Western Illinois University

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Publications & Research

Most Viewed Publications

  1. Beyond the Farm Gate: Agriculture in the 21st Century (7288 views)
    • By Illinois Department of Agriculture estimates, the sales of Illinois' agricultural commodities generate more than $9 billion annually. This means recognizing that Illinois' agriculture industry is vital to the economic success of residents. The expansion of new agricultural related business brings new opportunities for sustained economic growth and a higher quality of life within rural areas. This publication was prepared to help agriculture producer groups form a vision to promote agricultural based growth in rural Illinois. The manual is divided into several sections: a visioning process (ACAP), implementation, creating an organization, and resource materials and contacts.
  2. Harvest the Wind: A Wind Energy Handbook for Illinois (5810 views)
    • The purpose of this handbook is to inform the reader about wind as a resource for generating electricity, with emphasis on Illinois as a potential host for small-scale and large-scale projects. It addresses how to assess the value of wind, the wind energy options available for landowners and communities to consider, and sources of financial assistance. Case studies are included to illustrate what has been done to develop this resource in Illinois and neighboring states.
  3. New Generation Cooperatives: Case Studies Expanded 2001 (4342 views)
    • This report contains 15 chapters devoted to New Generation Cooperatives (NGCs). Unlike traditional open-membership cooperatives, NGCs are closed-membership producer cooperatives. Farmers, no longer content to merely sell unprocessed commodities for low prices, have been reaching up the food value chain to process, or add-value, to the commodities that they grow. This report contains 2 chapters devoted to the general concept of the NGC. It also contains case studies of the start-up and the successful (and failed) operations of 9 NGCs. The overall message of this report is that NGCs represent a possible strategy for revitalizing rural economies, but farmers and rural communities need to be aware that NGCs are not without risk.
  4. RTAC Library Training Materials Numerical List (3791 views)
    • A categorized and descriptive list of the materials available for loan from the RTAC Library.
  5. Directory of Closed-Membership Producer Cooperatives: New Generation Cooperatives and Limited Liability Companies in the United States and Canada (3691 views)
    • It has been almost four years since the last printing of the directory. It was decided to update and reprint, in part due to the realization that the renewable energy industry is expanding, and biofuels-in particular-are conducive to cooperative-like ventures. In fact, the ethanol and bio-energy list of organizations has almost doubled in four years to a current figure of 157. Another reason for the update was to "attempt" to keep current with information and document the changing-and in this case expanding-nature of agriculture producer ventures. The findings reflect that some organizations no longer exist, but the overall total list has increased by almost 40%.