Ginners Marketplace COTTON
COTTON FARMING IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE GINNING INDUSTRY.
NEW I-9 Published The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services has announced the development of a new I-9 Employment Eligibility Form. All new hires or re-hires after Nov. 1, 2023, must use this form. The latest form is now only one page and is expected to be simpler for both employers and employees. There are also new instructions for the new form and the ability to use it with E-Verify if you have “remote” employees. While this last bit isn’t necessarily the most important for cotton gins, we wanted to make you aware of it just in case. The updated I-9 form can be found by going to www.uscis. gov/i-9. Please follow that link to download the form, instructions and M-274 Handbook. The new form is for new hires, re-hires and re-verification. The re-verification process is supposed to be clearer and easier to understand, which and when certain documents need to be re-verified. More information on the new form can be found at the I-9 Central page. The M-274 Manual is longer and has specific instructions for H-2A employers and continues to contain language that seasonal workers are considered continued employment. This is only if the employee leaves solely because the work ran out and came back when the work returned. Otherwise, you need to file a new I-9 or use the re-verification section, Supplement B (Formerly Section 3).
breaks and must be fixed before starting back up. Every hour of downtime that goes by, it can cost the gin upwards of $1,000. I have also had the chance to see how module trucks pick up and deliver modules to our gin. Smith Gin Co-op started ginning cotton on Aug. 1. I was amazed by all the movJosiah ing parts that clean and move cotton from the Keck module feeder to the press, seeing every machine clean cotton, extracting the seed, and finally watching the hydraulic press make a bale. I would like to thank Tyler Cross for teaching me about the management of a cotton gin. I would also like to thank Aaron Nelsen and TCGA for this amazing internship. Riley Grider During my final weeks as a TCGA intern at Edcot Coop in Odem, I worked alongside some of the best ginners I have met. After walking through gins all over Texas, I finally had the opportunity to see cotton flow through a gin. From starting up to ginning cotton, I learned that choke-ups and problems are in-
The Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association provided this information.
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TCGA Summer Interns Wrap Up Final Reports Since August, we have followed the experiences of the Texas Cotton Ginners’ Association’s two summer interns — Josiah Keck and Riley Grider — through their reports to TCGA.
SEED BLOWERS
Cotton Ginners Marketplace
Josiah Keck During my last weeks at Smith Gin Co-op in Odem, Texas, I learned a lot from Tyler Cross. Cross has also been teaching me where the gin makes and loses money. The cotton gin profits off the time a farmer’s cotton takes to be ginned. The gin also makes money off the seed, trash and mote bales. Where the gin loses the most money is in downtime. Downtime is when the cotton gin is not running and something
An informative email summary of your gin’s daily performance. Text 662-809-9730 for an example report 24 COTTON FARMING | NOVEMBER 2023
Stocked at strategic locations throughout the cotton belt Call Jim 972.381.8899 | Cliffgranberrycorp.com
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