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HISTORY OF TERRY COUNTY COOP GIN
The Farmers Society #1 was established by 1932 and located in the 900 block of Main Street. Records show the board of directors to be:
J. L. Lyon – President, J. J. Gaston – Vice President, J. R. Lanier - Secretary, S. C. Tailey, B. M. Wade, and Hugh Hulse. S.L. McDonald was
manager. The gin was included and incorporated by state records October 7, 1936. In 1962 they changed the name to Brownfield Farmers Coop.
The coop gin was established to serve the group of farmers who organized it. The slogan being “Your Gin If You Use It”, all the profits of the gin
were returned to those who used it. The Gins in the region formed the regional coops; The Oil Mill, The Compress, and The Spinning Mill with the
same concept.
The gin was located on Main Street until the relocation to South 14th St. in 1959. The coop property south of Main Street was sold to Goodpasture
and the station was moved to the north side of the street. The board was split to serve between the two entities. The board of the gin became:
Earl Brown – President, James Martin – Secretary, Grady Dickson, Mancil Hinson, and Wood Johnson. Gin manager was L.L. White.
The first mode of transport to the gin was generally trailers pulled by the family car. Many times this was driven by the farmer’s wife pulling two trailers
at a time. The next was the modules on the pallets hauled on a roller trailer, and lastly the module trucks hauled to the module to the gin.
The day of the trailers, when the gin was behind with the ginning, the farmers had to wait several days to get their trailers back. Weather often dictated
the ginning and harvest. The modules changed this a great deal.
In the early years the bales went to the Compress in Lubbock to be compressed for shipment. A modification to the gin changed this to the compression
being done in the local gin and then shipped. Changes included hand-tie to automatic bagging of the bales. The first gin, which was steam powered,
could gin three bales per hour. The present plant can gin closer to thirty-to-forty bales per hour.
The Brownfield Coop Gin and the South Coop Gin merged in 1983 to become the Terry County Coop Gin. Directors were Mike Kelly - president,
Lewis Waters - Vice President, Jerry Jones – Secretary, Bennie Brown, Monty Henson, L R Gober, T C Hogue, Gerald Jordan, J V Riley, and Leon Speed.
Alvin King became the manager until he retired in 98'. In 1986, the board of directors downsized to a 7 man board. The South Coop Gin property was
sold to DeLeon Peanut Company, presently Tejas Peanut Company.
The current board of directors are: Mike Swain – President, Mason Becker – Vice President, Ronald Luker – Secretary, Mark Addison,
Ron Gober, Ronnie Jordan, and Rhett Green. Gin manager is Kyle King.
The Farmers Society #1 was established by 1932 and located in the 900 block of Main Street. Records show the board of directors to be:
J. L. Lyon – President, J. J. Gaston – Vice President, J. R. Lanier - Secretary, S. C. Tailey, B. M. Wade, and Hugh Hulse. S.L. McDonald was
manager. The gin was included and incorporated by state records October 7, 1936. In 1962 they changed the name to Brownfield Farmers Coop.
The coop gin was established to serve the group of farmers who organized it. The slogan being “Your Gin If You Use It”, all the profits of the gin
were returned to those who used it. The Gins in the region formed the regional coops; The Oil Mill, The Compress, and The Spinning Mill with the
same concept.
The gin was located on Main Street until the relocation to South 14th St. in 1959. The coop property south of Main Street was sold to Goodpasture
and the station was moved to the north side of the street. The board was split to serve between the two entities. The board of the gin became:
Earl Brown – President, James Martin – Secretary, Grady Dickson, Mancil Hinson, and Wood Johnson. Gin manager was L.L. White.
The first mode of transport to the gin was generally trailers pulled by the family car. Many times this was driven by the farmer’s wife pulling two trailers
at a time. The next was the modules on the pallets hauled on a roller trailer, and lastly the module trucks hauled to the module to the gin.
The day of the trailers, when the gin was behind with the ginning, the farmers had to wait several days to get their trailers back. Weather often dictated
the ginning and harvest. The modules changed this a great deal.
In the early years the bales went to the Compress in Lubbock to be compressed for shipment. A modification to the gin changed this to the compression
being done in the local gin and then shipped. Changes included hand-tie to automatic bagging of the bales. The first gin, which was steam powered,
could gin three bales per hour. The present plant can gin closer to thirty-to-forty bales per hour.
The Brownfield Coop Gin and the South Coop Gin merged in 1983 to become the Terry County Coop Gin. Directors were Mike Kelly - president,
Lewis Waters - Vice President, Jerry Jones – Secretary, Bennie Brown, Monty Henson, L R Gober, T C Hogue, Gerald Jordan, J V Riley, and Leon Speed.
Alvin King became the manager until he retired in 98'. In 1986, the board of directors downsized to a 7 man board. The South Coop Gin property was
sold to DeLeon Peanut Company, presently Tejas Peanut Company.
The current board of directors are: Mike Swain – President, Mason Becker – Vice President, Ronald Luker – Secretary, Mark Addison,
Ron Gober, Ronnie Jordan, and Rhett Green. Gin manager is Kyle King.
Alvin & Directors and Wives 1985
Across the scale with an old cotton trailer pulled by horses
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Alvin and Ruth King
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Picking Cotton
Old Cotton Stripper
35-YEAR AVE. CASH PAID FROM TERRY COUNTY COOP GIN
AVE. PER BALE $ 22.21
THANK YOU PYCO, IT WASN'T POSSIBLE WITHOUT YOU!
Biggest Year - 2005 - 76,784 B/C
Biggest Cash Payout -07' $2,292,545
AVE. PER BALE $ 22.21
THANK YOU PYCO, IT WASN'T POSSIBLE WITHOUT YOU!
Biggest Year - 2005 - 76,784 B/C
Biggest Cash Payout -07' $2,292,545
"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good." Ps. 136:1
1996' Distinguished Service Award is Ruth King of Terry County Coop where she is known to render exceptional service to members.
Alvin King received an award being named "Cooperative Ginner of the Year" in 1975.
Alvin and Ruth both have been an outstanding asset to the association and ginning industry.
