Cotton Gins are a critical part of the process of getting a field grown cropinto the marketplace. Seed cotton is turned into two major by-products and two minorby-products when processed by the cotton gin.

Delivered to the gin in either trailers or in large bales known as modules, the seed cottonis fed into the gin plant by suction and then metered out at a rate suitable to the gin's capacity and the condition of the seed cotton (trashy, clean, wet,  or dry).

Clean, dry seed cotton can be processed at the highest capacities, thus lessening overstocked conditions in the waiting-to-be-ginned line. Almost all ginsuse gas fired dryers to dry seed cotton to around 7% moisture.  This is optimumfor most ginning systems.

After drying and some threshing type processing to remove larger trash, seedcotton is fed into the "ginstand" where "cottonseed" is removed from the lint.

The lint, which hasbeen removed from the seed by means of flat
circular saw blades,  is fed into cleaning machines which remove "motes".

Motes are sold as low -grade cotton fiber mainly because of their short fibers and off-color appearance.  The cleaned lint is then fed into the
baling press whereapproximately 500 pound cotton bales are formed for shipment to clothing mills (textile mills).