U.S. ginners, gin managers and superintendents are urged to register for one of the three 2022 Cotton Ginner Schools. The 35th annual schools will be two days instead of three, and there is no on-site registration. Credit cards can be used to pay for online registration atwww.cotton.org/ncga/ginschool/index.cfm where course descriptions/more information is available.
Due to federal COVID restrictions placed on USDA employees, each school is limited to 150 students, and the schools will adhere to local requirements such as social distancing and mask requirements. Also, due to the COVID-related USDA-ARS lockdown, this year’s schools cannot be held at the ginning laboratories but will be held as close as possible to the labs. Locations and dates for the two-day schools are: Southwest Ginners School — the Texas Tech University Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute in Lubbock, TX, on March 29-30; the Western Ginners School — at a location in Las Cruces, NM, to be determined, on May 4-5; and the Stoneville Ginners School — at a location in Stoneville, MS, to be determined on June 8-9.
National Cotton Ginners Association (NCGA) Executive Vice President Harrison Ashley said the schools’ overall emphasis continues to be training gin employees to produce the best fiber quality in an efficient and safe manner.
The schools will continue to offer the course levels I, II and III and continuing education courses. Levels I, II and III programming will feature practical information on all aspects of ginning. Topics to be covered range from gin safety and maintenance to drying/moisture restoration systems and seed cotton/cottonseed handling systems. The continuing education courses will include topics such as the use and practical application of variable frequency drives, gin upgrades and increasing capacities, air pollution controls, labor issues and H2-A, press rebuilds to increase press capacities, and stabilizing catastrophic injuries.
The three schools’ programming is coordinated by the NCGA, working in conjunction with USDA’s Greg Holt and the three USDA ginning laboratories. 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.