In my opinion, Sgt. Todd Moser should be fully and honorably acquitted of any criminal or disciplinary liability in this matter.
"I have advised Sheriff D.J. Oakes that Sgt. Moser may be returned to his former duties."

A Nathalie man was killed Thursday in a two-vehicle accident on U.S. Route 501 in Campbell County.
Eddie Lee Edwards, 27, of Clarkton Road, died after the 1996 International tractor-trailer he was driving, approached a curve north of Rustburg, lost control and flipped on its right side, according to the Virginia State Police.
Trooper R.P. Riddlebarger said the truck, filled with wood chips from Brookneal Chips, skidded into the southbound lane and was struck in the cab head on by a 1987 Chevrolet, driven by Carrie W. Younger, 37, of Naruna.
Younger was injured and taken to Lynchburg General Hospital where she was treated and released on Sunday.
Edwards was married with three children and had worked for Brookneal Chips for four months.

Erica "Rat" Delonya Ragsdale, 21, of Crawford Road in Halifax, was arrested Thursday by sheriff's deputies on a charge of threatening bodily harm.
Ragsdale allegedly threatened Joynita Mills on June 11.
· A Halifax man was arrested Thursday by sheriff's deputies on an assault-and-battery charge.
Kenneth "Kenny" Blake Anderson, 26, of Mountain Road, was charged with the alleged assault and battery of Denise Burton.
Anderson is scheduled to appear in Halifax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court on July 12.
· Len Clay, 30, of Cole Lane in Scottsburg, was arrested yesterday by sheriff's deputies on an assault-and-battery charge.
Clay allegedly committed the offense against Jennifer Clay on Saturday.
· Acts of vandalism occurred sometime during the night of July 1, which resulted in 17 tires slashed on eight different vehicles in South Boston.
The vandalism was centered around the area of Edmunds Street and Watkins Avenue, according to the South Boston police.
Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 575-8477 or 476-8477.
A reward will be given for information leading to an arrest or a conviction.

In other police reports:

A driving-under-the-influence charge was the result of a single-car accident Sunday evening, July 2, on State Route 360.
Eric Shawn Edmonds, 28, of Vernon Hill, was charged with driving under the influence after the 1992 Mazda he was driving made a pass around another vehicle and upon reentering the proper lane, ran off of the right side of the road, causing the driver to lose control and the vehicle struck several trees, according to Trooper D.T. Conner.
The troooper said the 8:45 p.m. accident occurred 200 feet east of Duck Trail (Route 793).
Conner estimated $6,100 in damages to the vehicle and $200 in damages to trees belonging to Howard Ragsdale of Halifax.
· Mario Lamont Jones, 20, of Lynchburg, was charged with driving under the influence early Tuesday morning on Handy Bottom Trail (Route 690) after a single-car crash.
Trooper S.M. Krantz said the accident occurred one and seven-tenths of a mile north of Cody Road (Route 603), after a 1996 Chevrolet, driven by Jones, failed to stop at the end of a dead-end road and ran through the front lawn of a private residence.
The vehicle struck a cat and a wooden crate, then struck several trees, according to Krantz.
Krantz estimated $8,000 in damages to the vehicle. He also estimated $250 in damages to the wooden crate and injuries to the cat as a result of the 2:47 a.m. crash.
· A two-car crash occurred Monday afternoon, July 3, at the intersection of Buckshoal Road and Hudson Road.
Trooper G.M. Gilliam said a 1992 Chevrolet, driven by Vickie Day Gregory, 48, of Burlington, N.C., pulled out from a stop sign into the path of a 1995 Honda, driven by Connie Overby Cranfill, 51, of Virgilina.
The trooper said the Cranfill vehicle swerved to miss Gregory's vehicle, however, Gregory continued out into the roadway and was struck.
Gilliam estimated $2,500 in damages to the Gregory vehicle and $2,000 to the Cranfill vehicle as the result of the 2:25 p.m. crash.
Gregory was charged with failing to yield the right of way.

George Raymond Crews, Sr., 90, of Martinsville died Thursday, May 6 in Memorial Hospital of Martinsville and Henry County.
Born May 9, 1910 in Henry County, he was the son of thel ate John Abram Crews and Georgia Morris Crews.
Crews worked as an electrician at DuPont for 33 years before retiring, and he was a charter member of the Lynwood Golf and Country Club.
He was a member and former deacon at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church.
Surviving are his wife, Myrtle W. Crews of the home; two daughters, Jackie Crews Ward of Brandon, Miss. and Judy G. Crews of Raleigh, N.C.; two sons, George R. Crews, Jr. of Emporia, formerly of South Boston, where he was a golf professional at Greens Folly Country Club, and John A. Crews of Las Vegas, Nev.; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Preceding Mr. Crews in death were three sisters, Ewell Holt, Katie Crews Clifton and June Crews Whitlow.
The funeral was held Saturday at Roselawn Chapel Funeral Home. The Rev. W.T. Manson officiated. Burial took place in Roselawn Burial Park.

Wilbur William "Bill" Gordon, 93, of Fieldale died Friday, July 7 at his home. He was born October 5, 1906 and was the son of the late Jim Nick Gordon and Cora Owens Gordon. He was married to Pearl Beasley Gordon.
Mr. Gordon was retired from Henry County School System and was a WWII Army veteran. He was a member of Fieldale Baptist Church, a charter member of the Fieldale Volunteer Fire Department, having served as fire chief, and was a member of Bassett American Legion.
Survivors of Mr. Gordon include his wife of the home; one daughter, Betty Lou Gordon Crews of Emporia; and one son, William Mac Gordon of Fieldale. He was predeceased by five brothers and four sisters.
Graveside services will be held at Roselawn Burial Park at 11:00 a.m. today with the Rev. Richard Harrison officiating. Burial with military honors conducted by the Veterans Guard will take place in Roselawn Burial Park.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Hospice of Memorial Hospital of Martinsville & HC, Box 4788, Martinsville, Va. 24115.

Mrs. Maria Farmer Traynham of 905 Webster St., South Boston died Saturday, July 8 at her residence at the age of 79.
Mrs. Traynham was born in Halifax County August 11, 1920 and was the daughter of the late Willie Farmer and Rena Williams Farmer. She was married to the late Robert Traynham and was a member of the Five Forks Baptist Church.

She is survived by seven daughters, Ms. Bessie Traynham, Ms. Mildred Traynham, Mrs. Frances Sutphin, Ms. Catherine Traynham, Mrs. Doris Brooks, Ms. Lorena Traynham and Mrs. Loretta Palmer, all of South Boston; six sons, Charles Traynham of Baltimore, Md., James Traynham of Philadelphia, Pa., Harry Traynham, Robert Traynham, Ernest Traynham and Richard Traynham, all of South Boston; 31 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; one great-great grandson; a half sister, Ms. Gloria Johnson of South Boston; five daughters-in-law and two sons-in-law.
Funeral services for Mrs. Traynham will be held Wednesday, July 12 at 11:00 a.m. at Mt. Olive Baptist Church with the Rev. Sandy Palmer officiating. Burial will follow in the Rose Garden Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home of the deceased.

Eddie Lee Edwards of 9167 Clarkton Rd., Nathalie died Thursday, July 6 in Rustburg. He was born in Campbell County October 19, 1972 and was 27 years of age at the time of his death.
He is survived by his wife, Twanda Edwards; three daughters, Krischelle and Taijah Edwards, all of the home and Markeya Jones of Brookneal; his mother and stepfather, Bernice Robertson and the Rev. H.J. Robertson of Naruna; one brother, Lewis Poe of Naruna; four sisters, Fanetta Quarles of Brookneal, Tangi Edwards of Newport News, and Patricia Davis and Tonya Robertson of California; three step-brothers; and his mother-in-law and father-in-law, J.C. and Annie Mae Waller of the home.

Funeral services will be held today at 2:00 p.mn. at Evergreen Baptist Church in Naruna with interment in the church cemetery.