As I reported Monday, the Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee would be taking up the National Cotton Council policy on the elimination of Woven Polypropylene and Wire Ties at its meeting this week. The meeting, held yesterday, could not come to an agreement on a timeline for phasing out the materials. This will not eliminate the language or nullify the Council’s policy expressing the overall industry wishes to remove these two materials from the approved lists.

The JCIBPC Executive Committee has agreed to continue to meet regularly until a solution is agreed to and then bring it to the full committee for ratification. The members left the meeting without an agreement.

What does this mean? The Council’s language is”

“The cotton industry, through the JCIBPC, should work to remove woven polypropylene and wire ties as an approved bale packaging material and develop a reasonable phase out period for this material. The industry should investigate options for a more durable polyethylene bag and a lighter-weight cotton bag;”

The National Cotton Council Staff will continue to pursue this policy until and unless it is changed…this is unlikely for many reasons.

This language was adopted as a result of recommendations from the Council’s Strategic planning committee. This was just one of the recommendations that were adopted with the goal of improving the US cotton’s competitiveness vs other growths in the world. In other words holding onto and expanding our pieces of the world cotton trade. The goal is admirable… and if, on this issue, it is what the world wants, then we should respond.

The question then becomes how does this get translated in to something the industry can make long term plans with. That was where the committee came to logger heads. Some segments feel this should be a quick and easy switch and were pushing for a short term… others were pushing for a more market based approach encouraging the market forces to drive these changes.

The long and the short is that these materials will likely be eliminated eventually. We’ll continue to push for as long as transition as we can but will not be able to push it out indefinitely. Our Board adopted a policy in January that allowed for the eventual elimination of Woven PP bags but to allow market forces to drive the usage of wire ties. Opposing the elimination of wire as an approved material until it is no longer in use as has been done with other materials in the past.

There was a lot of discussion on the use of cotton bagging. There is only one approved cotton bag in the US but it is quite heavy and prohibitively expensive. Australia is 100% or nearly so PET strapping and cotton bags. Bags similar to those used in other countries will be tested this coming season by the National Cotton Council. These field trials are limited to small quantities and until a mfg or distributor comes with a test program, will continue to be small. Full approval is a multi year process.

Bottom line…if you’re using Woven PP and/or Wire Ties. It’s time to explore alternatives. Talk to your merchant and mill customers and find out what they want and why. Develop a timeline understanding that the Committee’s timeline may not match up with your’s once the committee comes to a consensus. I know this is not great news but while we’re pushing to keep as much flexibility as possible as long as possible, we need to keep you informed.

Email or call me if you have questions.

DSF

Each year the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association recognizes a ginner for outstanding leadership and dedication to the industry. This year, the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association proudly recognizes one such individual whose journey embodies these values—Billy Sickler, the 2024 Southeast Cotton Ginner of the Year. The award was presented at the recent Southern Southeastern Annual meeting in Hilton Head, SC.

Billy’s path to the cotton gin wasn’t the traditional one. Born in Kentucky and later moving to Alabama in high school, he didn’t grow up in the industry. Instead, his journey took a different route—one that began with service to his country. After enlisting in the Army and serving a short time, he returned home to Alabama in search of a job. That search led him to a local cotton gin, where his career in the industry began as a “yard man.”

From the very start, Billy’s exceptional work ethic and problem-solving skills set him apart. It didn’t take long for his leadership potential to be recognized, and by the following season, he was promoted to assistant manager. His former boss once said that he had “never met someone with the work ethic and drive to learn that Billy demonstrated”—an attribute that would serve him well in the years to come.

Billy’s career has been marked by perseverance, adaptability, and a commitment to excellence. He has experienced both the highs and lows of the business, from ginning just 3,800 bales to overseeing the closure of one gin and the establishment of an entirely new operation. Today, as General Manager of the Associated Cotton Growers Coop in Athens, AL, he leads one of the largest ginning operations in the state—one that recently processed over 62,000 bales in a single season.

Beyond his professional achievements, Billy is a devoted husband to his wife, Erica, and a proud father to their two daughters. Their journey together has been filled with hard work, resilience, and growth—not only in the cotton industry but also in their family life. In addition to managing a thriving gin operation, Billy and Erica own a pet crematory business, and more recently, Billy has embraced his newest and perhaps most cherished role yet: “Grumpy” to his two young grandchildren.

The Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association takes great pride in honoring Billy Sickler as the 2024 Southeast Cotton Ginner of the Year. His story is one of dedication, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to the cotton industry. Please join us in congratulating Billy on this well-deserved recognition!

The Southeastern cotton ginning industry has long been shaped by hardworking individuals dedicated to advancing our sector, and few embody that commitment more than Richard Lindsey. We are proud to celebrate Lindsey’s recognition as the 2024 Horace Hayden National Cotton Ginner of the Year, awarded at the National Cotton Ginners Association’s (NCGA) annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.  

Lindsey, a past president of our association and the current president of NCGA, has been a tireless advocate for cotton ginners and producers alike. His leadership extends beyond our region, impacting the industry on a national scale.  

With deep roots in Cherokee County, Alabama, Lindsey’s career spans over five decades, beginning with his first cotton harvest in 1957. As a partner in Coosa River Land Co. and manager of Cherokee Gin and Cotton Company—the largest gin in Alabama—he has demonstrated excellence in both farming and ginning.  

Beyond his direct contributions to the industry, Lindsey also served 35 years in the Alabama House of Representatives, where he championed agricultural and economic development initiatives. His influence is evident in his leadership roles across numerous industry boards and organizations, ensuring that cotton ginners’ voices are heard at every level.  

We congratulate Richard Lindsey on this well-deserved recognition and thank him for his unwavering dedication to the cotton industry. His contributions continue to set a standard of excellence for future generations of ginners.  

At the National Cotton Council on Feb 15, the Packaging and Distribution Committee affirmed the current Council Policy and defeated motions by the ginning industry that would remove the elimination of these materials from the approved Bagging and Ties list of materials.

In August, the National Cotton Council Board of Directors passed their Strategic Planning Committee’s recommendations and these recommendations became Council Policy. One of those recommendations was a phase out of Woven PP bags and Wire ties while urging additional research into a tougher Polyethylene Film bag or suitable cotton bag.

The issue now goes to the Joint Cotton Industry Bale Packaging Committee (JCIBPC). The JCIBPC conducts the testing, approves packaging and writes the specifications that USDA adopts for the Storage of CCC cotton. The next meeting of the JCIBPC is this Wednesday (February 26) in Memphis. This committee will take the language from the Council and determine how long the phase out period will be.

Both the National Cotton Ginners Association and the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association representatives on the NCC Packaging and Distribution Committee made motions to amend the Council’s policy that passed last August. There were strong arguments for and against and those making the arguments did a great job on both sides. Ultimately both of the motions were defeated and the policy is being carried forward.

We will update you after the JCIBPC to let our members know what this will look like going forward. Many of you may be working on your plans for 2025 and wanted to make sure you were aware of the way the future is beginning to look.

We have received questions about cotton bagging. There is an approved cotton bag but it is heavy and very expensive. Heavy is good (uses more cotton) but expensive is bad… obviously. There has been a lot of talk about fast tracking experimental bagging to help accelerate the development of a suitable cotton bag.

The Bagging and the Ties changes will be impactful for the ginning industry but seems to be regional in the significance. Woven PP bags are the predominant bag in the West and Southwest so this will be a huge change for them and require significant infrastructure switch over. Woven is used in the SE but not nearly to the extent it is out West.

Wire ties tend to be used by smaller gins (not always) and a bit higher percentage in the Southeast. These gins may have less capacity to make large capital investments.

The arguments for making these changes have been made for many years. The woven bags have been an apparent source of complaints from mills for contamination. The wire has been a source of personnel injuries in mills. Additionally the Chinese Gov has rules in place that could halt all woven bags if they wanted to which could become a non-tariff trade barrier. Wire ties have caused injuries and fires according to representatives of the textile industry.

Over the next few days, our representatives on the JCIBPC will do their best to minimize the impact and move the industry forward.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me (dusty at southern-sotheastern.org) for further information or send feedback.

DSF

As we approach the end of January, I would like to remind our members that the OSHA 300A Form posting deadline is approaching. The OSHA Record Keeping Rule requires employers keep records of all work related injuries and illnesses. This includes the OSHA 300, 300A and 301 forms that employers must have on file. If you do not already have a copy of these forms, they can be accessed through this link OSHA Recordkeeping Forms and Instructions. The 300A Summary of Injuries and Illnesses is the only form that must be posted from Feb. 1 to April 30 of each year. The 300A must be posted in a common area where notices to employees would normally be posted. Be sure to post this form containing work related injury and illness data from calendar year 2024 beginning on February 1, 2025.

It is very important that the OSHA 300A Summary be filled out completely and correctly. In the case that there were no work-related accidents to report, the form must be filled out with zeros in each blank. Often the establishment information is also overlooked and or just not signed. One area of the establishment information that creates some confusion is the area asking about average number of employees and total hours worked. The average number of employees is simply the total number of paychecks written divided by the number of pay periods. This should include all full-time, part-time, temporary, migrant, salaried, and hourly employees.

The other form found at the link above is the OSHA 300 Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. This is a log containing information about every work-related death and almost every work-related injury or illness that involves loss of consciousness, restricted work activity or job transfer, days away from work, and/or medical treatment beyond first aid. You must consider an injury or illness to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing injury or illness. It is also important to completely fill out the OSHA 300 form. All columns must be totaled even if you had no accident to reports there must be a zero for a total. The information from the OSHA 300 form is used to complete the OSHA 300A form.

This is also a good time to enter your 2024 injury and illness data on the OSHA Web Portal. Any employer with 20 or more employees at any time during the calendar year is required to enter this data electronically. The data entered electronically is essentially the same data contained in the OSHA 300A form. The deadline for electronic submission is March 2, 2025. To access the electronic submission portal simply click this link OSHA Electronic Submission Page

Hopefully, this article will serve as a reminder of what must be reported and posted to be in compliance with OSHA’s Recordkeeping Standard. If OSHA comes to your facility, they will ask to see these forms going back for a period of 5 years. It is important to have the files and data on hand and easily accessible. More information regarding OSHA Recordkeeping can be accessed through OSHA Recordkeeping Rule as well as the 2020 Southeastern Cotton Ginners Safety Reference Manual. If you have any questions please give us a call.