Cotton Crop Processing
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HUMBOLDT, Tenn.– West Tennessee Farmers are hauling in the last of the cotton crop. That means it is the busiest time of the year at local cotton gins. The hard weekend freeze ended the growing season for West Tennessee, but farmers are still picking the last of the cotton crop. “Over 90% of the cotton is fully open. The freeze didn’t hurt it. Most growers around here are approximately halfway done picking.” James Wages, General Manager Farmers Gin of Humboldt, said. After the cotton is picked it is packed into bales also known as modules. The traditional modules are brick shaped but now, some farmers are using round modules because they feed easier into the gin. “We bring those modules in out of the field, set them on the yard here, and we run them through the gin.” Wages said. Once the bales are unloaded they are fed into an ingestor machine which gets any mud, rocks, or large debris out before heading to the gin. “Two main processes of a cotton gin is to clean the cotton from the picking process and then to remove the seed from the lint.” Wages says. The whole entire cotton plant is used including the sorted seed. “We store the seed which goes for cattle feed and is crushed for oil content.” Wages said. Once the process is over the cotton is baled again and sent off to be made into anything from paper to clothing. Even though the growing season is over farmers and gin operators continue to hope for dry weather which helps speed the process along.
