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. r j Treasury bills is v e r y .o small Huc.ua.-ons Th; r ^ . i v e very active and is demand or supply- il Production Credit and Interest Rate Developments During the first quarter of 1960, interest rates in the nation’s highly competitive security markets have been in a downward trend. Three-month Treasury bills were priced by the market to yield over 4 1/29^ during the first week of the year. By late March investors in this security were willing to pay a price which put the yield around 2 Y 7 CIn 1959, interest rates trended persistently up ward establishing new post W orld W ar II highs. The yield on three-month Treasury bills, again illustrative of rate movement, rose from a little over 2y2c/c early in the year to over 4Yi^c ^ate December. A larger amount of spending rested on bor rowed money in 1959 than ever before in any peacetime year. Total debt in the economy was pushed upward by approximately $60 billion— estimated to be a one-third greater increase than in any other peacetime year. The most significant economic aspect of this huge boost in the indebtedness of individuals, business firms and governmental units lies in the source of the funds. Money that is made available to bor rowers must come from one of two possible sources: from someone giving up the ability to spend now in order to make the funds available to 2 the borrowers, that is to say, from saving; or from the manufacture of new’ money. Rapid rates of economic growth tend to generate upward price pressures. The creation of new money under such conditions accentuates the inflationary tendencies. The attraction of saving to meet borrowers’ de mands, on the other hand, has a salutary effect, reducing expenditures for goods and services while making funds available to meet borrowers’ de mands for such expenditures. In 1959, borrowers obtained their funds almost entirely from savings. Thus far in 1960 savers have supplied all the funds that have been made available to meet borrowers’ demands. BANKING UNDER PRESSURE Commercial banks, the private money-creating institutions among American financial businesses, increased their loans by over $12 billion in 1959, an annual in crease approached only in the previous record year, 1955. This lending activity did not, how ever, generate a comparable increase in the na tion’s active money supply. The money supply (demand deposits adjusted plus currency outside the banks) at the close of December 1959, amount ing to $144.9 billion, was only $700 million above its level at the beginning of the year. Although the money supply increased very little, investors added a record volume of highly liquid assets to their holdings in 1959. Not only was the money supply not substantially added to by this unusual ly high level of bank lending, the banks’ total de posits actually declined slightly over the year. Since bank loans generally generate deposits, how could such an enormous volume of lending fail to be reflected in either deposits or in a substantial increase in the money supply? In order to meet the loan demands of their cus tomers in 1959, commercial banks had to draw heavily on the savings of individuals, business firms, and others. They did this primarily by disposing of securities, thus acquiring savings made available in the credit markets through the purchase of such securities. The banks sold or let run off at maturity approximately $8 billion of securities, $7.8 billion of these being obligations of the Federal Government. The banks also acquired savings by additions to their capital accounts to taling $1.2 billion for the year as a whole. In addition, commercial banks obtained some funds with which to meet customer loan demand by a more efficient utilization of their cash accounts. In the first two months of 1960, the commercial banking system experienced a reduction in its total loans and investments of nearly $5 billion. Bank customers reduced their loans outstanding by $2.5 billion in January and although loan demand was stronger than customary in February, the increase in loans which resulted was insufficient to out weigh the previous month’s decline. For the two months together, loans were reduced by $ 1.8 bil lion. The banks liquidated security holdings in both January and February, the total amounting to $3 billion. OTHER LENDERS Financial institutions other than commercial banks also channelled savings to the credit markets in record amounts in 1959. Savings and loan associations supplied approximately $8 billion, the bulk of it going into the market for resi dential mortgage loans. Life insurance companies provided nearly $6 billion, this sum being widely distributed over the securities markets and the residential and commercial mortgage markets. Pension funds invested almost $5 billion of their members’ contributions and their own earnings in the securities markets. Mutual savings banks, suffering the competitive squeeze of higher interest rates offered by other media for saving, supplied less funds to the credit markets than in immediate past years. They never theless directed over $ 1^2 billion to the nation’s mortgage markets. Most of this amount was ob tained from increases in savings deposits, but ap State and local governm ents and corporations, heavy issuers of new securities in 1959, have borrow ed in sm aller volum e in 1960. Municipal Bonds Corporate Bonds Consum er instalm ent borrow ing broke all records in 1959. proximately $500 million was pulled out of the securities markets by liquidation of U. S. Govern ment and other bonds. Sales and consumer finance companies and credit unions garnered nearly $ 2 ^ billion of sav ings from various sources and made it available in the consumer credit market. In addition to these institutional means for putting the nation’s saving to productive use through the credit markets, in dividuals supplied a record amount of funds direct ly to the securities and mortgage loan markets. Under the spur of alluring rates of return, indi viduals diverted large sums from the conventional savings channels to what appeared for the time being to be more attractive outlets for their funds. To what extent high rates of interest induce sav ing at the expense of current consumption remains one of the unknowns in the financial picture. Logic leads one to believe, however, that under such cir cumstances many individuals find the lure of the financial markets greater than that of some per sonal expenditures and that, therefore, the interest rate changes in 1959 did bring more saving to the credit markets than would have been forthcoming at lower rates of interest. THE BORROWERS During 1959 the U. S. Treas ury entered the markets with cash issues on eight different occasions, raising a total of over $25 bil lion. The most dramatic of these cash borrowings was the issuance of a 5% note in October, 1959, popularly referred to as the “magic fives.” In Digitized for 4FRASER vestors, including many individuals, were so eager to obtain this note that they tendered subscriptions amounting to $11.1 billion, of which the Treasury accepted $2.3 billion, giving preference to savingstype and nonbank investors. Although each entry of the Treasury into the market for cash had its impact in the market as investors diverted funds to meet these demands, approximately two-thirds of the total thus raised was subsequently fed back to the markets in retire ment of other issues. The total public debt in 1959 increased by only $7.9 billion. Nonmarketable debt outstanding, of which U. S. savings bonds is the largest component, was reduced dur ing the year by $4.5 billion. Thus far in 1960 (through mid-March) the Treasury has raised $3.5 billion in cash. Of this amount $2 billion was obtained from a tax antici pation bill due this June, and $1.5 billion from a special one-year bill maturing in January, 1961. Other borrowers who rely on the securities m ar kets as a source of funds issued approximately $17 billion of securities in 1959, well under the previ ous record of $19.5 billion in 1957 and not quite up to 1958’s $18.6 billion, the second highest year on record. State and local governments, however, are estimated to have set a new high in the volume of new securities offered by them, the preliminary total of $7.8 billion having a slight edge over the previous record year, 1958. The total dollar vol ume of corporate new issues at $9.4 billion trails well below' the previous record year of $12.4 bil lion in 1957. In the first two months of 1960 demands for funds by corporations in the form of new security sales is estimated to be about 25% smaller than in the similar period in each of the two preceding years. At the same time, state and local govern ment issues of new securities were running ap proximately 15% below the similar period in 1959 and almost 25% under the 1958 period. MORTGAGE LENDING—A RECORD PACE M ort gage lenders channelled a larger volume of funds to this credit market in 1959 than ever before in their experience. Total mortgage debt is estimated to have increased by $19 billion, over two-thirds of this increase being in loans secured by mortgages on one- to four-family houses. In spite of the de clining trend in home construction after April, the dollar amount of recordings of nonfarm mortgages of $20,000 or less, totaling $32.2 billion, exceeded by $3.7 billion the previous record in 1955. In the first month of 1960, the dollar volume of mortgage recordings dropped off sharply from im mediately preceding months. The January level, however, was on a par with previous January highs, excepting January 1959 when residential construction was in its upward trend. CONSUMER BORROWING—ALSO HIGH Individ uals also employed a larger volume of credit in the financing of their personal affairs in 1959 than ever before. Instalment credit extended to con sumers totaled $48.5 billion, over 15% greater than the previous peak. Repayments were also at a record level and the total of instalment credit outstanding increased over the year by $5.4 billion, just about the same increase as in the previous high year, 1955. Total consumer credit including charge accounts, service credit, and single pay ment loans, increased in 1959 by $6.5 billion, just slightly more than 1955’s previous record. In January of 1960, repayments on loans out standing exceeded new instalment loans made to consumers as is customary at this time of year. The decline in outstanding loans which resulted, however, wTas considerably less than usual in Janu ary. Other types of consumer credit also declined but less than seasonally. Consumers thus remained a very strong factor in the demand side of the credit picture. TREASURY BILLS AND TAXES Although the flow to the credit markets of funds derived from saving was unusually large during 1959, it was not suffi cient to meet all the rapidly mounting demands for credit at the level of interest rates which existed at the beginning of the year. As a result demand pressures forced interest rates upward, very large increases occurring during periods when credit de mands were more concentrated, such as just prior to corporation tax payment dates. Large corpo rations generally begin accumulating funds to meet their tax liabilities sometime prior to the payment day. In order to avoid loss of revenue from hold ing idle funds, corporation treasurers invest these funds in short-term high-grade securities. The favorite in recent years has been the three-month Treasury bill—particularly in 1959 with the bill rate being over 4% in the last four months of the year. From this practice there stems a heavy de mand for funds around tax payment dates in the form of liquidation of the securities purchased to meet this need. Interest rate changes in ’59 were also influenced by Treasury cash financings. The magnitude of Treasury debt transactions has reached such proportions that the Treasury’s entry into the mar ket overshadows all other market developments for the time involved. As indicated above, the Treas ury was in the markets frequently in 1959 and has been to them, both for cash and for refunding maturing issues, in each of the first two months of this year. Although rates generally reacted to these sharp upward movements by subsequent declines, the declines proved temporary. In the final weeks of the year, rates on all types of credit transactions were well above their levels at the beginning of the year. Illustrative of these changes, the yield on three- to five-year U. S. Government securities which averaged 3.86% in January 1959, had ad vanced to an average of 4.95% in December; the yield on long-term U. S. Government bonds ad vanced from an average of 3.90% in January to 4.27% in December. Corporate bonds experienced similar changes, the average yield on Aaa (Moody’s) bonds rising from 4.12% to 4.58% in December 1959. In the first quarter of 1960, most interest rates trended downward as seasonal declines in borrow ers’ needs coupled with loan liquidation customary at this time of year synchronized with a fairly large flow of savings to the markets. Short-term money market rates experienced the sharpest de clines, but longer-term rates also drifted down ward. The yield on long-term Government se curities, for example, moved from an average of 4.42% in the first week of the year to 4% at the close of March. Thirteen months of m ortgage recordings set a new record. Cotton: FroSeed to Gin PLANTING CULTIVATION HARVESTING GINNING THE MAGNETIC CHECK The Fuggers, the Medicis, the Rothschilds and other great banking families of bygone centuries in Europe wrestled with some of the same eco nomic problems of banking that modern bankers d o ; but the passage of time, bringing with it mod ifications and improvements in banking, plus the twentieth-century business and population explo sion have combined to create a challenging problem for American commercial banks. The problem : a relentlessly increasing volume of checks. The stark handwriting on the wall is there for those who are willing to read i t : Eight years ago the nation’s banks handled about eight billion checks; this year they may have to process about 14 billion. By 1970 it is estimated that banks will be flooded by 22 billion checks per year. The magnitude of the job is further indicated by the fact that many checks are now handled a total of 10 to 20 times by several banks in the process of collection. It has become obvious that placing small chinks in the dike wrill not stave off the onrushing flood of checks already beginning to show its strength. The methods at the command of the nation’s banks currently being utilized to process this evermounting volume will shortly be obsolete. It is later than we think! If the present system and equipment continue to be used, the collection of the monstrous volume of checks in prospect can only result in higher total costs or slower schedules. The alternative: re placement of currently used materials, methods and machines by a new type of check and automatic check-handling equipment. MECHANICAL READING The electronic mechani zation of check handling is a project that has been studied for a number of years by the Bank Man agement Commission of the American Bankers Association. Members of this group and commit tees representing office equipment manufacturers, check printers and others have worked out an ad vanced form of automation in check processing, and pilot operations in five Federal Reserve Banks are being put into action. W hat is it? Basically, the process consists of machines that can “read” and checks that can be read mechanically. The link between the twro and the distinguishing feature of the proposed check clearing system is a common machine language. The latter, in turn, consists of a set of specially designed magnetized characters and numerals printed in ink containing iron oxide. Each numeral emits a different signal when subjected to an electric impulse as the check imprinted with mag netic ink is processed by the "reading” equipment. The data obtained in this manner are automatically fed into a computer which simultaneously obtains totals and controls sorting and records-printing operations. REQUIREMENT: UNIFORMITY The first requisite feature of checks imprinted with a common ma chine language is uniformity of location of the magnetic ink printing. After careful study of all the factors involved, the ABA has worked out a set of standards. The common language imprint ing should be in a space extending six inches from the right edge of the check and five-eighths of an inch from the bottom edge. This space should be divided into three areas to contain the routing symbol and transit number (which will continue to be shown also in their present upper right-hand location), account number or other information desired by drawee bank, and the amount of the check. A specific kind of printing type must be used for magnetic ink imprinting in order to meet stipulated dimensional specifications and toler ances. The font chosen after much testing and evaluation by many printers is now known as Type E-13B. (ABA’s Bank Management Publication 147, The Common Machine Language for Mech anized Check Handling, contains details on this font and other essential information about the new program.) The second necessary step toward realization of the common machine language for mechanized check handling concerns the check forms them selves. For the advantages of a magnetic ink pro gram to be realized, individual banks will have to print their routing symbol-transit numbers in mag netic ink on the check forms furnished to custo mers. Again, it is vitally important that this ooo printing be done in the manner and in the place on the check prescribed by the ABA. This applies also to checks that customers have printed at their own expense. FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL A bank in planning its program of magnetic ink check imprinting should weigh the costs and benefits in terms of its par ticular situation. This may raise questions for the bank that does not expect to purchase any new accounting equipment designed for use in process ing the new checks. But the answers are clear. The check forms generally must be redesigned in accordance with the format wrorked out by an ABA committee at some expenditure to the bank. Aside from this nonrecurring cost, continuing ex penses of printing the new check should be very little higher than what they would be for the oldstyle checks. On January 1, 1960, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, in compliance with ABA specifica tions, began preprinting the routing symbol-transit number in magnetic ink on its official checks. It is currently supplying preprinted check forms to member banks for use in drawing on their reserve accounts. Commercial banks within the Fifth Dis trict have also begun imprinting checks supplied to customers with magnetic ink. American and banking ingenuity is meeting the challenge. The common machine language of the ABA constitutes a major break-through in the problem of coping with a rapidly swelling volume of bank checks. The costs involved are not only an investment in which all banks may share in ad vancing the efficiency of banking, but also an answrer to the challenge now before the commercial bankers of America. Check Form at Adopted by Technical Committee on M echanization of Check Handling of Am erican Bankers Association 68-215 The Blank Bank and Trust Co A nyw here, V a. 510 19 D a te . (bo Pay to order of Signature 3 / 1 6 ” clearance strip ■ :o s l o - o z i s» : i e 3 f l » ' i <C ,5 ?K * SU E, ,■ *0 0 0 0 n s s o o / V 4 " M .l. coding strip 3 / 1 6 ” clearance strip Routing SymbolTransit No. Field Acc't No. & Transaction Code Field (For D raw ee Bank's Use) Amount Field NOTE In the m agnetic ink (M. I.) coding at the bottom in the routing sym bol-transit number field, the state prefix (68) of the dra w e e bank's A. B. A. transit number is omitted for all par banks and the routing sym bol number (510) is used as the prefix. Since eight digits a re required for the combined routing sym bol-transit num ber, non-significant zeroes a re used to fill in the spaces that w ould otherw ise be blank. Since nonpar banks are not assigned routing sym bols, they should use their complete transit num bers but the state prefix should be preceded by the figure "9 0 " w hich has been assigned by the A . B. A. to designate nonpar offices. Thus, in the sam ple check above, if 68-215 w ere a nonpar bank, the eight digit number in the field designated w ould be 9068-0215. SIZE OF C H EC KS Listed below are the minimum and m axim um sizes of checks under the Am erican Bankers Association plan for m ag netic ink character recognition a s the common m achine lang uage. W idth Length M in im u m ......................................................................... l?k " 6” M axim um ......................................................................... 3% ” 83A” If a check is more than 6 ” long, the common machine lang uage shall a lw a y s be printed within the 6 " overall dimension from the right edge. Above and below the 1/ 4 ” magnetic ink coding strip is a 3/ 1 6 ” clearance strip as indicated. 9 F F TH district High in the thirties, low in the twenties, and snow toward the end of the week. W ith that forecast actually materializing in the middle of February and each of the first three weeks of the transitional month of March, the weather has had little competition around the District when it comes to subjects for discussion. W hat makes the weather an unrivaled topic for conversation is the simple fact that as yet it cannot be blamed on human frailties or foibles in any form, nor are human sensitivities likely to take offense at any opinions which might be expressed about it. If, then, there have appeared some crosscurrents of economic uncertainty, the convenient thing to do is just to blame it on the weather. An explanation needs more tangible support than the mere fact of its convenience in order to merit general accept ance. The mixture of evidence currently available reflecting economic conditions in the Fifth Dis trict remains somewhat inconclusive. The District economy, however, has been predominantly strong and tends to give considerable support to an atti tude of cautious optimism. PREVAILING STRENGTH In general, District pro duction continues at a high level. Retail sales and outdoor activities, such as lumber and fishing operations, have been hard hit by the weather. Large backlogs continue to support textile and furniture production in contrast to the rather slow pace of retail sales. Construction contract awards took an apparently better than seasonal upward turn in February (following a rather low January figure). W ith seasonal factors roughly taken into account, February appeared to be but little lower than the 1959 monthly average. W ith a good volume of plans and projects already in process the construction industry has remained an element of current strength in the District economy even though the weather has retarded construction schedules. Increases have recently been recorded in the prices of livestock products which compose the bulk of current District farm marketings. These factors suggest that District production and employment have remained fairly stable, support ing a pretty good level of personal income. How people will choose to use this income with the arrival of spring weather and a late Easter season will be a critical development this month. THE RIDDLE OF RETAIL SALES Retail sales indi cate the consumer’s final and all-important ac ceptance or rejection of goods and services offered in the market place. Here a single result, an un expectedly low volume, has been accompanied by a variety of possible causes. January department store sales, seasonally adjusted, were about even with December at a level which had been exceeded in only three months of 1959, namely, January, July and August. Reports indicate that the down turn in the District came about the middle of Jan uary with sales levels declining thereafter over a Retailers hope that the adverse effects of frequent M arch snows and unusually cold w eather w ill be larg ely offset in the month of April. ..... iiS S s a s J i A lthough snow retarded normal spring lumber production, inventories rem ained fa irly constant due to a sim ilar slow dow n in construction. period of about eight weeks. Allowing for nor mal seasonal variations, department store sales in February were about 8 % below the DecemberJanuary level. Even after taking the effects of the late Easter season into account, March sales were still about 20% below January, and 13% be low March 1959. Furniture and automobile sales have also been disappointing. It would appear that two factors in particular suffice to explain much of the recent reluctance of buyers. Certainly the weather has made shop ping most unattractive during much of one week in February and three weeks in March. The late date on which Easter falls this year has removed the pressure which would otherwise have been felt by this time to shop for Easter needs. The period between the after-Christmas clearances and Easter has apparently failed to develop any of the special sales stimuli which most other periods of similar duration now possess in some degree. This is a time when buyers can stay home if they choose to do so. This year their freedom of choice has been unduly influenced by bad weather. MINOR ADJUSTMENTS MARK MAN-HOURS To tal manufacturing man-hours in the District, sea sonally adjusted, declined about 1.5% between January and February. This development partial ly offset the 1.9% increase between December and January. Thus February man-hours, after cor rection for normal seasonal variations, compared favorably with the December data. Lumber and wood products, furniture and fixtures, and apparel were the significant exceptions. z\lthough total man-hours, seasonally corrected, declined between January and February, primary metals, nonelectrical machinery, stone, clay and glass products, the broadwoven component of tex tile mill products, and printing and allied indus tries remained about the same or registered moder ate gains. Activity in yarn mills and knitting mills measured by this indicator decreased between January and February by about 3% and 6 %, re spectively. By the same token, transportation equipment declined about 6 % following an in crease of more than 17% between December and January. The reductions in the lumber and furni ture categories amounted to approximately 5% and 4%, respectively. LUMBER SLOW BUT PRICES FIRM The lumber in dustry has plodded along through its winter period of seasonally low demand. District production in January and February measured in man-hours, however, exceeded output in the same months of 1959 by 6 % and 1%, respectively. Reports of activity during the first half of March indicate that the unusually bad weather served to reduce the output of building lumber below normal seasonal levels with the result that prices held up and in ventories remained fairly low in spite of low con sumption. Dealers are showing some reluctance to replenish low inventories pending some indica tion of a spring pickup in sales. Lumbermen in general, however, appear to be willing to wait for a spell of real spring weather before forming any firm opinions. Furniture lumber remains in good demand at firm prices. TEXTILE BACKLOGS STILL STRONG The textile industry continues to serve as one of the principal elements supporting the present favorable level of District production and employment. Scattered reports have indicated some lost productive time due to the March weather. The resulting minor 11 delays in delivery have tended to retard the devel opment of slight downward pressures on prices re portedly being felt as a result of a continuing small volume of goods offered for resale from dealers’ and converters’ stocks. In general, new orders have been very slow. The declining backlogs have, nevertheless, remained large enough to make price cutting an unrealistic maneuver in the opinion of most producers. Prices increased gradually but considerably during the period of order accumula tion and are regarded by the trade as sufficiently firm to permit companies to absorb wage increases which have been averaging about 5*/c. Yarn prices are reportedly firm with large orders on the books for April, May and June de livery. Industry reports indicate a good year for knit goods, and there are signs that full-fashioned hosiery is at last showing some strength in compe tition with seamless. The largest backlogs are still in print cloths and sheetings where unfilled orders are reported equal to from 3 to 5 months of production. FARM PLANS SURVEYED As the pace of District farm activity quickens with the progress of spring, indications of the level of 1960 farm income have begun to appear. The prices received for most District farm commodities are determined by vol ume of output and strength of demand on a nation al scale. Therefore, national developments must be assessed in terms of their impact on prices. Local factors serve as guides to the volume and quality of regional farm output. A survey made on March 1 by the United States Department of Agriculture confirmed earlier re ports that Corn Belt farmers intend to reduce the size of their spring pig crop considerably this year. If this materializes, the reduced supply will exert an upward pressure on prices. Reports indicate that District hog producers plan to reduce the number of sows farrowing, but by less than the national average. This would tend to put Dis trict farmers in a relatively good position to benefit from any price increases which may occur. Broiler production in the nation started out strong during January and February, but March reports showed the decreases relative to last year that had been anticipated as a result of fewer hatching eggs being available this year. Prices should continue at relatively favorable levels for producers if the usual seasonal pickup in demand, absent in 1959, materializes this year. Declining egg prices have resulted in a marked decrease in the number of chicks being hatched to 12 maintain laying flocks. Corresponding decreases in egg supply are expected to lead to higher egg prices this summer. Reports from turkey growers indicate that the shift from the small Beltsville to the heavier White and Bronze turkeys is continuing both in the Dis trict and in the United States. Nationally, the increase in the number of heavy turkeys more than offsets the reduction in Beltsvilles. This may re sult in price declines as the new crop is marketed in the late summer. In the District a 14% smaller turkey crop is in prospect, about equally divided between small and large turkeys. The peak of the current cattle production cycle is fast approaching, and downward pressure on prices, seasonally adjusted, may develop as mar ketings increase later this year. District dairy farms are continuing their recent role as an ele ment of strength in the District farm situation. Increased production of milk continues to move at prices satisfactory to dairymen. LATE START MAY ALTER OUTLOOK Late winter storms and wet fields have delayed the planting season. Seeding of tobacco beds is behind sched ule and may lead to delays in field plantings with consequent threats to both quantity and quality of the crop. Small grains planted last fall are gen erally in poor or only fair condition. A U.S.D.A. survey of farmers’ intentions indi cates that 1960 plantings of 12 principal crops in the District are expected to total about 14.7 million acres, 2% below the 1959 figure. If farmers carry out their March 1 planting expectations, this year will witness some shifts in the acreage devoted to the various crops. Soybean producers plan the largest District acreage increase—nearly 200,000 acres more than in 1959. Hay, feed grain, and sweet potato acreage will probably be down. The foregoing summary provides ample evi dence that District factories and farms stand ready to do their part in maintaining District prosperity through 1960 if fine weather, Easter and various other seasonal motives can induce consumers to hold up their end of the market. PH O TO CREDITS Cover—W. V a . Industrial and Publicity Com m ission, Charleston 5, W . V a . 3. Baltim ore Association of Com m erce 4. The Richmond N ew sp ap ers, Inc. 5. C hesopeian Builders 6. The Cole M anufacturing Co. - N atio nal Cotton Council of Am erica - N. C . State C olleg e 7. N ational Cotton Council of Am erica V a . Departm ent of Agriculture - N ational Cotton Council of Am erica 11. V a . C ham ber of Com m erce.
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