Just as the grower follows fibre quality practices in the field to prepare for harvest and deliver uncontaminated cotton modules to the gin, the gin implements other best management practices for lint management.

BMP beyond the farm gate

Commitment to best management practices throughout the Australian cotton industry is essential to delivering high-quality fibre into a competitive market. This began in the field with the 1997 launch of the myBMP program, which has since been reviewed, updated, and voluntarily adopted on over 250 Australian cotton farms, including most of our largest growers.

Dr René van der Sluijs, executive member of the Australian Cotton Ginners’ Association (ACGA) and CottonInfo technical expert on fibre quality says that once crops are ready for harvesting, growers rely on harvesting contractors, classers and ginners to implement best management practices (BMP) and produce premium cotton bales with reliable data for use in the world’s textile industry.

Post-farmgate BMP programs in Australia were launched in the classing sector in 2004, and the BMP handbook for classing aligns with international standards. The BMP handbook for the ginning sector was launched in 2008 and now incorporates the warehousing and dispatch sector BMP guidelines developed in 2011. All these programs and handbooks have been tested and revised to keep up-to-date with new technologies and industry developments.

“The high cost of cotton production in Australia is offset through high yields, premium quality fibre and efficient use of technology and labour,” says René. “The ginning sector has implemented standard practices and installed processing control systems that assist in optimising throughput, quality, operating cost, staff safety, and consistency in day-to-day operations.”

All ACGA members must comply with the current version of the Cotton Ginning BMP handbook and consent to an annual scheduled audit during the ginning season. ACGA members must comply with the mandatory sections of the Cotton Ginning BMP handbook to achieve and maintain certification with Cotton Australia.

Thirty-two of the 35 gins operational during the 2024 ginning season were audited under the current Cotton Ginning BMP handbook, and all were recommended to Cotton Australia for certification.

The critical issues that ginners must comply with are:

Certification and calibration of all moisture measuring equipment, including in-line moisture measuring sensors;
Certification and calibration of weighbridge and lint bale scales;
Certification of test weights;
Fire bales; and,
Sample size.

Just as the grower follows fibre quality practices in the field to prepare for harvest and deliver uncontaminated cotton modules to the gin, the gin implements other best management practices for:

Moisture management;
Lint management;
Contamination;
Bale size and covering;
Health and safety;
Environmental;
Chemical; and,
Auditing procedures.

Transfer of responsibilities for fibre quality

Cotton growers can influence fibre quality through variety choice, appropriate defoliation and harvest preparation, monitoring fibre moisture content, minimising contamination and pursuing uniform fibre quality. By paying attention to detail when defoliating the crop and preparing for harvest, growers can optimise micronaire and reduce nep content to deliver the highest-quality cotton possible.

“There is a transfer of responsibilities when cotton modules are delivered to the gin, and this necessitates an honest hand-over procedure,” says René. “The most critical information that must change hands at delivery relates to moisture and contamination management. The ginner will always endeavour to optimise fibre quality and lint turn out for each module delivered.”

Moisture management

Growers must inform the gin of any potential ‘wet’ modules. These modules can then be set aside for assessment and appropriate processing.

As part of their BMP, classing facilities should notify the gin of any moisture (or other) issues identified when classing samples sent from the gin.

Contamination management

The Cotton Ginning BMP handbook requires that growers be formally advised of their role in avoiding the incidence of contamination and sticky cotton.

All damaged or contaminated round modules received from the farm are to be recorded at the point of delivery onto the gin’s module pad. Damaged round modules must be processed carefully to avoid the risk of plastic wrap damaging the ginning equipment and contaminating bales.

The ginner also has a responsibility to avoid in-house contamination. Staff training and induction must focus on work procedures to prevent machinery parts, tools, and other contaminants, including hydraulic oil, from entering the cotton stream at the module yard, feeder bay, within the gin and the bale pad.

Gins are also encouraged to install sensors to detect and eliminate contaminants before seed-cotton enters the ginning process.

Growers are responsible for monitoring their crops for insects that may cause sticky cotton, such as whitefly and aphid. Identify areas of potentially sticky cotton and harvest those areas separately and as late as possible to allow time for the sugars to break down. All potentially sticky cotton should be placed into separate, clearly marked module(s).

The grower must notify the gin about any known sticky cotton so appropriate protocols can be followed for the affected modules. If sticky cotton is unexpectedly found in modules, the grower, their consultant, the ginner and the merchant should meet to identify the cause and discuss ways to prevent the situation from recurring.

Lint management

Production of the highest-quality cotton products for spinning performance relies on growers and ginners avoiding practices that may diminish fibre quality.

Lint management at the gin aims to produce cotton with the highest possible fibre length, strength and uniformity and the lowest possible level of neps, trash and short fibre content. However, ginners must compromise between trash removal, fibre damage, and lint turn out when choosing their cleaning machinery.

To preserve fibre quality and conserve energy, ginners also seek to minimise the amount of heat used for drying.

Attention to fibre quality in the field and during harvest will pay dividends for both the grower and the ginner. Any additional processing required at the gin will result in either lower fibre quality or reduced lint turn out, and potentially increase charges.

References:

The current cotton ginning and classing BMP handbooks are available on the Australian Cotton Ginners’ Association website –www.australiancottonginning.com.au/technical-and-safety-publications
The cotton growers’ myBMP fibre quality module is available at www.mybmp.com.au

Damaged round modules must be processed carefully to avoid the risk of plastic wrap damaging the ginning equipment and contaminating bales.

All damaged or contaminated round modules received from the farm are to be recorded at the point of delivery onto the gin’s module pad.

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