The annual U.S. Tobacco Forum for 2011 has been slated for June 23-24 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Conference Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Some items on the agenda have been outlined but at this point these remain tentative, notes Kathy Kennel, executive director of the N.C. Tobacco Foundation, which is one of the sponsors of the event.
The yearly event typically covers topics of concern for the industry, particularly for farmers and tobacco manufacturers. In 2010 session topics ran the gamut of subjects of interest in the industry, from changes to tobacco crop insurance to season marketing outlooks for both burley and flue-cured tobacco.
Food and Drug Administration regulation of tobacco, called for in Congressional legislation known as the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, was a hot topic of concern last year and perhaps will be an even hotter topic this year.
Economist Blake Brown of N.C. State University discussed the Flue-cured outlook at the 2010 meeting and his peer, Will Snell, a University of Kentucky economist, talked about the situation for burley and dark tobacco during the 2010 meeting.
Chemical residues on tobacco, discussed in last year's sessions, remain an important concern in 2011.
Although specific topics have not yet been named, space has been carved out for a number of discussion subjects during the two-day event. These will be bookended on Thursday, June 23, between registration at noon and a close of day dinner at the popular Angus Barn at 7 p.m.
On Friday, June 24, the educational sessions will fall between a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m. in the auditorium foyer and a golf outing in the afternoon.
For more information contact Kathy Kennel at 919-515-9259.