Author: Certi-Pik, USA

The History of the Cotton Picker

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Cotton has been one of the most important crops in America since the colonial days. Once the Industrial Revolution kicked into full gear, inventors began tinkering with ways to develop machines that would pick cotton for them, rather than having to have tons of workers out in the field picking it by hand.

In the late 1920s, John Daniel Rust began developing the very first practical cotton picker. There are other inventors who had attempted to create mechanical cotton pickers of their own, using barbed spindles that twisted the fibers onto the spindle, pulling the cotton off the boll as a result. However, those designs were often not functional, and were impractical due to how easily the spindles would get clogged up with cotton.

Rust’s design, which had a major impact on the way cotton pickers would be designed in years to come, featured a smooth, moist spindle that would strip the cotton fibers off the boll without resulting in a machinery clog. By 1933, he had his first patent for a cotton picker, and eventually collected 47 total patents (along with his brother Mack) for cotton picking machinery.

Of course, as the Great Depression was underway at this time, it was nearly impossible to get the financing they needed to make their mechanical cotton picker used on a widespread basis. But they continued working nonetheless.

Breakthroughs and adoption

In 1935, John and Mack Rust founded their Rust Cotton Picker Company in Memphis, Tennessee. The next year, they demonstrated their model of the Rust picker at the Delta Experiment Station in Stoneville, Mississippi. This was a significant step forward for the brothers. Even though the picker did have some significant drawbacks and deficiencies, the idea of a mechanical cotton picker was extremely attractive to farmers and investors in the area. The demonstration resulted in significant nationwide attention and press coverage.

Despite the greater coverage, though, the brothers did not have the resources needed to manufacture their cotton picker on a much larger scale. As such, other companies swooped in to attempt to create their own cotton pickers that were not based on the Rust brothers’ patents.

The arrival of World War II put a significant delay on widespread adoption of cotton pickers, even as International Harvester developed its first commercially successful cotton picker in 1944.

Once the war was over, the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company started manufacturing cotton pickers that improved on many parts of the Rusts’ design. The success of this machinery led to the development of other pickers, with the technology being gradually improved as more and more American cotton farmers adopted the technology.

Today’s cotton pickers are obviously more advanced and easier to use, but many of the basic elements still hearken back to the initial design created by the Rust brothers in the 1930s.

For more information about the history of cotton pickers, contact Certi-Pik, USA today. We specialize in the fabrication and sale of a wide range of cotton picker parts, and look forward to showing you what we can do for you!

How Does a Mechanical Cotton Picker Work?

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The development of the mechanical cotton picker goes back to the early 1930s, and its proliferation and improvement in the decades that followed made for significantly easier harvesting of cotton. No longer would farmers have to rely on laborers to go out and work the fields all day picking cotton off the bolls—instead, they could invest in a cotton picker that would get the job done in a fraction of the time while also saving a significant amount of money in labor costs in the long run. This increased production and harvesting capability at lower costs had a massive effect on the cotton industry, and as such, on the textile industries as well.

But how does a mechanical cotton picker work? Let’s take a closer look.

Two Main Types of Cotton Picker Machines

In the old days, the earliest cotton pickers only were able to harvest a single row of cotton at a time. Even with this relative inefficiency, however, they still would replace up to 40 hand laborers in the field, saving a whole lot of time and money.

Today’s cotton pickers have obviously evolved quite a bit since those days. These self-propelled machines are capable of removing cotton lint and seed from plants at a rate of up to six rows at a time.

There are two main types of pickers used most commonly on cotton farms today: the “stripper” picker (primarily found in Texas and Arkansas) and the “spindle” picker.

The cotton stripper removes the lint from the plant, as well as a fair amount of plant matter, including bolls that have not yet opened up. The plant matter gets separated from the lint later on in the process, as heavier matter gets separated from the lint before the lint gets moved to its end point in the basket at the back of the picker.

Spindle pickers use rows of barbed spindles, similar to those that had been used to less efficient effect in the early days of mechanical cotton pickers. These spindles rotate very quickly and pluck the seed-cotton off the plant. That seed-cotton then gets taken off the spindles with the use of a counter-rotating doffer, and blown upward into the basket that collects the cotton.

After the basket in either type of picker is full, the picker then dumps that seed-cotton into an area known as a module builder, which compacts the cotton into a brick-like form. These cotton “bricks” can weigh up to 21,000 lbs each and are then stored either in the gin yard or the field until it can be run through a cotton gin. The ginned bales then weigh about 480 lbs.

This is a very basic overview of how a cotton picker works, but it should give you an idea of the efficiency inventors have developed in these machines over the course of the last eight decades. For more information about the type of cotton picker that might be the best solution for your needs, contact the experts at Certi-Pik, USA. We’re your premier source for replacement cotton picker parts for John Deere and Case IH equipment!

BBB-Accredited Provider Cotton Harvester Parts

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When it comes to purchasing new parts for your cotton harvester, there is a wide variety of factors that might figure into your purchasing decision. While there are many different things that you can use to help you decide where to purchase your parts, one of the most important things to consider is Better Business Bureau (BBB) accreditation. Better Business Bureau accreditation can help you determine whether you can trust a company to provide you with the level of security and customer service that you are looking for. Read on to find out more about why you should work with a BBB-accredited business when you need to buy cotton harvester parts.

BBB accreditation basics

So, what exactly is the Better Business Bureau? The BBB is an organization that’s designed to help consumers make better decisions about the businesses that they choose to work with. When people purchase a product or hire a company to provide a service, they want to feel confident that they are working with a business that they can trust to meet their needs. In order for a company to receive BBB accreditation, they must agree to adhere to a set of guidelines and standards regarding fairness and honesty.

Here are some of the benefits of working with a BBB-accredited provider of cotton harvester parts:

At Certi-Pik, USA, we are proud to be accredited by the Better Business Bureau, with a long-standing track record for providing quality cotton harvester parts to our customers. We’ve been in business since 1988, and we have developed a strong reputation for the quality of our products and our customer service. Find out more about what we have to offer by giving us a call today. We would be happy to provide you with more information about what we can do for you when you reach out to our team!

When Do You Know You Need New Cotton Picker Parts?

Certi-Pik, USA |

You rely on your cotton picker to reliably deliver the performance and efficiency that you need to maintain a high level of production. Unfortunately, cotton picker parts and components will eventually begin to wear out or become damaged, and you will need to have them replaced. The problem is that it isn’t always easy to determine whether it’s time to invest in replacement parts. By looking out for a few key signs that replacement is necessary, you can ensure that your cotton picker continues to operate effectively:

Call us for quality cotton picker parts

If you need replacement cotton picker parts, contact Certi-Pik, USA. We have an inventory of quality replacement parts that are designed to deliver the best efficiency and performance possible. Our team has specialized in providing replacement parts since 1988, and we continue to deliver the best products available to our customers. We understand that every customer has different needs, and we are here to ensure that you receive the specific parts that are right for you. Give us a call today to find out more about our inventory and to place an order.

Evolution of Cotton Pickers & Cotton Harvester Parts

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Agriculture has come a long way since it was first developed thousands of years ago. However, many of the crops that have been popular throughout the history of agriculture continue to be staples in our modern economy. One of the crops that’s been in consistently high demand for hundreds of years is cotton, a fibrous crop that’s harvested for use in textiles, clothing and other consumer products. However, the equipment that we use to harvest this crop today is worlds away from original cotton harvesting methods. When you look back on the history of cotton picking and harvesting machinery, you can appreciate just how far this industry has come in the last several hundred years.

Before mechanical harvesting

Long before any mechanical device was created to harvest cotton, cotton was picked by hand. This process was incredibly labor and time intensive, and made it difficult for large cotton producers to keep up with demand in a timely and efficient manner. While there were many advances made in cotton processing technology, including the development of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton harvesting was not improved significantly until the early 20th century with the application of locomotive technology.

Cotton harvesting machinery

The first practical cotton picker was invented by John Daniel Rust during the late 1920s and early 1930s. The machine that Rust invented had smooth spindles that were wet with water to prevent cotton from being trapped in the mechanical components of the machine. This cotton harvesting machine could effectively separate cotton fibers from the rest of the plant and had the capacity to significantly boost production time and efficiency.

While Rust did establish a cotton picker manufacturing company along with his brother Mack Rust, the company suffered from the financial difficulties that many businesses experienced in the Depression-era United States. After the Great Depression, mechanical cotton picker development and production was delayed again, this time by World War II. The first successful commercial cotton picker was produced in 1944 and based on the design concepts of the Rust brothers.

In the early days of commercial cotton pickers, the machinery was only capable of harvesting a single row of cotton at a time. Today, cotton pickers can pick cotton from up to six rows at a time. Cotton harvester parts are made with innovative designs that are intended to maximize performance and yield. Modern cotton picking machinery can separate cotton fibers from the plant in a way that promotes incredibly efficient processing and distribution.

Find quality cotton harvester parts

At Certi-Pik, USA, we are proud to be part of an industry that has grown by leaps and bounds since it began. Since 1988, we have provided exceptional cotton picker parts for a wide variety of machinery. In addition to our existing selection of replacement parts, we’re also proud to fabricate customized parts based on your machinery and what you’re looking for. Reach out to us today to get started with your next parts order or to find out more about the services that we offer.