Last week, the Limestone County 4-H took 5th graders across Limestone County and Athens City Schools to the Associated Growers Co-Op cotton gin. High school students from the Limestone County Career Tech Center led the field trip.

The trip allowed students to view the entire ginning process from the observation room and then ask questions about what they watched.

They were taught about the process that gets the cotton to the gin. They learned about planting the cotton seeds, blooming, seed picking, and more and saw the equipment used in each step of the cotton process.

Students also learned about the cycle of the seed and how the cotton process today differs from when people first started tending to cotton.

After the students learned about the process of cotton, they then had the opportunity to see what that cotton is turned into.

“They were interested to learn a lot of our cosmetic products like Q tips and makeup remover, lots of things come from cotton,” said Chloe Wilson, 4-H Foundation Regional Extension Agent.

The students were taught how no part of the cotton goes to waste.

“They learned about what happens with the seeds and how that mainly is sold to farmers in the North and they use it to feed their dairy cow or mix it in their feed, and it can also be pressed down and made into oil that can be put into our salad dressings and things like that,” Wilson said.

“It was all just very eye opening for them to see the big picture,” Wilson explained.