Excerpt
Efficiency in Government! The catchphrase for the late 1990s is finally reaching the agricultural sector, particularly in respect to conservation programs. Over the past several years, Congress and the USDA have developed numerous conservation programs and have induced significant changes in agricultural production for the primary purpose of protecting environmental quality. These programs have invested billions upon billions of dollars.
However, I am convinced that we have wasted billions of dollars also. As an environmentalist, I want the most environmental quality that my tax dollars will buy. As an agriculturist, I am concerned that by supporting such wasteful programs, the 85% of Americans who consider themselves environmentalists will force regulations upon agriculture that will also be counterproductive.
One of the most …
Footnotes
Stephen B. Lovejoy is with the Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
- Copyright 1996 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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