Assessment of Southern Illinois Captures Its Unique Strengths and Weaknesses
Published: Nov. 13, 2007
URBANA - How would you describe your hometown? You might include descriptions of the landscape, nearby industries, schools, dominant political views or cultural opportunities.
Recently an assessment of Southern Illinois was conducted by two University of Illinois rural sociologists. One of their findings is that Southern Illinois' regional identity is largely defined by how it is different from the rest of Illinois.
"It is defined not by flat land and row crops, but by increasingly hilly and forested terrain as one travels south," said Stephen Gasteyer. "While Chicago is known for high, straight line winds and frigid winters, Southern Illinois is known for sultry summers and temperate winters."
Courtney Flint and Stephen Gasteyer and their team of nine student research assistants conducted numerous interviews and gathered data in order to a assess a 20-county region in Southern Illinois and the role of Dixon Springs Agricultural Center from the perspective of regional farmers, natural resource managers and forest interest groups, University of Illinois Extension Educators, teachers, and government officials.
The 20 counties included in the study are: Alexander, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Union, Wabash, Wayne, White, and Williamson.
Flint and Gasteyer said perceptions of Southern Illinois' relative disadvantage continue to this day with claims of higher poverty rates, slower rates of economic development, and problems with soil erosion.
"Farms are known for specialty crops and livestock as well as for grains, but the region is also known for its coal production, which has always been a double edged sword. While the decline in mining in the 1990s took a toll on the region's economy, there are new concerns about the effect of mining on the landscape."
Through the many interviews conducted of residents and other area stakeholders, Flint and Gasteyer began to see a clear picture of how people in Southern Illinois characterize their region.
One person interviewed said, "There is a pride, I think, in Southern Illinois and maybe that comes from at least partially being at an economic disadvantage to the northern end of the state. I think people from Southern Illinois are really proud that they are from Southern Illinois."
Another person said, "The soil types and the weather variability really make farming a challenge. Southern Illinois is a fascinating part of the world if you just don't get hung up on all the issues."
Although 65 percent of the land in the area is used for agriculture, the crops are very different than what is found in central and northern Illinois. "While many farmers are producing standard grain crops, the region leads Illinois in vineyards and orchards," said Flint. "Specialty crops and products are an essential part of the agricultural economy and culture, though they rarely show up strongly in agricultural data collected at the state level." One of the area's unique farming challenges is that soils are easily eroded and often don't sustain a hard freeze which leads to insect and weed issues which differ from those in the northern part of Illinois.
"Challenges from changing agricultural production pressures nationally seem magnified in Southern Illinois," said Flint. "Migrant labor issues are particularly vexing for specialty crop growers who claim that there is no one else to do the painstaking labor of getting produce from the fields to the marketplace." Because of the physical features of the region, including the Shawnee National Forest, the economic advantages as well as the liability risks of recreational hunting emerged as a critical issue from the research. Threats to the region's watersheds, primarily due to agriculture, were also critical issues.
The 20-county region included in the study fits the statistics of a persistently poor region, said Gasteyer. "The median household income than Illinois as a whole and the population pyramid for the region is less a pyramid than a misshapen rectangle as people in their prime working years have left to work elsewhere leaving the young and old." People moving into the region tend to be nearing retirement age, consequently health care is critical.
However, Gasteyer said that when looking at the social and economic well-being of the region, there are numerous efforts under way across the region to stimulate development and collaborate across sectors. "There are jobs within the region and a great deal of commuting among the counties."
Although some industries in the area are declining, Flint said "others are seizing the day with innovative changes, as seen in the metals industry. Bio-fuels, tourism, mining, specialty agriculture, and recreational hunting are directly or indirectly related to the natural resources of the region and need to be developed and coordinated across the region."
University of Illinois Extension Educators who were interviewed highlighted the paradox in Southern Illinois' tremendous natural resources juxtaposed with serious economic depression. Teachers also shared observations about the economic disadvantages faced by many of the region's children. According to teachers, many children are not able to connect with the region's amenities and opportunities because of their poverty-based circumstances.
Assessing the role of the University of Illinois Dixon Springs Agricultural Center was a part of the study. The Center opened in 1938, a time when the region suffered from tremendous erosion. "Contributions from the Center such as no-till farming techniques and other animal science and horticultural innovations have changed agriculture, not just in the region but across the country, and perhaps the world," said Gasteyer.
For surveyed farmers, Dixon Springs Agricultural Center topped the list of valued sources of information, and 77 percent indicated that the Center was important or very important to Southern Illinois.
Extension Educators and government representatives were less familiar with the details of the Center's activities and pointed out that the Center did not seem to have the capacity or resources that it once had. "In the 1970s and 1980s there was a great deal of variety in what researchers and staff were doing at Dixon Springs," said Gasteyer. "Today, while they are still doing important research, with fewer staff, the center cannot undertake the breadth of research and outreach that they once did. Nor can they respond in a holistic way to the region's complex challenges needing attention. "On the other hand," Flint said "The practical and innovative research that Dixon Springs makes available to farmers in the region and beyond continues to be critical for agricultural decision making and deserves more recognition than it gets."
The report concluded by recommending that decision-makers should be cautious of making blanket assumptions that all of Southern Illinois is alike and should acknowledge the complexity of needs and assets across the varied social, environmental and economic conditions. Flint and Gasteyer also recommend that an advisory committee of key regional stakeholders and University representatives be established to reflect and react to the findings and to guide the relationship between the University of Illinois and the Southern Illinois region served by the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center.
The Southern Illinois Regional Assessment Project was initiated in May 2006 by a funded mandate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences and the State of Illinois.
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