FLOYDADA – Cotton is king in Floyd County. So, come early October, when that familiar hum of the gins revs up, in a small way, we all celebrate.
This year, three of the county’s gins began the ginning and baling process on the same day.
Floydada Co-Op Gin had the first bale in the county at 9:29 am, Thursday, October 1st. This cotton came from Jon Jones on the Lucius Farms, “grown by Artemio [Diaz] and assisted by Jon Jones,” chuckled Aaron Hendricks, Manager of Floydada Co-op Gin.
That first bale had a color rating of 21 which is the whitest of the white.
The bale was given a micronair rating of 4.1 which is a metric for fiber fitness and maturity. Cotton buyers and Textile manufacturers prefer micronair levels of 3.8 to 4.5, according to Dekalb Agronomy sources.
The first bale in the county had a staple rating of 33 which designates a long length with a fine spinning count.
Jones will be presented with a $100 check from the Chamber of Commerce for the honor.
Darty Gin got their ginning going on Thursday, October 1st as well. The Pernell’s first bale rolled off the racks at 10:04 a.m.—just shy of the bale at Floydada Co-op earlier that morning. The Darty Gin 1st Bale came from Wesley Campbell Farms.
The Lockney Co-op was busy getting their season underway Thursday, October 1st with the other gins mentioned. They recorded their 1st Bale at 6:45 pm. That cotton was grown on the GL Hight’s Farm by Heston Graves.
Chance Cornelius, owner of Barwise Gin, stated that the gin had cotton in the yard but had not pushed forward with baling as of Friday, October 2nd.
I stopped in at McCoy Gin on Monday, October 5th. Andy Rainwater stated that they were starting to strip around the McCoy Gin and that they would have cotton in the yard this week.
