Tom Stallings of the Funston Gin in Funston, Georgia, is named the 2021 Southeast Cotton Ginner of the Year. The award was presented at the Southern Southeastern Annual Meeting held recently in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Southern Southeastern is a joint meeting of the Southern Cotton Growers and Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association. The award was presented by National Cotton Council President Kent Fountain.
Stallings began his career in agriculture working for Gold Kist after serving his country in Viet Nam and graduating from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia. Stallings worked with many farmers while at Gold Kist and had a dream of someday owning a cotton gin. In 1987, he put together a deal to purchase a small gin from the 50 farmers who owned it. That gin grew from about 3,000 bales per year to a high of more than 90,000 bales in 2001.
Stallings has held numerous leadership positions with the Southeastern Cotton Ginners, National Cotton Council and is a past president of the Cotton Warehouse Association of America. He has represented the cotton industry across the world in these various roles. He often sponsors local youth clubs and teams and is a longtime supporter of the Moss Farm Aquatic and Diving Center in Moultrie, Georgia.
The Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association awards the Southeast Ginner of the Year to deserving recipients who have shown leadership and meet the qualifications set out by the awards committee. The awardee must be a progressive ginner who endeavors to keep cotton strong in their community, is active in the industry, respected by his peers, active in civic affairs and generally supportive of the cotton industry. Nominations are submitted by other members of the association and selected by the award committee.
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National Cotton Ginners Board Meeting Set During The 2022 NCC Annual Meeting
Online pre-registration and hotel reservations for those planning to attend the National Cotton Council’s 2022 Annual Meeting can be done at www.cotton.org/news/meetings/am/.
The meeting will be held Feb. 11-13, 2022, at the Marriott Marquis in Houston. Room reservations also can be made by calling the hotel at 1-877-688-4323. For air and car rental reservations, contact Peggy Robinson, the NCC’s travel consultant at Travelennium, at 1-800-672-6694 or probinson@travelennium.com.
The meeting will include the National Cotton Ginners Board Meeting from 1-2:30 p.m. and the American Cotton Producers session from 2:30-4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 11. The program committee meetings will occur on Saturday, Feb. 12, from 9-10:30 a.m. The final event, the General Session, begins at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 13, and concludes by 10 a.m. that day. It will include the NCC’s planting intentions survey results.
The Saturday luncheon will feature a “2022 Election Outlook” by David Wasserman, who serves as House editor and senior election analyst for the non-partisan Cook Political Report.
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NCC Contamination Prevention Videos
Plastic contamination poses a serious threat to U.S. cotton’s reputation in the global fiber market. The National Cotton Council has developed a YouTube video training series on the subject that consists of 12 chapters. The videos are available in both English and Spanish versions. Here are the topics:
⇒ Introduction by Dr. Gary Adams, NCC president/CEO.
⇒ Introduction to prevention of plastic contamination. A review of sources of potential plastic contamination and how they affect the textile processing, resulting in decreased demand for U.S. cotton.
⇒ In the field (producers, custom harvesters and harvester operators). A review of where to look for plastic contaminates in the field before harvest and how to properly store empty rolls of round module wrap.
⇒ During harvest (producers, custom harvesters and harvester operators). A review of the importance of following the John Deere round module harvester guides and keeping open communication with the gin manager.
⇒ Machine operation (producers, custom harvesters and harvester operators). A review of machine calibration and common problems seen on the John Deere 7760, CP690 and CS690 cotton harvesters that can lead to contamination from round module wrap.
⇒ Module handling (producers, custom harvesters, harvester operators, staging tractor drivers and module truck drivers). A review of the best handling practices to prevent contamination when moving round modules in the field.
⇒ How to stage modules in the field (producers, custom harvesters, harvester operators, staging tractor drivers and module truck drivers). A review of optimal location/alignment when staging round modules in the field.
⇒ Loading a module truck (module truck drivers). A review of preferred module truck chain types and correct chain-to-ground speed when picking up round modules in a field using a traditional module truck.
⇒ Loading a flatbed truck (module loader drivers in the field). A review of best loading practices when using a flatbed trailer to haul round modules from the field to the gin.
⇒ Unloading modules in the gin yard (module truck drivers, drivers of module loaders at the gin, gin managers/superintendents and gin employees). A review of the optimal location/alignment for staging round modules on the gin yard.
⇒ How to handle round modules at the gin (gin managers/superintendents, gin module feeder employees and other gin employees). A review of how to avoid wrap punctures or tears before ginning.
⇒ Unwrapping/cutting open modules (gin managers/superintendents, gin module feeder employees and other gin employees). A review of the importance of following proper wrap removal techniques and John Deere round module cut guidelines to avoid plastic contamination when unwrapping.
⇒ Conclusion. This chapter is for everyone.
The National Cotton Council contributed to this article.
Cotton’s Calendar
Some listed events may be canceled or postponed due to COVID-19. Please verify the status with the individual organizations.
Feb. 9-11: Louisiana Agricultural Technology & Management
Conference, Paragon Casino Resort, Marksville, Louisiana.
Feb. 11-13: NCC Annual Meeting, Marriott Marquis, Houston, Texas
Feb. 22: Rolling Plains Cotton Growers Annual Meeting, Big Country Hall, Taylor County Expo Center, Abilene, Texas.