Virginia Tobacco Trust Certification Board Announces Public Information Meetings

RICHMOND (October 20, 1999) -- The Virginia Tobacco Trust Certification Board, Inc. announced today a series of public information meetings concerning grower and quota holder payments from the National Tobacco Grower Settlement Trust (Phase II), the settlement negotiated between the tobacco growing states and cigarette manufacturers. The first meeting will be Oct. 27 in Halifax County, with meetings scheduled throughout Virginia Nov. 1 through Nov. 4. The purpose of the meetings is to summarize the application and payment process, address questions, and review individual circumstances.

Applications will be mailed to farm operators who will be responsible for verifying data and obtaining the signatures of quota owners and producers associated with the farm. Completed forms must be postmarked by Nov. 19 and payment to farmers is projected to begin Dec. 31. Approximately $25 million will be distributed to Virginia farmers this year, the first payment of the nearly $340 million to be administered over the next 12 years.

"These payments are going to help tobacco farmers who have experienced significant reductions in the tobacco quota during the last two years," said C.D. Bryant, Chairman of Concerned Friends for Farmers and a member of the board. "We must all work together to ensure that payments are made in a timely fashion. I want to encourage all tobacco farmers to attend the public information meetings and to meet the deadlines that have been set."

Several decisions have been made by the board concerning the 1999 payment. Eligibility for the payments will be based on USDA Farm Service Agency data from July 1, 1998 and the base year for the per pound payments will be 1998. Flue-cured tobacco payments will be split evenly between the quota owner and the producer. Burley tobacco payments will give 25 percent to the quota owner and 75 percent to the producer.

The board has retained McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe LLP to provide legal counsel and Chase Manhattan Bank to process and disburse the settlement funds.

Burley Tobacco Meeting Schedule

Flue-cured Tobacco Meeting Schedule