Assume the government wants to raise farmers' incomes. Why do price supports or acreage restriction programs cost society more than simply giving farmer's money?
Price supports & acreage limitations cost society more than the dollar cost of these programs since the higher price that results in either case will decrease quantity demanded and therefore consumer surplus, leading to a deadweight loss since the farmer is not able to capture the lost surplus. Giving the farmers money does not result in any deadweight loss, but is just a redistribution of surplus from one group to the other.