Short answer: Cotton gin trash is the burrs, leaves, stems, short lint and bits of seed a gin cleans out of seed cotton. The best place to buy it is straight from a cotton gin near you, usually in the fall and early winter while the gin is running. Extension specialists say the trash itself is often free or close to it, and the real cost is hauling and storage. Cattle owners use it as a low-quality roughage, and gardeners use it composted. Both uses come with cautions worth knowing before you load a trailer.
What cotton gin trash is
When seed cotton arrives at a gin, cleaning machines pull out everything that isn't lint or seed before ginning. That material is gin trash, sometimes called gin waste or gin residue. A University of California study described it as leaves, sticks, burrs, lint, immature cottonseed and soil.
How much a gin makes depends on how the cotton was harvested. University of Georgia Extension estimates that each 480-pound bale of cotton produces about 150 to 200 pounds of gin trash. Stripper-harvested cotton, common on the Texas High Plains, brings in much more plant material than spindle-picked cotton. In USDA-ARS research on the High Plains, burs made up about half of the foreign matter in stripped cotton.
That means gins in stripper country, like those around Lubbock, handle large volumes of trash every season. UF/IFAS Extension calls gin trash a disposal problem for ginners, which is one reason it's often available cheaply.
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Common uses for gin trash
Cattle roughage
Gin trash is used as a cheap roughage, mainly for beef cows. Extension sources agree on three points:
- Feed value is low and varies a lot. Alabama Extension puts gin trash at about 7% to 10% crude protein and 45% to 50% total digestible nutrients (TDN) on a dry matter basis. UGA Extension lists an average of about 11.7% crude protein and 46.6% TDN. A Georgia survey of 26 gins found crude protein ranging from 2% to 16% and TDN from 16% to 62%, as reported by UF/IFAS Extension.
- It suits dry, pregnant cows best. Those cows have the lowest nutrient needs. Even then, cows may need extra energy. In one UGA-reported trial, cows held their weight on gin trash only when they also got 3 pounds of cracked corn per day.
- Test it before you build a ration. Every source recommends a nutrient analysis, since one load can differ sharply from the next.
For more detail on feeding, see cotton gin residues as cattle feed: benefits and risks. For the much richer cottonseed byproduct, see whole cottonseed for cattle.
Compost, mulch and soil amendment
Composted gin trash is used on gardens, flower beds and fields. A 2009 Weed Technology survey of gins in Arkansas, western Tennessee and western Mississippi found that gins disposed of trash by spreading it on crop fields, composting it for use as mulch or soil amendment, using it as cattle feed, and using it as cover on landfills.
Composting breaks raw trash down into a more stable material and, done hot enough, kills weed seeds and disease organisms. In a University of California pilot study, gin trash fines kept at about 40% water and mixed every four days took about five weeks to compost. For step-by-step methods, see how to compost cotton gin trash, and for a broader list, top 5 uses for cotton gin byproducts.
Other uses
The University of California study notes gin waste can also be burned in controlled incineration to produce energy, once the fine material is screened out. For most buyers, though, it comes down to feed or soil. For other feed byproducts from the gin, see cotton gin byproducts for animal feed.
Forms you might find
What a gin has available depends on its equipment and what it does with trash already:
- Loose trash. The most common form. Gins often pile it in the yard, and buyers load it with their own equipment or the gin's loader.
- Modules. Alabama Extension notes some cattle owners get gin trash in modules and control how much cattle eat with an electric fence.
- Bales. None of the extension sources cited here describe baled gin trash as a standard product, so ask locally whether a gin or hauler in your area bales it.
- Composted product. Some gins compost their trash, and the Weed Technology survey found composted trash going to gardens and flower beds.
Gin trash is bulky and light for its volume, and UF/IFAS calls it expensive to transport. That's why buying close to home matters.
What to ask a gin before you haul
Gins aren't feed stores, so call ahead. Useful questions:
- Do you have trash available, and when? Supply is heaviest during and just after ginning season.
- Is it raw or composted? Raw trash and finished compost suit very different uses.
- How is it loaded? Do you load it, or does the gin? What trailer or truck do they expect?
- How much can I get, and is there a charge? Pricing, if any, is local. Extension sources describe the trash as often free, with buyers paying for hauling.
- Has it been wetted or stored outside? Some gins spray water on trash to control dust. UGA and UF/IFAS warn that wet trash loses palatability and can mold, and some molds can be toxic to cattle.
- Can you deliver? Some gins or local haulers will, for a fee.
Cautions before you feed it or spread it
Chemical residues and livestock
This is the big one for cattle owners. UF/IFAS Extension notes that many chemicals used in cotton production are not cleared for feeding crop residues such as gin trash to livestock. A Georgia study it cites found residues of tribufos (sold as DEF), a common defoliant, averaging 4.5 ppm in gin trash. Because no residue tolerance had been set for gin trash, UF/IFAS warned that feeding it could be illegal if DEF or other non-cleared products were used on the crop, even if no residue is detected. That publication is now an archived copy, so check current guidance with your county extension office and ask the gin what was used on the cotton.
Nutrition limits
Gin trash is roughage, not a complete feed. UF/IFAS notes finishing cattle are typically fed 5% or less of the diet as gin trash, just enough to keep the digestive system working. Cows also take several days to get used to it when fed at high levels.
Weed seeds in gardens
Gin trash can carry weed seeds. In the 2009 Weed Technology survey, researchers found 25 weed species in gin trash samples. Large crabgrass, barnyardgrass, goosegrass, red sprangletop and Palmer amaranth were the most common. Viable seeds of barnyardgrass, large crabgrass, Palmer amaranth and prickly sida survived in the top 25 centimeters (about 10 inches) of trash piles after a year of composting, and viable Palmer amaranth seed was still present in the surface layer after two years. No germinable seeds were found deeper than 25 centimeters after one year.
The takeaway for gardeners: hot, well-turned compost is safer than raw trash or the crust of an old pile. A University of California pilot study found that five weeks of active composting destroyed the weed seeds and the Verticillium wilt fungus it tested.
Residues in compost
Composting doesn't break down everything. In the same UC study, residues of DEF and paraquat were not degraded by composting. A related study found that some other chemicals declined during composting and that residue levels in soil after amending with composted gin waste were generally very low to undetectable. If you're growing food, it's reasonable to ask the gin what was applied and to use finished compost rather than raw trash.
Find a cotton gin near you
The easiest way to buy gin trash is to find the nearest gin and call. Here are a few areas with many gins:
- Cotton gins in Lubbock County, TX
- Cotton gins in Terry County, Texas, including Brownfield Farmers Gin
- Cotton gins in Yoakum County, TX, including Yoakum County Co-op Gin in Plains
- Cotton gins in Hidalgo County, TX, in the Rio Grande Valley
- Cotton gins in Kings County, CA, in California's San Joaquin Valley
- Cotton gins near Lubbock and the South Plains
To see when gins in your area are running, check cotton ginning season by region.
Cotton markets, every trading day. Following the cotton crop from field to gin? The Cotton Wire covers the market every trading day. Subscribe to The Cotton Wire
FAQ
Where can I buy cotton gin trash near me?
From a local cotton gin. Use the county pages on cottongins.org to find gins nearby, then call to ask about availability, loading and any charge.
How much does cotton gin trash cost?
Prices are set locally, and extension sources say the trash is often free, with buyers paying for transport and storage. Ask the gin directly.
Is cotton gin trash good for cattle?
It can be a useful low-cost roughage for dry, pregnant beef cows, but it's low and variable in nutrients and often needs energy supplementation. Have it tested. Check with your county extension office about chemical residue rules, since UF/IFAS warned many cotton chemicals aren't cleared for feeding gin trash.
Is cotton gin trash good for gardens?
Composted gin trash is used as a mulch and soil amendment. Use fully finished compost, since raw trash and the surface of old piles can carry viable weed seeds such as Palmer amaranth.
How much gin trash does a bale of cotton produce?
About 150 to 200 pounds per 480-pound bale, according to UGA Extension. Stripper-harvested cotton produces more.
When is gin trash available?
Mostly during and right after ginning season, roughly fall through winter depending on the region.
Sources
- Myer, R. O. Cotton Gin Trash: Alternative Roughage Feed for Beef Cattle (AN189). UF/IFAS Extension (archived copy): composition ranges from a 26-gin Georgia survey, feeding guidance, transport cost, chemical residue warning. https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/IR/00/00/37/67/00001/AN18900.pdf
- University of Georgia Extension. Using Cotton Byproducts in Beef Cattle Diets (Bulletin 1311): gin trash per bale, nutrient composition, wetting and mold, feeding trial with cracked corn. https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/publications/B1311/using-cotton-byproducts-in-beef-cattle-diets/
- Alabama Cooperative Extension System. "Cotton Byproduct Use in Beef Cattle Diets": gin trash cost, protein and TDN, feeding methods including modules and electric fence. https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/beef/cotton-byproduct-use-in-beef-cattle-diets/
- Norsworthy, J. K., K. L. Smith, L. E. Steckel, and C. H. Koger. "Weed Seed Contamination of Cotton Gin Trash." Weed Technology 23:574–580 (2009): weed species, seed survival in composted piles, gin disposal methods. https://doi.org/10.1614/wt-08-146.1
- University of California. "Composting Treatment for Cotton Gin Trash Fines": gin trash composition; composting conditions and time; energy use of gin waste; composting destroyed weed seeds and Verticillium dahliae; DEF and paraquat not degraded. https://my.ucanr.edu/repository/fileaccess.cfm?article=159280&p=JDDILS
- Winterlin, W., et al. "Chemical residues during screening, composting, and soil incorporation of cotton gin waste." Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part B 21:507–528 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1080/03601238609372539
- Wanjura, J. D., W. B. Faulkner, E. M. Barnes, G. A. Holt, and M. G. Pelletier. "Crop Residue Inventory Estimates for Texas High Plains Cotton." Proceedings of the 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, pp. 542–552: foreign matter by harvest method. https://www.cotton.org/beltwide/proceedings/2005-2022/data/conferences/2012/papers/13220.pdf
