ABSTRACT
In theory an efficient, productive agricultural sector is entirely compatible with a clean, safe, and diverse natural environment. And in the minds of many Americans, this basic compatibility is apparently expected. In 1986, in the midst of the recent U.S. farm crisis, a national opinion poll by the Roper Organization found that 84 percent of respondents agreed that “special programs should be devised to insure the survival of the small farmer,” while at the same time 56 percent believed that “we are spending too little on improving and protecting the environment” ( Public Opinion, 1987). The intersection of these groups suggests that at least 40 percent of respondents place high enough values on both the survival of the family farm and the maintenance of environmental quality that they would support government intervention and expenditure to ensure that both objectives are met. One can only wonder how many of them realize that traditional means for supporting farm income tend to exacerbate environmental problems and that many forms of environmental regulation can adversely affect the financial position of small (and large) farmers. For, under current programs, agricultural protection and environmental protection manifest themselves as conflicting societal preferences.
