Pneumatic systems are normally used at cotton gins to unload seed cotton from trailers, and to transport and dry the cotton during the ginning process. The primary disadvantages of these systems are their high power requirements and the expense involved in cleaning the air before it is exhausted back to the atmosphere. These problems, however, could be lessened by replacing some of the pneumatic systems in the gin with energy efficient mechanical conveyors. The increased use of mechanical module feeders at the gin provides such an opportunity since air suction is not required for the successful operation of these machines. One of the purposes of this study was to investigate the conveying characteristics of a flat wire mesh belt when handling machine-stripped seed cotton from a mechanical feeder. Another objective of the study was to investigate the feasibility of incorporating into the belt conveyor a part of the seed cotton drying process. Specifically, we tested a combination conveyor-drier that simultaneously conveyed, elevated, and dried machine-stripped seed cotton.