ABSTRACT
There is strong hesitancy to acknowledge conflicts between agriculture and environmental quality. This chapter addresses the sources of conflict between current agricultural and environmental policies and explores their implications as bases for proposing alternative approaches. The effects of agricultural policy on environmental quality are described and contrasted with the effects of environmental policy on the performance of the agricultural sector. Inconsistent and counteracting effects are identified, options for overcoming such effects are proposed, and, finally, conclusions are drawn with respect to the general pros and cons of alternative approaches for achieving policy consistency. The major conflict arises from the diametrically opposed signals that agricultural and environmental policies send to farmers and agribusiness. As increasing concern with the federal budget deficit demands that these costly program inconsistencies be eliminated, any or all of three different approaches to increasing compatibility between agricultural and environmental policy may be considered: integrating farm and environmental programs; modifying farm programs; and developing new agroenvironmental policy.
