Growing concern over resource use and protection of the environment has prompted greater demand for agricultural policy analysis at the local, regional, and national levels. Faced with declining surface-water quality, silting of reservoirs, and contaminated groundwater supplies, the public has demanded greater protection of the environment. With the call for more regulation of agriculture comes the need for policy analysis. What policy is best? Should a national standard apply, or do local conditions warrant local standards? Who will benefit, and who will lose, and by how much?

U.S. farmers are faced with growing environmental concerns and rising costs associated with highly specialized farming operations. They are searching for farming systems that are both ecologically sound and economically viable. They are searching for sustainable systems of farming.

Agricultural development in both the United States and Australia has led to suboptimal levels of environmental degradation. While both countries face similar forms of agricultural environmental degradation, the different resource endowment and population distributions have resulted in a different incidence of the costs of these problems. Increasing demand for environmental services and better information on off-site damages have led to increasing demand for reform of agricultural, rural development, and environmental programs to eliminate biases against practices viewed as more environmentally compatible.

The agricultural policy agenda in the United States, Canada, and in Western Europe has been increasingly influenced by concerns for the sustainability of agricultural production systems. National, state, and provincial governments in North America are becoming increasingly sensitive to the environmental and human-health risks associated with current modes of agricultural production and policy actions, including restrictions on the use of certain agricultural chemicals and inducements to encourage the use of alternative production practices. Many restrictions and inducements have been undertaken or are currently under consideration in many jurisdictions.