Alva Review-Courier -

MCLEANSBORO, Ill. (AP) — Jim Barker's pickup truck bounced slowly across a field on his Hamilton County farm.

Without saying a word, Barker stepped on the brake and gazed out the window at acres of wild bergamot, purple coneflowers and blazing star. Rather than planting set-aside land in fescue, Barker has transformed his property into small patches of prairie that resemble what Hamilton County would have looked like before modern agriculture.

Amazingly, the idea of turning his farm into a floral wonderland was born of the state's financial crisis.

"When the state ran out of money and quit mow...