Farm-level and watershed-wide land-use changes resulting from policy initiatives are linked to a regional input/output model. As a result not only can the direct economic impacts at the farm and watershed levels be determined, so too can the direct and induced economic impacts at the regional level.

The 2000 Illinois Vineyard Survey showed 400+ acres of grapes compared to 181 two years earlier. There are 28 wineries with eight more scheduled to open - up from four in the 1980s. State government has allocated $500,000 annually to an Illinois Grape and Wine Resource Council in part to boost...

Weak economic conditions in rural areas are reflected in labor markets. In rural Illinois counties the labor force,defined as those employed plus those looking for work, declined by an average of one percent per year from 1980 to 1987, and the average annual loss of the employed labor force was...