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COTTON FARMING IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE GINNING INDUSTRY.
TCGA Interns Share Real-World Experiences
The Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association has two interns joining the organization for the summer and is excited for these young people to experience the cotton industry. Both will be with member gins throughout their internships. TCGA said they had good applicants from both Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University and settled on one from each school.
“We are looking forward to having these young men with us,” TCGA’s Aaron Nelsen said. “As in the past, we will have them report on their summer experience via the newsletter each month. Let’s meet our 2024 interns.”
Wesley Neuendor is a student at Texas A&M University majoring in agricultural systems management. He will graduate in December this year. Neuendor has worked as a master plumber over the course of his time at Texas A&M servicing multiple residential homes.
He has performed maintenance on farm equipment and earned certification training in welder performance in 2019. Neuendor was an active FFA member while in high school in Brenham, Texas. He is interning at Johnson Gin in Silverton and will finish up at United Agricultural Cooperative in El Campo.
Nathan Haden is a student at Texas Tech University major-
ing in mechanical engineering. His expected graduation date is December 2026. Haden’s work experience includes fabrication of flatbeds. He grew up on a ranch in Barry, Texas, and has experience with farm equipment.
Haden is a member of Robotics and Advanced Technology Systems (RATS) at Texas Tech University. He has used AutoCad to design components for a delivery robot in the classroom. Haden is interning with WesTex Co-op Gin in Slaton and will finish up at United Agricultural Cooperative in El Campo.
Nelsen said they are excited for these college students to have the chance to show their value to potential employers this summer. Hopefully, they will be able to gain valuable “real-world experience” and get ready to take the next step in their careers.
Stay tuned to hear from these young men as they navigate their summer internships. Following are their initial reports:
Nathan Haden — Texas Tech University
I’ve been graciously given the opportunity this summer to see how a cotton gin works. For the past two weeks, I have been working under Tony Newton, manager of WesTex Co-op gin. I’ve been blessed to get the internship when I did because
“Granberry
the gin is replacing its old bale press with a new one, and I get to be part of it.
The first week I cleaned out debris between the rollers on the module feeder, put new chains and sprockets on it, replaced some of the rollers and greased up some of the joints. That same week I was able to go to their co-op store in O’Donnell and help around there. I helped restock shelves, reorganized inventory and even observed how they kept track of items that farmers bought so they could get in and out without wasting time standing in line.
During my second work week at WesTex Co-op, we started taking out the old hydraulic pipes and electric wires for the bale press to get ready to put in the new one. It was really cool to see how much hydraulic fluid and electricity it took to run this massive press to make a cotton bale. Taking everything down took a lot of time and patience to make sure nothing was damaged in the process.
During that week, Mr. Newton was super nice and arranged a tour of PYCO. PYCO takes the cotton seed from the gins and turns it into cottonseed oil. It was so interesting to see how the seed was processed into oil and how everything from the seed was used and wasn’t wasted. The seed had to go through a cleaning process three times just to get most of the leftover lint. The majority of the waste goes to cattle feed since it’s super high in fiber and protein.
So far, the first half of my internship has been great. I have learned a lot from Mr. Newton, and I still have so much more to learn. I am very appreciative of all he has done for me. I can’t wait for my second half at United Agricultural Cooperative with Jimmy N. Roppolo, the manager of the plant in El Campo. During the season, I will get to see how all the machines work and how they problem-solve under pressure.
Thank you so much, Arron Nelsen, the TCGA and God for the opportunity to be a part of this internship.
Wesley Neuendor — Texas A&M University
When I first found out from Aaron Nelsen via a phone call that I had gotten the internship for TCGA, I knew I was in for a lot of new things I had never learned before. Needless to say, I have learned so many new things when it comes to running, operating and maintaining a cotton gin.
The first day I came in, I stayed in Turkey, Texas, and my point of contact was Daniel Jenkins, who is the gin manager at the Johnson Gin in Silverton, Texas. The first night was very rough as there was a good-sized tornado that had touched down near Silverton and was headed towards Turkey. Thankfully, it passed by but made for a rough night of sleep.
During the first week, Daniel showed me what he does day to day with marketing and selling production seed to nearby cotton farmers and gave me a rough overview of how the gin works. I then moved on to the Edcot Gin in Edmonson, Texas, where Landon Kidd gave me an in depth overview of how the cotton gin works, how they deal with the round modules on the module feeder and how they utilize the “Sidewinder” to unwrap and flip the round modules.
Landon Kidd then took me to Lubbock where we toured multiple cotton manufacturing companies that produce the components a cotton gin needs to run. The key places were Sam Jackson, MTS, Ford Gin Services and RAM Manufacturing where I learned how they produce and make pieces of machinery that a cotton gin needs.
I then worked with Kevin Williams and got more hands-on by helping his crew at the D&J Gin in Lockney where we were redesigning the gin with some improvements and additions to the building structure. I also got a better insight as to how he supervises all the southern region of the Windstar group of gins.
In my second week, I have been at Lonestar Gin in Pampa where I have been working with Carey McKinney, who is the gin manager. I have also been working with Dalton Skinner, who is the gin superintendent. Let me be the first to say that Dalton has been the best when it comes to how a cotton gin works, and he really knows how to work with the employees in the gin as well. Carey gave me more of the business side expertise and helped me understand what it takes to keep Lonestar Gin in business.
Carey also sent me out to Hobart, Oklahoma, where we helped Dr. Randy Bowman with cotton seed trials with 18 different seeds. We planted them to see which seeds grow better in the climate. I also got hands-on experience with Dalton where I helped some of the employees get ready for next season by performing maintenance and modifications of the bale presses, the gin stands and the lint cleaners.
I would say the first part of my internship started a little slow, but as it has progressed, I am learning so much about what it takes to maintain a cotton gin and how a cotton gin makes money. I have learned so much from di erent gin managers in the area and especially a lot from Dalton Skinner who is a person who understands how to operate a cotton gin.
I would like to thank Aaron Nelsen and TCGA for giving me the opportunity to gain experience with something I have never done before. I have learned so much in this internship. I cannot wait to see how next month goes when I see a cotton gin in operation!
TCGA provided this information.
Best Practices For Processing Suspect Fire Bales At Cotton Gins And Cotton Warehouses
There is a necessity for a fire prevention policy between cotton gins and cotton warehouses to minimize the risk of fire hazards in the storing and shipping of lint. These practices should be used when detecting and handling suspect fire bales: where a visible flame was present in the gin, a detection device alerted a risk and was verified by gin sta , an odor of fire was present or any other flame risk where ignition could be possible is found. These practices are recommended by the National Cotton Council as a minimum standard when working with insurance companies.
Gin practices for processing suspect fire bales:
■ Gin should isolate suspect fire bales from other bales by placing the suspect fire bales in a monitoring location as
Wesley Neuendor
Nathan Haden
selected by gin management.
■ Gin should isolate a minimum of two additional bales before and after the suspect fire bale for a total of five bales including the suspect fire bale, or more bales as determined by gin management.
■ Gin should notify warehouse management of any prior cotton loads delivered or in transit associated with the suspect fire bales as determined by gin management.
■ Gin should retain suspect fire bales and additional bales for a minimum of five days from the date of suspected detection at the gin premise or longer as determined by gin management.
Gin practices for the delivery of suspect fire bales after the monitoring period:
■ Gin should clearly mark the bales as suspect fire bales with approved marking materials as provided by the warehouse. Suspected fire bales should be clearly marked with adhesive tags or tape on both sides of each bale. No markings may be added to the exterior of the bale that cannot be removed without risk of damage to the bagging material.
■ Gin should identify suspect bales on the appropriate reporting to the warehouse sta .
■ Gin agrees that delivery of suspect fire bales is limited to daytime shifts of warehouse operation hours.
■ Gin sta should load suspect fire bales to the back of the truck when shipping to aid warehouse sta in identifying suspected fire bales in a mixed load.
Warehouse practices for processing suspect fire bales:
■ Warehouse sta should isolate the suspect fire bales on arrival at a designated area.
■ Warehouse sta should receive, record the location and issue warehouse receipts at the warehouse’s discretion for the suspected fire bales.
Like gins, cotton warehouses also have practices for processing suspect re bales.
■ Warehouse sta should conduct daily monitoring of the suspect fire bales and return the bales to inventory after a monitoring period is completed as determined by warehouse management.
■ Warehouse sta should remove markings or adhesive tags designating suspect fire bales after monitoring period is complete.
Gin and warehouse should each agree to practice and implement these procedures for suspect fire bales and notify each other of any alterations or deviations to agreed-upon practices regarding suspect fire bales, prior to implementing any new practices.
The National Cotton Ginners’ Association provided this information.
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