Using regression analyses based on accountancy data, this study analyzes whether direct payments influence machinery investments of Swiss dairy farms. The direct payment regime before 2014 incentivized farmers to increase machinery assets per hectare. Under the regime from 2014 onward, farmers who increased direct payments per hectare over the years were not incentivized to increase machinery assets per hectare. The comparison of farms receiving different amounts of direct payments revealed that – regardless of the regime in place – higher direct payments per hectare were associated with higher machinery assets per hectare. However, this effect was less pronounced for the direct payment regime from 2014 onward, which reconfirms the finding that this regime has provided little incentives to invest in machinery assets.
