The Garlyn Coop Gin was formed in 2014 when the Grassland Coop Gin (1944) and the Close City Coop Gin (1943) merged and has been a member of the Post Area Chamber of Commerce since 2016. The Garlyn Coop Gin is located on FM 1313 in Grassland half way between Post and Tahoka.
The Gin is under the direction of a Board of Directors consisting of Mike Braddock, (President), Mike Aten (Vice-President), Ty Stark (Secretary), Scott Huffaker, Jeff Martin, David Norman and Clay Taylor. Russel Barnett is the Gin Manager and Wendy Nelson is the Office Manager.
This is one of the few small cotton gins left in West Texas with members from Garza, Lynn, Lubbock and Scurry Counties. As a small gin, they don’t push quantity over quality. Their focus is on helping the farmers obtain the best possible grade and price for their cotton. The Garlyn Coop Gin strives to support local cotton farmers and make their harvest seasons run as smoothly as possible.
The ginning/harvest season typically runs from October thru January/February, depending on the size of the cotton crop each year. Most years the gin runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with two 12-hour ginning crews during that time. The ginning process separates the cotton lint from its seed and burr and packs the lint into bales that are then sent to Farmers Cooperative Compress in Lubbock for storage until it is sold. At that point, the gin office will help the farmer sell their cotton, either through a marketing pool or on the open market.
While the 2021 Crop Year was record setting, with high yields and prices per pound, most any profit the farmers may have made, has quickly been offset with at least double and triple the cost of expenses for the 2022 Crop Year and beyond. The cost of fuel, seed, chemical and all other repair and equipment costs have become astronomical with the current economy.
The goal for Garlyn Coop Gin for this year is as simple as most businesses today: “Be mindful of our overhead and operational costs so that we can continue to serve our farmers and our communities.