A specialized agricultural machine used primarily in dryland farming regions to harvest cotton. Unlike a spindle picker that pulls only the lint, a stripper uses rotating bats and brushes to strip everything off the stalk. This method is faster and cheaper but results in a higher volume of trash mixed with the cotton, requiring more aggressive cleaning at the gin.
Heard on the job
The cotton stripper is leaving too much lint on the lower branches, so drop the header a couple of inches.
Insider tip
Strippers are generally used for shorter, storm-proof cotton varieties, whereas pickers are used for taller, higher-yield plants.
Also heard as
- stripper