The National Cotton Council's 1995 Beltwide Cotton Production Conference attracted a record 5,000 participants. In 1985, the United States cotton crop reached its lowest level at 8.4 million bales. In 1995, the United States cotton crop will exceed 19.5 million bales, the largest crop since the 1937 crop of 34 million bales. High volume instrument (HVI) testing has become widespread since its introduction in the early 1980s. HVI systems are used to select desired characteristics of fibers. Currently, over 700 HVI lines are in operation in the United States. Of the 11 million bales of cotton consumed by United States mills in 1993, 10 million were selected using HVI testing data. Cotton Incorporated's Engineered Fiber Selection Cotton Fiber Management System (EFS) provides mills with a computer software system that uses HVI data to help manage its cotton inventories. The EFS system assists textile companies in the following four stages of production: acquisition, warehousing, mix selection, and mill/product performance monitoring. Some textile manufacturers are currently working with cotton producers to determine which cotton varieties will be grown and later purchased by the mills.