Ginners Marketplace June 2023

Ginners Marketplace

Keep Safety In Front Of Mind During Repair Season

Planting season is finishing up or has finished by now in most places. As spring draws to a close and summer is knocking at the door, most ginners are getting into the full swing of repair season. This is when gins replace the things that wore out during the past gin season or that were patched up to get through the season. It’s also a good time to add new equipment and technology to the gin.

This is the time we really need to pay attention to safety. A lot of the severe accidents we see in gins happen during what we refer to as “non-routine activities.” These are things we may only do once in a while or once in a lifetime, such as putting in new overhead equipment, replacing cyclones, replacing fans or adding a module feeder. All these things are necessary and a normal part of running a cotton gin, but no two are exactly the same.

What Front Of Mind Looks Like

We talk a lot about safety. We try not to preach about it, but it’s di icult not to sometimes. I hope this doesn’t turn out to be one of those times.

Safety is a mindset. It’s not just a set of rules that needs to be pencil whipped. Rules are important, but the rules aren’t

the point. The reason we keep talking about safety and your associations spend a lot of resources on it is to help keep safety in people’s minds. If it’s in the back of your mind when you start to move that fan, it might take a while to eventually creep to the front.

What do I mean? Well, take the example of moving a fan around. To do it safely, you need a machine that’s capable of lifting the fan, strong enough straps or chains, space to move around and a plan. Safety in the back of your mind looks like having a plan and a clear path to move the fan. Safety in the front of your mind has a di erent look.

Safety in front of mind looks like knowing the weight of the fan, making sure the strap or chain is rated properly and inspected, that the lift device can carry that weight according to the manufacturer, PLUS a clear path and a briefing on how it’s going to work. It also means having a back-up when things aren’t working as expected. Safety in front of mind is our goal. We want you (ginner, manager, supervisor, employee) to think about the risks, the ways to fix those risks or minimize them before setting out to do something.

Too many times we’re tempted to grab a frayed lifting strap or sling because “it worked fine last time.” Or we think we can

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get someone to hang on the back of a forklift as counterweight because “it’s just 15 feet out the door” to set it down. We don’t stop to think about the consequences if it fails — if the plan doesn’t work.

 June 21: Staplcotn Board Meeting, 214 W Market Street, Greenwood, Mississippi

 June 21: PCCA Board, Delegate Body & Marketing Pool Committee Meetings, Lubbock, Texas

Ginners Marketplace

Learn From Mistakes Of Others

COTTON FARMING IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE GINNING INDUSTRY.

If you ever need to take a few minutes of entertainment and chuckles, look at YouTube or your favorite video site and watch some “OSHA is this safe” videos. Search for crane or forklift fail videos. The sites are FULL of videos. Most are fortunate that no one got hurt, but a lot of money was spent on fixing the screw ups.

 July 12-15: Cottonseed & Feed Association Annual Meeting, Allegretto Resort, Paso Robles, California

 July 16-19: Southern Southeastern Mid-Year Board Meetings, One Ocean Resort, Atlantic Beach, Florida

Take A Hard Look At Insurance Costs And Safety Culture At The Gin

 July 18: Plains Cotton Growers Inc. Board of Directors Meeting, Lubbock, Texas

 July 20: Calcot Board of Directors Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona

 July 26: Georgia Cotton Commission Mid-Year Meeting, Nessmith-Lane Conference Center, Statesboro, Georgia

Distractions have become “routine” in our daily lives. Our phones go o , we get text messages and we’re bombarded by the never-ending news cycle. Everything seems to be trying to get our attention, and it’s easy to lose sight of what’s important. Things can sneak up on you, and those are the ones that will jump up and bite you.

Then think about the things you do every day, particularly during the season. Let those videos and the lessons learned from other people’s mistakes move to the front of your mind BEFORE you tackle a job you or your crew haven’t done before. Have a plan and think about what can go wrong and the consequences of that. We want all of you to have a safe and profitable repair season.

In the last year or so, we’ve seen huge increases in our costs. As I write this, we’re getting news of the highest inflation in more than a generation… maybe two.

Dusty Findley, CEO of the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association, contributed this article. Contact him at 706-344-1212 or dusty@southern-southeastern.org.

While I’m personally seeing some of the things that increased so much ease down a bit, it’s not common for costs that have gone up this much, this fast, to come down or come down very much. We will likely have to learn to live with some of them.

Cotton’s Calendar

The Cost Of Insurance

 June 4-7: NCPA 2023 Annual Meeting, Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, Tucson, Arizona

One of the costs that snuck up on many gins in the past year or so is the cost of insurance. Normally, this is a once-a-year expense we get hit with.

 June 11-13: Cotton Incorporated Board Meeting, Marriott Dallas Uptown, Dallas, Texas

The past renewal cycle or two have been more than a bit of sticker shock for many in the ginning industry. Your associa-

 June 14-16: 2023 ACSA Annual Convention, The Montage, Park City, Utah

tions have been aware of this and have brought it to the attention of our memberships. But I think many of us got distracted by the other things going on and have now been hit with the reality that it’s not getting better.

 Aug. 2-3: American Cotton Producers/Cotton Foundation Summer Meeting, The Roosevelt Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana

 Aug. 8-10: Cotton Board/Cotton Inc. Joint Meeting, Durham, North Carolina – Washington Duke Inn

 Aug. 16: PCCA Board, Delegate Body & Marketing Pool Committee Meetings, Lubbock, Texas

 Aug. 23-25: NCC Mid-Year Board Meeting, Omni Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky

This is a simplified explanation, but insurance companies are going to do what they need to in order to stay in business. They must make money like we do. The companies take our premium and invest it. They pay claims with it, and they expect to have some left over. If losses are low and return on investment is good, you have happy insurance companies. We get stable premiums and competition.

If they have poor investment returns and higher-than-expected cost of claims (read inflation), you have unhappy insurance companies. They may decide to pull out of the market and/or significantly increase rates. This is where we are today.

Your ginners associations and the National Cotton Ginners’ Association have been concerned about this for some time. We need healthy insurers and competition, but we really can only help one side of the insurance problem…losses. NCGA has put together a list of questions to ask yourself, so you can evaluate

Lummus Ag Technologywants to express its appreciation to our many loyal customers for their continued support and business. With the challenges we face in our industry, we are continually workingto evolve and adapt to changing market conditions and customer needs.

Lummusoffersa wide range of products and services, all geared to help your operation be efficient and profitable. Regardless of the project scope, contact Lummus to discuss your goals and needsto ensure your success.

Just a short listof items we offer:

 All-new complete Gin Plants

 Ginning Machinery (individual machines, stand-alone systems, presses, etc.)

 Press Consoles and Main Control Consoles

 Burner and Moisture Unit Gas Train/Controls upgrades

 Air Monitoring and Fire Detection Kits

 DGC 2020 Gin and Feeder Controls

 Gin Dor-Les® and E.E. Dor-Les® Press upgrades

16” diameter Bottom Ram Conversion

Hydraulic Tramper/Pusher Conversion

Premier™ III Series Hydraulic Pumping Units

Press Rebuilds (strain rods, boxes, sills, etc.)

 Quality OEM Repair Parts

 UnmatchedTechnical Service

The future is bright! Cotton prices have optimism at levels we haven’t seen in a while. A renewed commitment to customer service has Lummus excited for the future – join us as we move forward!

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