Agricultural policy reform that redirects subsidies and incentives toward welfare outcomes can transform farming systems more effectively than regulation alone.
Agricultural policy creates the financial environment in which farmers make welfare decisions. Systems that subsidize high-volume, low-welfare production while providing no additional return for welfare improvements create structural pressure against welfare investment. Policy reforms that tie payment to welfare outcomes — as the UK's post-Brexit ELMS scheme does — create financial incentives for welfare improvement across entire sectors simultaneously. The leverage of agricultural policy over welfare outcomes exceeds that of consumer markets or sector-specific regulation.