The US and Europe need to take a lesson from New Zealand, where twenty years ago they decided to end government subsidies to farmers. The predictions at the time were dire, as many believed that farming in that country could not survive as a free market.
Instead, farming today is 16.6 percent of total gross domestic product, up from 14.2 percent in the late 1980s, and in the year to April 2005 it racked up exports worth $12.7 billion, more than half of all New Zealand exports.
The farmers have learned to diversify. During the subsidy era New Zealand had 72 million sheep — 18 for every human. By last year the number was just 39 million, but more efficient methods mean the islands still produce the same amount of meat, and meanwhile freed-up land is being turned over to growing grapes for wine and other exotic crops. There are even niche markets of deer, goats, ostriches and llamas.
Imagine that…..markets working better without the meddling of politicians and government bureaucrats.