Bale sampling important process
Sep 7, 2001 12:00 PM
THE NATIONAL Cotton Council is urging ginners and warehousemen to be diligent in taking proper samples from cotton bales this season.
“Ginners and warehousemen play a key role in bale sampling and integrity of the USDA cotton classification,” said Dale Thompson, NCC manager for marketing and processing technology.
“As licensed samplers, cotton ginners and warehousemen are responsible for insuring that the samples represent what is in the bale.
“Their efforts go a long way in helping U.S. cotton maintain its outstanding reputation in the world marketplace.”
With a 20-million-bale U.S. crop expected this season, NCC is urging ginners to put an emphasis on bale press maintenance, especially sampling procedures. That includes checking press doors, hydraulics and other machinery and, in particular, making sure the bale sampling mechanisms (cookie cutters) are sharp and sized properly.
Thompson noted that each sample must be taken by a licensed sampling agent for delivery to the local USDA Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) classing facility.
