Production and farm income, whatever their faults might be, have the practical advantage of being relatively easy to measure. More recently, however, goals relating to the environment and to enhancing rural communities have gained prominence. These new goals pose significant challenges for programs that subsidize certain types of farmer behavior. With these types of payments, even the mechanisms, much less the results, are troublesome. At the same time, the focus on adoption of practices, rather than directly on environmental and social performance, is an obvious concern.
Sustainable agriculture adds a new direction for policy design.
By its nature, sustainable agriculture advocates simultaneous progress toward multiple goals. Progress toward one goal might not always assure progress toward another. To measure, and subsequently reward, adoption of any particular practice is therefore a dangerous way to advance sustainable agriculture through public payments to farmers. A way to measure overall farm performance, not practices, is necessary. This is, of course, easier said than done.