Investment in the US food and agriculture system

This chapter reviews general incentives for investment decisions by US farms and agribusinesses. Those decisions affect the development and diffusion of innovations, the pace of productivity growth, and the sustainability of food production. They are in turn affected by a range of government regulatory policies, which can encourage or deter investments. While some US regulations are statespecific, most regulatory policies covered in this chapter are federal, and apply across all states. Some are general, covering all firms in the economy, while important elements of others are specific to agriculture. The chapter starts with the overall regulatory environment as it focuses on the behaviour of firms and farms, and surveys broad-based policy regarding taxes, finance, and international trade and investment.