The purpose of this document is to provide perspective and background for the operation of the Cotton Economics and Marketing Conference. The following description mixes elements of historical background on the Conference and operating procedures as they have evolved.

The Cotton Economics and Marketing Conference is one of several technical cotton conferences sponsored by the National Cotton Council of America. The first Economics and Marketing Conference was held in 1977. There was a Proposed Organization Plan drafted by Earl Stennis, O.A. Cleveland, and Don DeBord, who was then on the National Cotton Council staff. That document, while not a binding set of By-Laws, is the only operating document for the Conference to date. (This paper expands on that initial Plan by describing practices as they have evolved.) The mission of the Economics and Marketing Conference was, and continues to be, to provide a forum for presentation of research results and discussion of issues related to the economic aspects of production, marketing, processing, and use of cotton.