Central Illinois is an Agricultural Sacrifice Zone for the production of longwall mined coal
Prime Illinois farmland is being sacrificed for the benefit of coal companies. The photographs below clearly show the impact of longwall mining under flat prime farm land. With a room and pillar mine, up to 60% of the coal can be removed. With a longwall mine, it is approximately 80%. The productivity of prime Illinois farmland is being permanently sacrificed for the one-time additional 20% of coal.
This photograph was taken on July 13, 2009. It is of farmland in Macoupin County Illinois that has not had the misfortune of having to undergo the subsidence of a longwall coal mining panel. The woman in the photograph is 5' 5" tall. As you can see, the corn is about 8 feet tall and is in the process of tasseling. Note also the spacing between the plants.
This photograph was also taken on July 13, 2009. It is of about 40 acres of farmland that had the misfortune of having a longwall panel subside it approximately 6 feet. The rains have stunted the growth of the corn plants which are about 18 inches tall. The yield from this field will be substantially reduced from the field in the photograph above.
This land has been "mitigated" and therefore the drainage problem will NEVER improve. The once bountiful production of corn and soybeans will never again be a reality here.