"I encourage (tobacco growers) in good spirit to keep Stabilization going," Extension Agent Larry McPeters said yesterday in the wake of announcements by more cigarette makers to deal directly with farmers, a move that threatens not only the traditional warehouse auction system but the grower-supported Stabilization Corporation.
In the seemingly rush to enter into contract purchases with the tobacco companies, McPeters cautioned producers to "take a look" at as many contract offers as possible. "We don't know what the pricing level is at this point."
In addition to industry giants Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, two other companies, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard, say they, too, will be contracting with producers in order to obtain the selection and volume of leaf needed to produce their products. Petersburg-based Star Scientific is another contract purchaser of flue-cured tobacco.
South Boston operated three warehouses last season, the Planters, the Star and the Victory, the latter a farmer-owned cooperative. Rumors swirled this week that one or more of the warehouses may merge but owners refused to comment, saying that an announcement would be made next week.
"It's a good guess there'll be a reduction in the number (of warehouses)," the county agent said.
McPeters is concerned that growers will enter into contracts only to discover, perhaps, that the quality of their crop may not meet the standards the companies expect. Under contract purchasing, the companies provide their own graders. There are no USDA tobacco graders for contracted leaf "but that may change," McPeters added.
"If a farmer takes tobacco to a receiving station and is hit with a grade he doesn't like, he's going to the warehouse (auction system)," McPeters speculated.
McPeters is concerned that, under such circumstances, too much poor quality leaf could reach the warehouse auction system and fall under the price support program. Stabilization would be flooded with tobacco that could be difficult to sell.
Growers face yet another major decision in converting their curing barns to indirect firing systems. Tobacco companies have said that they will not purchase 2001-grown tobacco that contains tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNA).
There will be price support for 2000 carryover tobacco containing TSNA but none for 2001-grown tobacco having traces.
"Some (growers) will wait too late," McPeters fears and not convert their barns in time to cure this season's crop. A barn-conversion grant program provides assistance to growers but that program ends July 1.
The fund was established by the tobacco companies and some have said that they will withdraw whatever money is unspent after that deadline.

By BRUCE SCHREINER
The Associated Press _
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Four of the nation's largest cigarette makers said Wednesday they will deal directly with farmers for all or part of their tobacco needs, a move that could spell doom for the traditional auction warehouses.
Industry leader Philip Morris and No. 2 R.J. Reynolds set the precedent last year. The two companies said they will contract in the coming crop year for both flue-cured and burley tobacco, which are blended to make cigarettes.
Two other companies, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard, said they would take the same route rather than be left to pick over dwindling supplies at the warehouse.
"The competition has forced us into contract buying," said Mark Smith, a spokesman for Brown & Williamson, whose brands include Kool and Lucky Strike. "To protect our selectivity and volume needs, we've had to go this route."
Generations of tobacco farmers have sold their leaf at auction, which is required for a federal price support. The auction tradition has changed with the evolving relationship between farmers and cigarette companies.
"It means the death knell, unless we can get a leveling of the playing field," said Ben Crain, a Lexington warehouse operator and president of the Burley Auction Warehouse Association.
Reynolds, whose brands include Winston, Salem and Camel, is taking the biggest plunge. The company intends to buy all its U.S. burley and flue-cured tobacco directly from farmers, spokeswoman Lisa Eddington said.
Philip Morris, which makes Marlboro and Virginia Slims, will expand its burley purchases among farmers and will start contract buying in flue-cured country, spokeswoman Kim Farlow said.
The company signed contracts with about 10,000 burley growers last year to supply in excess of 100 million pounds, its first foray into burley contract buying. Most contracts were for one year. Philip Morris will still buy tobacco at auction warehouses to supplement the con- tracted leaf. "We need to be in both systems to be able to procure the tobacco we need," Farlow said.
Brown & Williamson expects to get less than half of its U.S. tobacco from grower contracts. The rest will be bought at auction. Smith said that Brown & Williamson would do its best to support the auction system, but he added, "The world has turned upside down in the leaf business. Contract buying could represent as much as 70 percent for the whole industry by next year."
Lorillard's supply of contracted tobacco will come from Dimon Inc., a tobacco processor that has started making deals with farmers in the burley and flue-cured belts.
"We took this step with great reluctance after facing increasing difficulties in purchasing the necessary quality of tobacco through the traditional auction markets," said Lorillard spokesman Steve Watson.
Lorillard, which makes Newport, Kent and True brands, preferred auctions because it could be more selective, Watson said. With contracting, the companies agree to buy all of a farmer's crop.
Will Snell, an agriculturai economist at the University of Kentucky said Philip Morris' contract growers made more profit - 10 to 15 cents per pound through January-than growers who sold their burley through traditional auctions. The difference was in grading and warehouse fees the contract growers were spared.
Crain, the Lexington warehouse operator, said those fees give cigarette companies an advantage in reaching out to farmers.
Warehouse operators have floated a proposal with manufacturers and growers' groups in which companies that still purchase tobacco at auctions would pick up those fees instead of farmers.
Crain said the proposal could save some warehouses, already struggling with sharply lower sales because of quota cuts and contracting.
"We can't keep asking our customers to sell with us out of the goodness of their heart, knowing it's costing them 10 or 11 cents a pound," he said.

By Joe Chandler
Is too much emphasis being placed on the state's Standards of Learning tests?
Debate on that question is being waged in both education and legislative corners.
A proposal that scores on Standards of Learning tests would count no more than half toward a school's accreditation rating cleared the state's House Education Committee, Wednesday.
Del. Thomas M. Jackson Jr. D-Carroll, is the patron of the bill, one of a series of "multi-criteria" bills dealing with the role of SOL tests in school accreditation and high school graduation.
Halifax County School Superintendent Dennis Witt said this week he favors measures such as Del. Jackson's bill, measures that will build more flexibility into the Standards of Learning program.
"I think that's a pretty good bill," Witt said.
"It didn't put everything on the SOL tests, and everything should not be just on those tests. It comes from a multi-criteria concept."
Witt says he sees nothing wrong with Standards of Learning tests. He also says there is nothing wrong with end-of-course tests on the high school level.
"But," he said, "they cannot be the all of our measurement of public education. They have to be one piece of the accountability picture."
Witt favors accountability.
But state officials, he says, have gone too far.
"I think a lot of good has already come from the accountability movement in Virginia simply by requiring a more academic curriculum for all students and also expecting students in the elementary grades to learn to read and write," Witt said.
"In Virginia's effort to put accountability into our schools, something which we all agree on, I think they probably swung too far in that direction with everything riding on SOL tests and particularly end-of-course tests at the high school level."
High school graduation and school accreditation are two of the primary focal points of the Standards of Learning program.
Next year will be the first year high school seniors will be required to earn verified credits in order to receive a high school diploma.
High school students will be required to pass at least six of 12 end-of-course SOL tests in order to graduate from high school.
That is one issue.
School Accreditation
When it comes to school accreditation, if 70 percent of a school's students do not pass the SOL tests, the school does not receive full accreditation by the state.
It would, instead, receive a sub-level accreditation status. If the percentage of students passing SOL tests is too low, the school will not be accredited at all.
"To think that if your accreditation level is 70 percent and you hit that 70 percent level, that means that 30 percent of your students would not be achieving a high school diploma," Witt pointed out.
"I don't think that's acceptable. I don't think that offers adequate flexibility for local schools to serve their students.
"We want to be accountable and we want to raise our standards and we're doing that," continued Witt.
"But, at the same time, you can't set your standards so that it's a pre-college curriculum and expect 100 percent of the students to achieve that curriculum. It's unrealistic. It's too narrow in its focus."
High School Graduation
The issue of high school graduation is one that will impact students and their families not only here in Halifax County, but across the state.
There are only two routes to a high school diploma.
Students may earn a standard high school diploma through the traditional academic route, which, for next year's seniors, will include a requirement of their having passed at least six of 12 end-of-course tests.
If a student is in the special education program, the student could earn an IEP diploma.
"That doesn't leave much room for kids in the middle who can be held to high standards but may not be able to pass all of the required SOL tests," Witt pointed out.
"If you don't have a special educational need, an IEP, then we have to expect that you're going to pass the SOLs. But, I can tell you, in reality, a lot of kids are not going to."
Witt believes that state officials will make changes in the SOL program after next year, if not before.
"I think they will make some changes because next year, when a high percentage of students do not qualify for a high school diploma, you're going to see, I believe, some mass resistance," Witt noted.
"I think you will see an uprising of parents and legislators who feel like we haven't met the needs of all students as it is set up right now."
Witt believes a good percentage of Halifax County's students will earn the verified credits and receive a standard diploma.
But, there will also be a fair percentage of students who will not.
For those students, the school system's only option is to award them a local certificate of completion.
"I'm saying there will be a fairly good group of kids that will be just below the standard diploma," Witt pointed out.
"Below this group we will probably have some kids who will not make it and who will be dropouts or who, for whatever reason, will not complete the courses that are necessary to certify them locally.
"We've always had a certain percentage that just don't make it," Witt added.
"We don't like it and we're continuing to work on it."
Witt admits that if, for example, 60 percent of next year's senior class meet the verified credits criteria to qualify for a standard high school diploma and the remaining 40 percent do not, an uprising of local parents could occur.
"I certainly see a concern on the part of parents," he said.
"Parents want their children to complete a high school program. That's an American dream. That's part of our culture and we cannot disenfranchise a large number of our students based on just these end-of-course tests."
How the Halifax County school system will deal with those students who do not earn enough verified credits to receive a standard high school diplomas is not known at this time.
The school system offers a certificate of completion for those students who do not earn enough credits to achieve a standard high school diploma.
However, it will have to be tweaked over the coming year to meet the school system's new needs.
"We're going to have to make it a little more accommodating for ourselves so that our students can still take a fairly rigorous curriculum and take either technical or vocational applications and complete our local program," Witt explained.
"That may or may not include a GED test.
Witt says he sees a need for a general studies diploma "to indicate that you still had met a fairly rigorous curriculum but you hadn't necessarily gone the SOL route - that you hadn't passed all of the verified credits - that you hadn't taken all of the Algebra I, Algebra II and geometry.
"I don't think that's watering down the curriculum to an unacceptable level," he continued.
"I think there is a place for technical mathematics and consumer mathematics and vocational diplomas where students still have had to pass the high-level courses at the local level.
"If they want to do a verified test for those classes, then that's okay. I wouldn't object to that."
Higher Education
An interesting related question that Witt and school system officials will have to explore in the coming year is whether or not area community colleges will accept students who receive a local certificate of completion.
The answer to that question is not known.
However, he indicated he wants the school system to put something in place that will allow local students to pursue a higher education.
"We want something that community colleges will honor and accept our students to go on to higher programs," he pointed out.
The impact for Halifax County in terms of the percentage of next year's graduating seniors who will receive a standard high school diploma is not immediately known.
"We're going to try to sit down this spring and analyze the impact and analyze our students to see how many students are going to be impacted and what it is we can do about it - what kind of response we can make," Witt stated.
"We're going to see if we need to adjust our local program of completion and decide what it takes for a student to march across the stage with his or her classmates and be handed some kind of certificate from the Halifax County School Board."
The 'Non-Accredited' Tag
On another SOL-related issue - the issue of applying the tag "non-accredited" to a school -Witt makes no bones about his dislike of that term.
"Since Day One I've been opposed to this non-accreditation level of identification," he said.
"Give it some other term like 'accredited with warning' or 'fails to meet standards' but don't say non-accredited.
"I think it's overkill and it's not necessary," continued Witt.
"As long as you have truth in reporting and as long as people can know what the standards are, where their students are functioning, and where their own students are functioning, then you let the data speak for itself and let the localities deal with those schools that are not functioning where they feel they ought to be.
"I don't think the state needs to come in with a heavy hand and mark a school unaccredited based solely on the SOL tests," he added.
"There are lots of factors that have to be evaluated in what a good school is and what's going on in a particular school."
Witt says point blank he is not using any of this as an attempt to make excuses.
"We don't want to do that," Witt pointed out, "and we will hold our folks to a high level of accountability.
"But let us do that. Let the school boards and parents take care of that. The state needs to set the standards and report the accountability and let the locality deal with it."

When cattleman Ned Strange decided to diversify three years ago, "The whole idea was to use something we already had and not have to spend a lot of money and time."
For Strange and his son, Ned Jr., the answer was "meat" goats.
Goat meat is the most consumed meat worldwide, explained the Alton goat producer.
"With the increasing ethnic population in the Eastern U.S., there is a demand for goat meat that is not being met by domestic production," Strange said.
Muslims, Jews and Greeks are among consumers of goat meat, he explained, with demand particularly high during religious celebrations that range from November to April.
The largest goat producing area in the nation is Texas, according to Strange, which means goats, which do not travel well, must be shipped long distances to the Northeast market.
The Stranges, as well as a handful of other Halifax and Pittsylvania County goat producers, are selling to the Eastern market.
After "quite a bit of research," Strange first bought 13 South African Boer goats that had been crossed with Spanish goats.
"This combination seems to produce an animal with superior muscling, good mothering abilities and one adaptable to our climate," he said.
The combination became the basis of his current herd of about 75. Since then he has infused additional Boer blood.
For a 30-pound, milk-fed goat, Strange said that a producer might receive close to $2 per pound. "But that is a small goat," he added.
He and his son usually sell 70-to- 80-pound goats for the Muslim celebrations following Ramadan. The price for the larger goats average about 90 cents per pound. "It also needs to be graded choice or prime," he added.
At the Alton farm, Strange has both Black Angus cattle and goats. The goats are rotated with the cattle on a 150-acre farm that is divided into 11 paddocks. At the Vernon Hill farm, his son raises cattle.
There are, he said, pluses and minuses with a goat operation.
On the plus side, while Strange has about two acres allotted per cow, he can put six goats on one acre of land.
Goats also keep the fields clean, consuming bark, twigs, briers, blackberry bushes and unwanted volunteer trees. "Even sprouts from old stumps," observed Strange. "They do a good job of cleaning up stuff cows are not interested in eating."
While goats prefer tall woody plants, tall grass, browse and weeds, cows prefer shorter grasses.
In one cut-over section, Strange said plants that he had sprayed and clipped in the past "now produce meat at little cost to me."
And he doesn't fed hay "unless snow is on the ground."
Since goats and cows are not susceptible to the same parasites, "one species vacuums the pastures for the other," added the goat producer.
Goats are also easy to transport to market. The Stranges use a pickup truck.
On the minus side, "You can't put them out and forget about them. They are very susceptible to worms," explained the Alton farmer.
To combat the worm threat, at three-month intervals Strange and his son round up the goats and give them anti-worm medication. In addition, there are all the regular vaccinations for young goats, as well as hoof-trimming chores several times a year. "That is back-breaking work," added Strange.
Good fencing is another requirement for goat production.
"I use high-tensil, electric fence. I added an additional strand of wire two inches off of the ground and I like to think it keeps the goats in and the dogs out," said Strange. "Dogs can be a problem."
And, yes, the billy goat can be mean. "They can knock you around," admitted Strange, with a smile. But, still smiling, he declined to name a specific encounter.
"The cattle business is better now than in years," observed Strange, as he relaxed at Cedar Grove Farm. "But it is always in cycle."
For the Stranges, goats have proven a good commercial herd alternative. "We have enjoyed it, and the grandchildren are involved," said Strange. "Like so many farms, we needed to diversify."

Halifax County will be trying to stay afloat in the Western District race here tonight when it faces Albemarle in a key Western District game.
To say that tonight's game is important would be somewhat of an understatement.
A win will put the Comets into a tie with Albemarle for second place in the Western District standings.
The result of that is that the Comets then would have a shot at playing for first or second place in the district and a shot at a home game for the first round of the district tournament.
A loss will almost certainly doom the Comets to finishing third in the district for what would be the third consecutive year.
The result is that the Comets would then have to play its opening round district tournament game on the road.
"That is, unless some crazy things happen," said Comets coach Garrett Dillard whose team is 8-7 overall and 1-2 in Western District play.
Dillard has made his team aware of the importance of tonight's Western District contest.
Dillard said he made his team aware of the importance of this game when they stepped onto the floor for practice Monday.
The decision on whether or not to emphasize the game was difficult.
"Sometimes you just don't know what to do in a situation like that," he said.
"Some kids take the pressure well and it actually elevates their game. Some take the pressure and it deflates their game."
What effect the pressure of tonight's key Western District game will have on the Comets won't be known until the two teams tip it off tonight at 8 p.m.
Initially, things went well for the Comets this week as Dillard reported that the team had a good practice Monday.
But illnesses have creeped into the Comets' ranks. A couple or three players missed practice Tuesday and one or two of them were questionable Wednesday.
Shamoni Faulkner, Dashawn Baird, and Brian King have been hit will illness this week.
Teddy Bradley, who sat out last Friday's game against GW due to illness is back and should be ready to play tonight.
Whatever situation unfolds, Dillard says he plans to go tonight with the same group that he has put on the floor all along.
And, he says he's not going make any excuses.
"We're going to put our best guys on the floor and play," he said.
"And the plan is to win."
Dillard and the Comets have not beaten Albemarle since Dillard took over the reigns of the Comets.
Halifax County has lost its last seven consecutive meetings to the Patriots and coach Greg Maynard but Dillard feels his team can turn the tables.
"I think the guys feel like we can beat them," Dillard said.
"We played them close up there (in the first meeting of the two teams in Charlottesville) early on. We just have to remember what we did to start the game up there, put that in a capsule and try to do that again tonight."
In the earlier meeting, the Comets jumped out to an early lead but went cold in the second period, allowing Albemarle to get back into the game.
And, in a late flurry, the Comets' Sterling Williams, who had seven three-point baskets in the game, canned four three-point shots in the final 39 seconds.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the Comets lost 71-68.
Dillard pointed out that the big thing tonight is to prevent Albemarle from making a big run that would put his team deep into a hole as has happened in his team's last two games.
"We need to be aware of not having moments where they go on a run," the Comets' coach pointed out.
"I consider anything in which the other team scores six straight points or more to be a run.
"We will have to do something to break the run, whether it's to hold the ball, be patient offensively, call a time-out, or do something different."
Dillard indicated his team will come out tonight with its regular game.
He stated that his team will try to get some shots inside on Albemarle's 6-9 center Ian Johnson and 6-5 forward Ryan Pehanick.
The Comets got some inside shots last week against a taller, more physical, GW team. But, they couldn't finish them off.
Dillard said he counted seven layups his team missed against GW.
"That's 14 points we could have had that would have made it a different type of game. That could have changed the game."
The Comets will also be trying to lace some sort of inside game with its outside shooting.
Halifax County has knocked down 85 three-point baskets this season.
In that, Dillard said, he will emphasize patience.
"The thing the guys have to understand is that when the three is open, sometimes they need to be patient and wait until it comes around the second time."
Tonight's game is the headline game of what is a doubleheader weekend for the Comets.
Saturday night the Comets travel to Dinwiddie to face the Generals.
Dillard said he and the Comets will make the journey to Dinwiddie to win.
But, the game plan will be a little different.
"We're going up there with the purpose to win but we're going to give some of the guys that haven't played as much a chance to play," said Dillard.
"These guys work hard in practice and they deserve a chance to play. Hopefully we will be play everybody."

Dock Wendell Sanford, 60, of 1901 Howard Avenue, South Boston, died January 27 at his home.
Mr. Sanford was born in Halifax County on September 19, 1940, the son of Doctor Sanford and Delia Henderson Sanford and was married to Frances Morris Sanford. He was a former employee of Climate Control.
Survivors include his wife; two daughters, Debra Denise Sanford of Dale City and Veronica Luvenia Sanford of Washington, D.C.; two sons, Albert Wendell Sanford of South Boston and Frank Edward Sanford Sr. of Statesville, N.C.; nine grandchildren; five sisters, Elvira Carden and Gracie Poindexter, both of South Boston, Veronica Sanford, Susie Poindexter and Lillian Sims, all of Baltimore, Md.; and one brother, Roy Lee Sanford of Baltimore.
Funeral services for Mr. Sanford will be held February 3 at 1 p.m. at the Chapel of Jeffress Funeral Home with the Rev. Sandy Palmer officiating. Burial will follow in Rose Garden Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home.

Josie Landrum Epps, 83, of 1043 Dixon Lane, Halifax, died January 30 at The Woodview.
Mrs. Epps was born in Halifax County on May 15, 1917, the daughter of Linwood Landrum and Mattie Webb Landrum and was married to Robert Booker Epps. She was a member of Winns Creek Baptist Church.
Survivors include five daughters, Dorothy E. Kinder of Cedar Bluff, Charlotte E. Lloyd of Scottsburg, Connie Gayle E. Womack of Halifax, Jackie E. Ingram of South Boston and Linda E. Hart of Java; one son, Robert Dunn Epps of South Boston; 14 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
Graveside services Mrs. Epps will be held today, February 2 at Winns Creek Baptist Church Cemetery at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Dane Skelton conducting the service.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Winns Creek Baptist Church Building Fund.

Arthur Presley Mills Jr., 69, of 1150 Beaver Pond Road, Nathalie, died February 1 at Berry Hill Nursing Home.
Mr. Mills was born in Halifax County on December 25, 1931, the son of Arthur Presley Mills Sr. and Velma Landrum Mills and was married to Christine Eades Mills. He was a member of Catawba Baptist Church, the American Legion Post 342 Volens and a U.S. Army Veteran.
Survivors include his wife of South Boston, one daughter and son-in-law, Cindy Mills Lloyd and Donnie Lloyd of Nathalie; one granddaughter, Anne Elizabeth Lloyd of Nathalie; and one brother, Joe Mills of Nathalie.
A funeral service for Mr. Mills will be held February 3 at 11 a.m. at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Dwight Moore conducting the service. Burial will take place in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the home of his daughter and son-in-law, 1244 Beaver Pond Road, Nathalie. You may also go by to see his wife at Berry Hill Nursing Home.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the American Lung Association, 311 South Blvd., Richmond 23221.

Ruth Terry Epps, 80, of Roman Eagle Nursing Home, Danville, died February 1 at the nursing home.
Mrs. Epps was born in Halifax County on December 10, 1920, the daughter of Samuel H. Terry and Ava M. Terry.
Survivors include one daughter, Geraldine Loftis of Halifax; one son, Robert E. Epps Jr. of Halifax; five grandchildren; one step-grandchild; four great-grandchildren; two step great-grandchildren; three sisters, Elizabeth T. Hunnicutt of Sutherlin, Martha Rowland of South Boston and Ava Belle Martin of Lynchburg; three dear friends, Irene Carter, Elizabeth Yates and Marcie Guill, all of Danville. She was preceded in death by one son, Hurley Epps; one daughter, Linda Ruth Hudson and one grandson, Michael Hudson.
A funeral service for Mrs. Epps will be held February 3 at 2 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with the Revs. Latta Terry and Coy Terry conducting the service. Burial will take place in Halifax Memorial Gardens.
The family will receive friends at Powell Funeral home this evening, February 2, from 7:00 until 8:30, and other times at the home of her daughter, Geraldine Loftis.