A bale's value goes beyond the grade sheet...

With ever-tightening margins and increasing competition, the influence a gin can have on a spinner's bottom line is overlooked at the mill's own peril. Unfortunately, a persistant ingrained distrust between industry segments complicates useful information exchange.

The power of the Certification program is rooted in increased communication between industry segments that want to capitalize on identifying good partners in the supply chain. With the Certified Cotton Gin Program cotton buyers are no longer asked to believe that all gins are about the same. The truth is that many gins put in a lot of extra effort to meet the needs of the mills that spin the cotton they process. Cotton buyers who take the time to seek these gins out can reap the great benefits listed below.

Best of all, since you've found this website, you already know where to find the valuable information you are looking for. CertifiedCotton.com maintains a free listing of gins participating in the Certified Cotton Gin Program.

Primary Certification

Sometimes referred to as the 'good ginning practices' level, a gin must meet all of the requirements of Primary Certification to participate in the program. These requirements include several criteria that are not listed on a bale's grade sheet. When you buy a bale from a Certified Cotton Gin, you have extra assurance that the gin:

  • Does not restore moisture with a water spray device

  • Monitors drying temperatures both before and after mixpoints

  • Has automatic high temperature limit protection on all heaters

  • Has a contamination prevention policy

  • Has a minimum of a handheld meter to measure moisture in both seed cotton and lint

  • Has trained personnel on the importance of the above issues

Gentle Drying

Virtually all modern gins have some type of drying system. This symbol represents a 'Gentle Drying' approach. Ratings in this category help a mill identify gins with drying systems that adhere to a high-air volume, low-temperature drying philosophy. This approach protects fibers from excessive temperatures and prepares the cotton for better and more efficient cleaning. The score sheet addresses key criteria for effective Gentle Drying systems, including penalties for excessive cylinder cleaning prior to the majority of drying, which can lead to increased neps.

Seed Cotton Conditioning

Cotton arrives at the gin dry or is dried in the pre-cleaning phase for efficient cleaning without tangling fibers. Restoring moisture before it passes through the ginning/lint cleaning phase can give dry, brittle fiber extra protection before it passes through saws. This results in better uniformity, longer staple and better strength; all of which are reflected on a grade sheet. Seed Cotton Conditioning also reduces the short fiber content, which is not a part of a bale's official grade. A gin's rating in this category can help you select bales with less short fiber and reduce your number of ends down.

Lint Conditioning

The most misunderstood gin moisture issue is lint moisture restoration. This is understandable because of the problems caused by abuses. It is also regrettable, because when done properly, it can benefit everyone, including the mills. A gin's rating in this category can guide you to gins offering the following benefits of properly moisture controlled bales:

  • Bales open to a uniform and manageable height in the opening room

  • Fewer broken bale ties makes handling bales easier and safer

  • Faster conditioning times in the opening room, means faster processing

  • More consistent bale weights

  • Assures that the gin is applying moisture uniformly throughout the bale

  • Assures that the gin is not using a water spray device

Moisture Monitoring & Management Systems

Moisture monitoring systems help gins attain optimal moisture at crtitical points in the ginning process. Ratings in this category are based on the presence of online moisture sensors at key points, operator access to the readings, and how this information is used for automatic process control. These ratings can help a mill assess a gin's ability to:

  • Monitor moisture in critical points in the gin that impact fiber quality

  • Promote lower temperature drying through automatic process control

  • Consistently control moisture

Pedigreed Bale

Having the necessary equipment and people in place to manipulate the moisture of the cotton as it flows through the gin is critical to achieving the goal of optimal processing.  Beyond that, the next step is permanently recording processing data to assure system performance, identify and troubleshoot problems, and provide meaningful data for analysis.  The ideal data recording system would provide a database log with relevant processing data such as Bale ID, moistures at key points, drying system temperatures, seed cotton conditioning operating temperatures, lint conditioning operating temperatures and operator setpoints.

  • Allows you to monitor under what conditions a bale was ginned

  • Provides helpful data for bale selection and analyzing lay-down performance

  • Helps determine the root cause of any problems with a particular bale