Ginning

West Tennessee producer/ginner Richard Kelley has observed many changes in the cotton industry for the past 40 years. In this interview with Cotton Farming, he discusses some of the major issues as harvest and ginning seasons approach. What's uppermost in your mind as ginning season approaches? The thoughts that come to mind are "survival" and the future of cotton in our area. These are challenging times for cotton as we deal with weak demand, larger carryover and lower prices. Read More »

Nearly every gin in the country has some type of air quality or environmental permit. Some are simple, and some are complex. It is important to know what your permit says because, just like every other government document, you’re responsible for what it says and what you are supposed to be doing. Over the past several years in the Southeast, ... Read More »

OSHA has paid visits to two gins in Texas over the last 12 months. We have learned several lessons from these two visits. One of the main lessons we have learned is that the ginning industry has very good safety programs, policies and procedures in place. If you are following all the recommendations and procedures outlined by your regional and ... Read More »

National Cotton Ginners Association (NCGA) President Dwayne Alford says building and maintaining a well-trained ginning sector workforce is vitally important for the U.S. cotton industry to continue being globally competitive. That’s the key message Alford conveyed in his remarks to the Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association annual meeting last month. “I can’t emphasize enough that a competent ginner workforce is critical ... Read More »

Why the big focus on safety? It's no secret that your associations are the smallest of small businesses, but the role of your associations has become a big part of what you know about ginning cotton. Cotton ginners associations started like most other associations – a way to organize and learn from each other. Read More »

Electricity is one of the top three variable costs for a cotton gin, right next to bagging and ties, and labor. There are two main aspects to the electricity costs paid by a given cotton gin. The first is the energy price, and the second is the quantity of energy used by a cotton gin. Energy efficiency of cotton gins ... Read More »

The TCGA internship program looks to create opportunities for program participants, and we need your help. In many ways, the internship program created by TCGA has gone according to plan. The idea for the program was generated through our safety committee back in 2008. Through the program, we have marketed our industry to many highly capable students at Texas A&M University Read More »