A comparison of the 2001 and 2002 crop years from the ARS Leading Varieties Study suggests a link between high rainfall experienced in 2002 with poor processing performance compared with 2001. A comparison of the surface salt content between the two years further suggests that high rainfall on open bolls caused a decrease in surface salt content in the 2002 crop. Subsequent studies on a single cotton cultivar treated with a variety of salt solutions indicate that, depending on the specific salt used, fiber-to-fiber and fiber-to-metal friction as measured by the Rotorring are both strongly affected by surface salt content. As a corollary to this work, the pilot scale study presented here was initiated in order to address the question of whether application of salt solutions to a rain affected cotton will mitigate its processing performance as measured by such factors as ends-down, short fiber content, and yarn strength.