From Cotton’s Week – Gin School Registrations Encouraged

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The following article is from 2/25/2017 edition of  Cotton’s Week. Southeastern Staff typically participates in teaching some of these schools. All Gins are welcome to participate and we encourage you to look at one of the upcoming Gin Schools.

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U.S. certified ginners, gin managers and superintendents are urged to register for one of the upcoming 2017 Ginner Schools.

School locations and dates are: Southwest Ginners School at the South Plains Ginning Laboratory in Lubbock, TX, on April 3-5; Western Ginners School at the Southwest Ginning Research Laboratory in Mesilla Park, NM, on May 2-4; and Stoneville Ginners School at the USDA Ginning Laboratory in Stoneville, MS, on June 6-8.

The three schools’ programming is coordinated by the National Cotton Ginners’ Assoc. (NCGA), working in conjunction with Tommy Valco, USDA’s cotton technology transfer coordinator, and the three USDA ginning laboratories. The schools will continue to offer the Levels I, II and III of course instruction as well as the continuing education courses. Online registration and course descriptions are at www.cotton.org/ncga/ginschool/index.cfm.

NCGA Executive Vice President Harrison Ashley said programming for Levels I, II and III will feature practical information on all aspects of ginning. Among topics to be covered are understanding basic air flow, controlling gin plant emissions, seed cotton drying and cleaning through the ginning process, and gin waste disposal methods. He said the schools’ overall emphasis will be on increasing ginning efficiency, turning out high quality fiber and, as always, a focus on improving safety.

The Ginner Schools’ Continuing Education courses will cover current ginning issues such as ginning small seed varieties, contamination prevention, RFID technology and tracking modules, and plastic wrap recycling. Also offered will be a research update on fiber processing, management and gin safety, and a special session on lint cleaners. 

School cooperators include: USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, NCGA and its member associations, the NCC, Cotton Incorporated, gin machinery/equipment manufacturers and suppliers, and select land grant universities.