You are using an unsupported browser. This web site is designed for the current versions of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari.
The Office of the Federal Register publishes documents on behalf of Federal agencies but does not have any authority over their programs. We recommend you directly contact the agency associated with the content in question.
If you have comments or suggestions on how to improve the www.ecfr.gov website or have questions about using www.ecfr.gov, please choose the 'Website Feedback' button below.
If you would like to comment on the current content, please use the 'Content Feedback' button below for instructions on contacting the issuing agency
Enhanced content is provided to the user to provide additional context.
This content is from the eCFR and is authoritative but unofficial.
Navigate by entering citations or phrases (eg: 1 CFR 1.1 49 CFR 172.101 Organization and Purpose 1/1.1 Regulation Y FAR).
Choosing an item from citations and headings will bring you directly to the content. Choosing an item from full text search results will bring you to those results. Pressing enter in the search box will also bring you to search results.
Background and more details are available in the Search & Navigation guide.
22 FR 10930, Dec. 28, 1957, unless otherwise noted.
Sections 28.301 to 28.307 issued under Sec. 10, 42 Stat. 1519; 7 U.S.C. 61. Interpret or apply sec. 6, 42 Stat. 1518, as amended, sec. 4854, 68A Stat. 580; 7 U.S.C. 56, 26 U.S.C. 4854.
This content is from the eCFR and may include recent changes applied to the CFR. The official, published CFR, is updated annually and available below under "Published Edition". You can learn more about the process here.
Subscribe to: 7 CFR Part 28 Subpart C - Official Cotton Standards of the United States for Length of Staple
No changes found for this content after 1/03/2017.
View the most recent official publication:
These links go to the official, published CFR, which is updated annually. As a result, it may not include the most recent changes applied to the CFR. Learn more.
Information and documentation can be found in our developer resources.
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the official legal print publication containing the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) is a continuously updated online version of the CFR. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR.
Learn more about the eCFR, its status, and the editorial process.
Sections 28.301 to 28.307 issued under Sec. 10, 42 Stat. 1519; 7 U.S.C. 61. Interpret or apply sec. 6, 42 Stat. 1518, as amended, sec. 4854, 68A Stat. 580; 7 U.S.C. 56, 26 U.S.C. 4854.
The length of staple of any cotton shall be the normal length by measurement, without regard to quality or value, of a typical portion of its fibers under a relative humidity of the atmosphere of 65 percent and a temperature of 70 °F.
The length of staple of any cotton shall be designated by that one of the following terms which expresses its measurement in inches and fractions of an inch in accordance with § 28.301:
“Below 13⁄16; 7⁄8; 29⁄32; 15⁄16; 31⁄32; 1; 11⁄32; 11⁄16; 13⁄32; 11⁄8; 15⁄32; 13⁄16; 17⁄32; 11⁄4; 19⁄32; 15⁄16; 111⁄32; 13⁄8; 113⁄32; 17⁄16; 115⁄32; 11⁄2; 117⁄32; 19⁄16; 119⁄32; 15⁄8; 121⁄32; 111⁄16; 123⁄32; 13⁄4; and upward in like manner in gradations of thirty-seconds, disregarding any fraction less than a thirty-second.”
(a) Effective July 12, 1985, standards for the lengths of staple of American upland cotton shall be measurements as determined by the Suter-Webb Duplex Cotton Fiber Sorter in accordance with the test method prescribed in paragraph (c) of this section. Ranges for each official staple length are shown in the table below. Staple standards exceeding 11⁄4 inches, in graduations of thirty-second inches, will be expressed in increments of .041 inches.
| Staple length | Upper quartile length range |
|---|---|
| 13⁄16 | .827-.847 |
| 7⁄8 | .909-.929 |
| 29⁄32 | .950-.970 |
| 15⁄16 | .990-1.010 |
| 31⁄32 | 1.031-1.051 |
| 1 | 1.072-1.092 |
| 11⁄32 | 1.113-1.133 |
| 11⁄16 | 1.154-1.174 |
| 13⁄32 | 1.195-1.215 |
| 11⁄8 | 1.236-1.256 |
| 15⁄32 | 1.277-1.297 |
| 13⁄16 | 1.318-1.338 |
| 17⁄32 | 1.359-1.379 |
| 11⁄4 | 1.400-1.420 |
(b) Cotton selected for the preparation of practical forms of staple standards shall, to the extent practicable, measure at the mid-point of the appropriate staple range indicated in paragraph (a) of this section.
(c) Length measurements shall be performed in accordance with the “Standard Test Method for Length and Length Distribution of Cotton Fibers (Array Method), ANSI/ASTM D 1440-77 (1982), which is incorporated by reference pursuant to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552(a). This standard test method has been adopted by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and approved as an American National Standard by the American National Standards Institute. It is published in the “Annual Book of ASTM Standards,” Part 33, volume 07.02. Copies of the ASTM book and copies of ASTM standard D 1440-77 as a separate publication may be obtained from ASTM, Customer Service, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. A copy of the ASTM standard test method is also on file at the Office of the Federal Register. A notice of any change in the ASTM standard test method cited herein will be published in the Federal Register.
[49 FR 28391, July 12, 1984]
The following lengths of American Pima staple are represented by a quantity of cotton in the custody of the United States Department of Agriculture suitably contained and marked “Original Representation of Official Cotton Standards of the United States” followed in each instance by the name of growth, appropriate designation for staple length, and the effective date.
| Staple length (inches) | Effective date |
|---|---|
| 15⁄16 | Aug. 1, 1961. |
| 13⁄8 | Aug. 10, 1943. |
| 17⁄16 | Aug. 10, 1943. |
| 11⁄2 | Aug. 1, 1929. |
[49 FR 28391, July 12, 1984]
Cotton which is more than thirteen-sixteenths of an inch in length of staple but is not exactly one of the measurements specified in § 28.302, shall be designated by that one of such measurements which comes nearest under its true measurement.
[22 FR 10930, Dec. 28, 1957. Redesignated at 49 FR 28391, July 12, 1984]
Whenever the length of staple of cotton taken from one part of a bale is different from that taken from another part of the same bale, the length of staple of the cotton in such bale shall be that of the part which is the shorter.
[22 FR 10930, Dec. 28, 1957. Redesignated at 49 FR 28391, July 12, 1984]