ARS agricultural engineer Gregory A. Holt and colleagues process the cotton gin trash at a pilot plant in their Cotton Production and Processing Research Unit cotton gin facility. More than 60 commercial mills across North America produce over 610,000 tons of fuel pellets a year. Typically made of sawdust and ground wood chips, the pellets are available for purchase at stove dealers, nurseries, building supply stores, and feed and garden supply stores. The key to the COBY recipe is a hot gelatinized starch solution that not only makes the feed more digestible, but also acts as a glue and lubricant to smooth the materials' flow through equipment. The recipe can include molasses, cottonseed, various grain meals, urea, sawdust and other items as needed.
Early tests show the feed more digestible than commonly used feed made from cotton seed hulls.
Cotton Incorporated , Raleigh, N.C., helps fund the research and development. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture 's principal scientific research agency.