COTTON : FROM HARVEST TO GIN: 7_0_256_1webrh07

Cotton gin co-owner and manager Earl Alford, Jr. works the controls of a cotton press at the Minturn Cotton Company in Minturn, South Carolina November 27, 2012. Farmer Roy Baxley, Jr. and Alford bought the ginning facility in 1971 and clean cotton for area cotton farmers. {quote} 20-years-ago we'd gin it and the cotton would go directly to the local factories,{quote} said Alford. {quote}Now they are all gone.{quote} REUTERS/Randall Hill (UNITED STATES)

Cotton gin co-owner and manager Earl Alford, Jr. works the controls of a cotton press at the Minturn Cotton Company in Minturn, South Carolina November 27, 2012. Farmer Roy Baxley, Jr. and Alford bought the ginning facility in 1971 and clean cotton for area cotton farmers. " 20-years-ago we'd gin it and the cotton would go directly to the local factories," said Alford. "Now they are all gone." REUTERS/Randall Hill (UNITED STATES)