The cotton industry is plagued by broken bale ties each year. High stresses inside cotton bales can cause one or more ties to fail which may result in exposed lint. Four main ginning techniques for reducing high stresses on bale ties include maintaining a lint moisture content between 5 and 8 percent at the press box, hold platen separation (shut height) to 19 or 20 inches, make sure lint distribution on the condenser drum remains uniform, and provide tie lengths of no greater than 87 to 89 inches (plastic strap 86 2 inches maximum). Two additional recommendations for reducing stresses on ties are to rotate wire knots to the ball (sample side) of the bale and to recess ties into the flat side of the bale. Following these six guidelines for preventing broken bale ties should prove useful.