The strong economic performance of the U.S. cotton industry has been widely attributed to the 1985 Food Security Act (1985 FSA). These effects have been substantive. However, the devaluation of the dollar relative to other currencies was also important and its effects were substantial and...

U.S. farm output, from the 1930s until 1981, increased steadily, but growth stopped in the 1980s. Now, after 9 years of volatility, total farm output is less than it was in 1981. The largest decline occurred in the production of grains and oil crops such as soybeans. This stagnation of the 1980s...