COTTON : FROM HARVEST TO GIN: 17_0_266_1webrh17

Cotton seeds are separated from the cotton at the Minturn Cotton Company in Minturn, South Carolina November 27, 2012. Cotton seeds are gathered and sold for animal feed and cotton seed oil and defer the costs of the ginning process for area cotton farmers. Although automated, the ginning process for cotton uses the same process patented by inventor Eli Whitney in 1794. REUTERS/Randall Hill (UNITED STATES)

Cotton seeds are separated from the cotton at the Minturn Cotton Company in Minturn, South Carolina November 27, 2012. Cotton seeds are gathered and sold for animal feed and cotton seed oil and defer the costs of the ginning process for area cotton farmers. Although automated, the ginning process for cotton uses the same process patented by inventor Eli Whitney in 1794. REUTERS/Randall Hill (UNITED STATES)