VANDALIA - A plan to shut down Illinois' only prison-based farming operation once again has put the Vandalia Correctional Center in the middle of a Springfield political fight. Two downstate lawmakers are slamming Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration over the decision.

"They are either so smart that I can't understand their actions or this administration is, well, they're bordering on malfeasance of office," said state Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Greenville, who blames the farm's financial losses on the state's "inability to administer the facility."

Stephens and other area lawmakers have previously thwarted attempts by Blagojevich to close the Vandalia prison altogether.

The 890-acre farm, worked by inmates, is home to about 300 dairy cows that have their milk sold on the open market. The prison opened in 1921. The farm was added in 1977 and once boasted soybeans, corn and other crops that were used largely for feed. This year, no crops will be planted in anticipation of the land being sold. The state is letting bids on the land and will close the process today.

The Illinois Department of Corrections decided earlier this year to close the farming operation, saying it lost more than $1 million over the past three years.

"You still have cost involved to farming, maintenance. Everything is cost-related," said Department of Corrections spokesman Derek Schnapp.

But state Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, says the facility's loss of money doesn't make any sense.

"The dairy business is as profitable as it has ever been, and as a result, they should be able to make money on this," Watson said. "I'm very disappointed to see them sell the herd and the farm and quit operating the dairy. I think it is a bad decision."

The Vandalia Correctional Center is a minimum-security adult male prison that houses about 1,500 inmates.

About 25 to 30 inmates work on the farm with two state employees. The offenders do everything from "scooping manure to taking care of the livestock," Schnapp said. The inmates who work with the farming operation will be shifted to other work, as will the two full-time employees.

Schnapp said the prison was examining a variety of options to accommodate the inmates who previously worked on the farm.

In 2004, Gov. Rod Blagojevich proposed closing the entire Vandalia facility and relocating the prison population to other correctional facilities around the state. Downstate lawmakers, including Watson and Stephens, fought the closing, saying the loss of the facility would cost Vandalia residents nearly 500 jobs.

The governor and lawmakers struck a deal in July 2004 to continue funding the prison, but Schnapp said state officials have discussed closing the farm and other options for the past few years because of the profit loss.

A spokeswoman for Blagojevich could not be reached for comment.

Kathleen Haughney can be reached at khaughney@post-dispatch.com.