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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Cotton Production and Processing Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #412546
Research Project: Enhancing the Profitability and Sustainability of Upland Cotton, Cottonseed, and Agricultural Byproducts through Improvements in Pre-Ginning, Ginning, and Post-Ginning Processes

Location: Cotton Production and Processing Research

Title: The cost of ginning cotton- 2021 and 2022 survey results

Author
item Holt, Gregory
item ASHLEY, HARRISON - National Cotton Council
item GREEN, KELLEY - Texas Cotton Ginners Association
item FINDLEY, DUSTY - Southeastern Cotton Ginners' Association
item MCGLOTHLIN, CHRISTOPHER - California Cotton Ginners Association
item PRICE, TIM - Southern Cotton Ginners
item Pelletier, Mathew
item Wanjura, John

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2024
Publication Date: 4/24/2024
Citation: Holt, G.A., Ashley, H., Green, K., Findley, D., McGlothlin, C., Price, T., Pelletier, M.G., Wanjura, J.D. 2024. The cost of ginning cotton- 2021 and 2022 survey results. National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference.

Interpretive Summary: The cost of ginning survey is a important tool for the National Cotton Council that provides essential information to the cotton industry. The survey has historically been undertaken every three years and was accomplished by mail in paper questionnaires. The survey is now online and the data is being stored at the National Cotton Council's headquarters. This survey was for the 2021 and 2022 ginning seasons, the first time two years have been presented together. The survey is divided into four areas: Production, Labor, Energy, and Auxiliary Costs. For 2021, there were 64 responses submitted; representing 3.4 million bales, or 19.8% of the total bales ginned in the United States. For 2022, 65 responses were submitted; representing just over 2.4 million bales, which is 17.0% of the total bales ginned in the United States. The biggest change in the costs were associated with Repairs and Labor both categories resulted in a dramatic increase in the total cost to gin a bale of cotton. The increase in total costs, from 2019 ($23.93), was 46% for 2021 ($34.97) and 106% for 2022 ($49.31).

Technical Abstract: The cost of ginning cotton is an important concern for producers and ginners. Data from this survey provides information about key variable costs as a component of the overall cost of ginning cotton. These data also identify historical trends of gin operation and help document how the adoption of new technologies in cotton harvesting and ginning has impacted ginning cost. This is the first-time results for two years have been presented at the same time. The survey is now accessible year around through a web portal maintained by the National Cotton Council allowing for data to be compiled annually. These survey results are from the 2021 and 2022 cotton crop, which produced 17.1 and 14.1 million running bales (USDA-NASS, 2022 and USDA-NASS, 2023a) and 5.3 and 4.4 million tons of cottonseed, respectively (USDA-NASS, 2023b). The 2021crop was gathered from 10.2 million acres with an 819 lb/acre average yield while the 2022 crop was gathered from 7.3 million acres with a 950 lb/acre yield. In 2021, there were 510 operating gins, averaging a little over 33,500 bales per gin. In 2022, there were 479 operating gins, averaging 29,469 bales per gin. For 2021, there were 64 responses submitted; representing 3.4 million bales, or 19.8% of the total bales ginned in the United States. For 2022, 65 responses were submitted; representing just over 2.4 million bales, which is 17.0% of the total bales ginned in the United States.