Bale Management is the judicious selection of cotton in order to achieve acceptable economical spinning performance and consistent yarn quality.

Not very many years ago, the spinner had only Grade, Staple Length, and Origin of cotton to help him in Bale Management. Then came Micronaire, and it did not take very long for it to be recognized, and it is still today, as one of the absolute requirements in managing yarn making. Although most spinners controlled Micronaire mix averages, the distribution around the average was not given much consideration because Micronaire addition did complicate warehousing.

After Micronaire, the Pressley and Stelometer and Fibrograph gained the industry's attention. For spinners, not much emphasis was given these new test methods other than an every now and then small percentage check to get an estimate of what the averages of incoming bales might be. Meanwhile, researchers established that as much as 80% of yarn variation could be explained by the instrument measure of Micronaire, Length, Length Uniformity, and Strength of cotton.

Unless cotton properties are known and test data used for selection of bales for mixes, yarn production will be influenced by a probability and chance selection as fiber properties, unknown and not managed, wander around within and between mixes. In cases where fiber properties are not known or not used in inventory control, bale warehousing does not present a problem nor does it have anything positive to offer yarn production management. Its 40% to 60% contribution to cost of making yarn can easily have a negative influence. on the other hand, if fiber property profiles which dictate spinning performance are known, the gamble in bale selection can be eliminated. The Warehouse Room can be transformed into an element as important to spinning success as the Card Room and the Spinning Room. This spinning success is the goal of active and controlled Bale Management.