Page 31 - 17 Cotton SA March 2019

/ PRODUCTION AND TECHNOLOGY

cotton bales. The bale tipper removes Cotton SA to be tested and graded.
the covering and flips/inverts the Along with these plans for
bale, so that any foreign material that upgrading the gin, Koedoeskop will
may be present due to storage before also install a cotton-grading room
ginning can be removed. This is a and micronaire (mic) measurement
major advantage in ensuring that the equipment. This will allow those with
cotton is of good quality. training to grade seed cotton before
Additionally, they have elected to it is ginned, and allow for cotton of
go off the electrical grid and run on similar mic to be ginned together.
diesel generators, which power the Because low micronaire cotton will
gin and all its equipment 24 hours bring higher mics down to its level
per day, six days a week. when ginned together, it is best to gin
Aside from their goal to set up a them separately. This will ensure that
third gin stand, they also intend to more high-quality cotton is produced.
replace their current 30-bale-per-hour Koedoeskop has had a good
press with a 60-bale-per-hour press. first season, doing better than
This will more than double the gin’s many would have expected. With
expected output next season. continued vision and ideas for
Each bale is pressed and packed, expansion, they can do even better in
but before it is sealed, two samples seasons to come and may establish
are taken. One is kept at the gin for quite a footing for themselves in the
reference and the other is sent to cotton industry.

Volume 21 No 1 March 2019 | 31