Kansas gets first cotton gin - Newsline

Rural Cooperatives, Sept-Oct, 2002 by Patrick Duffey

Southwest Kansas farmers looking for an alternative crop will have access to a new cotton gin this fall, thanks to the formation of Northwest Cotton Growers Inc. It is building a new $3.5 million gin on a 46-acre site near the community of Moscow.

Five years ago, cotton as a cash crop was virtually unknown in the state. But about 45,000 acres of cotton were harvested last year. The cooperative's location will eliminate a transportation cost hurdle. The closest gin was hundreds of miles away.

The new gin will have the capacity to handle 60,000 bales of cotton. The ginned cotton will be hauled to Altus, Okla., where it will be warehoused and marketed by Plains Cotton Cooperative Association.