USDA Cotton Classing- how cotton is evaluated and classified in the United States?

Darryl Earnest of the USDA discusses how cotton is evaluated and classified in the United States as well as his division’s role in supporting U.S. cotton producers.

Cotton classification refers to the application of official standards and standardized procedures developed by USDA for measuring the physical attributes of raw cotton that affect the quality of the finished product and/or manufacturing efficiency.

The USDA classing methodology is based on grade and instrument standards, and it’s used hand in hand with state-of-the-art methods and equipment. The resulting information provides the cotton industry with the best possible data on cotton quality for the purposes of accurate marketing and processing. USDA classification currently consists of determinations of fiber length, length uniformity, fiber strength, micronaire, color, trash, leaf, and extraneous matter.

Today, precision instruments are used to perform quality measurements, and they’re able to do so in a matter of seconds, whereas original classification methodology systems were inefficient and relied on human senses. The classifications still done manually are for special conditions and extraneous matter. The USDA is in the process of transitioning to all-instrument classification as quickly as the technology can be developed, refined, and prove reliable results.