Improved ginning technology developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists may soon correct this.
Sensors determine the quality of incoming cotton and send the information to a computer.
Once the color of the cotton, foreign matter, and moisture content are known, the software decides the best sequence of machine-cleaning and drying to get the best market quality and value. The gin process control system also considers the performance characteristics of gin machinery, such as foreign matter removal, fiber loss, and fiber degradation. The system allows ginners to customize their ginning process for each farmer so as to increase farmer profits. For instance, if a farmer knows the market price for various grades of cotton in advance, the ginner can integrate the actual market price with initial cotton quality information and determine the sequence needed to optimize dollar returns for that farmer. Before this invention, assessing the effect each ginning process would have on cotton properties was nearly impossible.