Farmers, ag dealers, and crop consultants gathered in Branford to discuss the potential for the newest cotton gin in the southeast. Mr. Van Murphy, General Manager of BCT Gin, said their organization is thinking about a new gin site to increase capacity and handle a growing Florida crop. He said the Board of Directors voted to do exploratory work to assess the feasibility of constructing a gin in North-Central Florida.

Mr. Murphy suggested a partnership could be developed between BCT Gin, a farmer owned gin headquartered in Quitman GA, and area farmers. The objective is to construct a facility at a cost of 6 to 7 million dollars which would gin 30,000 bales of cotton per year. Over 70 people attended, including farmers from Columbia, Dixie, Alachua, Hamilton, Suwannee, Lafayette, Gilchrist, and Levy counties.