Scrap the farmer subsidies, just let them get on with it.

The government should immediately abolish all direct farming subsidies and replace them with a simple, transparent tax credit system for investments in sustainable practices. These subsidies are a bureaucratic nightmare, distorting markets and propping up inefficient farms while doing little to genuinely improve environmental outcomes. They’re a relic of a bygone era that encourage dependency rather than innovation.

The current system is a labyrinth of red tape that costs a fortune to administer and is often captured by larger agricultural businesses. Farmers spend more time filling out forms than actually farming. A tax credit approach, similar to what some other countries use, would allow farmers to choose the sustainability investments that make sense for their specific land and business model, whether that's cover cropping, renewable energy installation, or improved water management.