Policy Options for Agriculture
Many farmers currently face severe financial stress resulting in asset liquidations, problems in obtaining credit and even bankruptcy. An important issue in policy analysis
is the applicability of traditional farm policy
approaches to the current situation. This is a
particularly relevant issue because the 1983
Payment in Kind (PIK) program was one of
the largest and most expensive government
transfer programs for agriculture in recent history, and yet many farms are still facing severe financial problems.