They encourage increased production of a few program crops, which shifts lands from pasture to crops that provide less habitat and use more fertilizer and pesticides. They increase the likelihood of crop surpluses, which drives down prices for all grain and cotton farmers. They direct the bulk of funds to a small number of large farms, encouraging consolidation of land into fewer hands and failing to help many family farmers and agricultural communities. They provide little to help a new generation get started in agriculture. They invest little in research, food production, and marketing systems for sustainable farming and fail to address increasing concentration and market access problems.
Farm programs can do more to help farmers and farm communities.
Stewardship incentives can be shaped to support income, not just defray some of the costs of environmental measures, and can be offered to all kinds of farmers. Programs can help farmers make the transition to new promising markets that reward environmental stewardship, to diversify their production, and to find new marketing opportunities to increase their share of the food dollar. There is an alternative. Farm Policy Can Work Better for Farmers, Ranchers, Private Foresters, Rural Communities, Public Health, and the Environment. Such programs should be structured both to achieve environmental benefits and to support income.