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Cotton Gin returns to Delta County

PFF Gin & Warehouse, owned by Pat Pilgrim, is set to begin operations this September in Delta County.
Cindy Roller
/
Cooper Review

Delta County will be the location of a thriving cotton gin. This won’t be just any cotton gin – it will be a state-of-the-art gin, says Pat Pilgrim, owner of PFF Gin & Warehouse.

The 23,750 square foot facility on the 30 acres at the crossroads of State Highway 24 and Farm-to-Market 1335 near Lake Creek will employ 14-20 workers.

“Cotton is a viable crop for this area. It gives farmers another alternative,” said Pat Pilgrim. “Cotton seems to be better suited for this area with our weather patterns.”

Pilgrim said the current varieties of cotton are much easier to manage and the genetics are better than in previous years.

“The plant will produce 40-50 bales per hour,” said Pilgrim, who hopes to be in service this September just in time for the cotton season. Operating on electricity the plant should be the most advanced of any plant within a 300 mile radius transporting the cotton all over the world. The plant will be able to gin whole crops in two-three months. The cotton will be used to produce bed sheets to blue jeans.

His family has been farming community for years. Their intentions will be to gin both local farmers’ crops and their own crops. In 2014, Delta County had around 6,500 acres of cotton planted.

“That is our way of life and we always like to support it,” added Pilgrim. He has been very active in the Delta County Economic Development Corporation. “We hope to return a piece of Delta County history with this operation.”

Pat is the son of Bo Pilgrim previous owner of Pilgrim’s Pride in Titus County. Pat Pilgrim also operates a facility on four acres in Deport, Texas that will be primarily used as a seed plant.

“I think it is great,” said Delta County Extension Agent Alford Echols, as his father is also a cotton farmer. Echols said the last two cotton gins in Delta County were the Cooper Co-op Gin and the Enloe Co-op Gin. “Enloe was the last working gin, and it closed in the early nineties. …Cotton was a big part of the family history of many in our county. I am very proud that our producers will have such a superior facility to gin their cotton.”