Excerpt: Present agricultural policies grew out of the period between the two world wars. That period was characterized in general by high and rising barriers to world trade, by increasing surpluses of basic raw materials and, in its later stages, by great unemployment and economic distress throughout the world. Faced by falling export markets and low domestic demand, farmers were driven to the drastic production control and price-supporting measures provided by the Agricultural Adjustment Act and subsequent legislation. These measures in turn caused other difficulties including increased competition of foreign cotton abroad and increased production of synthetic fibers, both at home and abroad. Now at the end of World War II, great changes have taken place. Future policies can be reconsidered in the light of both the past experience and future prospects. Many of the conditions which characterized the inter-war period have disappeared or may disappear in the years ahead for reasons that will be shown in detail subsequently. Seeking an answer to the dilemma produced by the contraction of the cotton market in response to past agricultural programs, and the need for continuous public subsidies to maintain cotton prices or incomes, Southern farmers can now choose between a number of different possible future programs.