We Can't Afford Our Health Insurance

"Make no mistake, the U.S. health care system is a mess. It’s a stubborn mess that has resisted attempts to clean it up. For one, the sheer cost of the U.S. health care system today is simply staggering.

Our national health care expenditure (NHE) is about $3.6 trillion a year. We spend more than $10,000 a year on health care for every man, woman, and child in the country. It represents about 18 percent of our gross domestic product, and our NHE is growing at a rate of about 5 percent every year. 

As Lynn Jennings, CEO of WeCare TLC, said last year, “When an employer sits down with his health care providers – the broker, the health plan, the physician, the hospital, the drug and device firms – everyone in the room wants it to cost more, and they’re all positioned to make that happen.”1 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, will not, as it currently stands, have a substantial positive effect on our NHE. For the first few years, NHE will be basically neutral, maybe slightly positive.2 By 2017, NHE will again grow for no other reason than the fact that the country is aging at a rate of 10,000 people hitting age 65 each day for the next 15 years.3 "

Folks, we cannot afford our health insurance.  It should not cost 20% of our income or whatever it is over our lifetime.  Are we supposed to go without?

What do you think about this whole mess?  We are running doctors out of practice.  I was raised beside three good doctors who gave us excellent care.  They made more money than anyone else in our community but I can't say they died rich.

The greed in this country and putting me in front of you has really increased our cost of living.  The best thing I can do is try to live as healthy as I can because I can't afford to get sick!  Some of us have health problems from birth, though and that cost must be passed on.

I never worked this long and this hard to leave my 12 beautiful grand children in the mess they inherit.  It is wrong, sinful, and disgraceful.  The president doesn't have a very good track record but this could be his biggest failure.  Pass a 2500 page  bill before you study it?  What a joke and what a mess.

What say you?

Ed Winkle

"Rethinking Lime"

For decades, applying lime to adjust pH has been accepted practice. I quit doing that some years ago when I discovered if I get enough nutrient on, pH takes care of itself.  I lime for calcium on my soil now instead of pH.

While a low pH can reduce yields by 40% or more, there’s a surprising shortage of recent research about how lime is tested and graded and what impact it actually has on soil pH and crop yield. These were among the issues raised at a recent conference of lime-industry representatives and USDA-ARS and Iowa State University (ISU) soil researchers. The answers could impact input costs and yields as well as nutrient-management effectiveness.

Particle size impact on reactivity in the soil is one example of current inconsistencies in liming practice. “We have at least 50 particle-size efficiency factors built into the lab process to evaluate limestone in Iowa, but we don’t have the research data that were used to determine those factors,” says Antonio Mallarino, professor, soils, ISU. “We assume the early Iowa researchers had a basis for them, but we don’t have the data to look into it.”

is not alone. Without data, it is hard to explain why 39 states have different grading systems and 19 offer different definitions of agricultural lime. Even if they were accurate when written, much has changed in cropping systems and inputs, such as anhydrous ammonia and tillage, since most lime-related research was conducted 50 to 60 years ago.

One issue may be the basic test used to evaluate lime sources for their ability to affect pH change. It uses hydrochloric acid to identify the percentage of lime’s calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE). The CCE is used to calculate the ECCE (effective calcium carbonate equivalent), which determines how much of a particular lime product is needed to raise pH to the recommended level.

“Hydrochloric acid may digest large chunks of limestone in the lab, but that doesn’t tell us what happens when the organic acids and root exudates hit it,” says Andrew Hoiberg, director of research and development, Calcium Products, Gilmore City, Ia. “What impact do particle size and purity of the limestone have on what happens in the soil versus the lab?”

These are important questions!  The test that Midwest Labs and a few others does, works very well on my soil.  If I apply the recommended amount of lime and other nutrients, I end up with a tissue test that is Sufficient and the soil balances itself out pH wise.  The soil performs well and I benefit with a profitable crop, not just a good crop.

Ed

The Power Went Out

LuAnn was taking Brynn to a girl scout meeting and I was here alone.  The power went off.  My guess is a critical part, probably a transformer, went south after the millions of kilowatt hours it has pumped out.  I just closed my eyes and thought about what was it like when this house was built 135 years ago?

They had no power, just human and animal power.  I wonder if they read books by candle light?   This is a very sturdy house and one older friend said the people who built this place were riverboat captains.  They had money back in the day.

LuAnn came home with Brynn before her mom came to take her home.  We lighted candles and just sat and talked in the dim light.  I couldn't get my mind off what it was like when dad was born and there was no electricity.  We take it for granted.

LuAnn said Oh No, the night of the big game!  NCAA finals are on now since the power came back on but I really enjoyed a couple of hours with no electricity.  We have went a few days without power in the last ten years here but it just makes me appreciate what we have.

So much has changed since this house was built.  The wind is roaring outside here on the big hill but the fields are ready to plant.  My friends can't believe we have had 25 inches of rain since October 1 but we have.  We live in a place where the Gulf Stream ends and we often get TOO much moisture.  Once in awhile the power goes out but we always survive.  We live in that age.

I bought LuAnn a small generator to keep essentials going but we haven't even used it.  What we have is that dependable.  I priced a generator to operate the house and it was $10,000.  That's a small price to pay to keep a farmstead going but we really haven't needed it.

I actually appreciated the power going out for a bit.  I probably wouldn't feel like that if it was off for days.  All of our food would spoil like it did in the inland hurricane in September 2008 or the ice storm we had in the winter of 2004 and we had first moved here.

What do you do when your power goes out?

Ed Winkle

EPA And Runoff!

NEW ORLEANS — Environmental advocates in states along the Mississippi River have won a round toward a long-term goal of having federal standards created to regulate farmland runoff and other pollution blamed for the oxygen-depleted “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, and problems in other bodies of water.

In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey in New Orleans gave the Environmental Protection Agency six months to decide whether to set Clean Water Act standards for nitrogen and phosphorous in all U.S. waterways or explain why they’re not needed. The EPA describes the nutrients on its website as “one of America’s most widespread, costly and challenging environmental problems,” affecting every state.

“If they step up to the plate and do the right thing, agreeing to promulgate federal standards where states have failed, the impact on waters throughout the nation could be hugely positive,” said Ann Alexander, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of nine environmental groups including the Gulf Restoration Network, the Sierra Club and the Prairie Rivers Network. If they do, she said Monday, one of the first areas to look at could be the 31 states of the Mississippi River basin, because the annual dead zone is “one of the clearest manifestations of the severity of the problem.”

Every summer, nutrients feed algae blooms at the river’s mouth. Algae and the protozoa that eat them die and fall to the bottom, where their decomposition uses up oxygen. That creates an area on the sea bottom averaging nearly 5,800 square miles — larger than the state of Connecticut — where there is too little oxygen for aquatic life.

“More than 100,000 miles of rivers and streams, close to 2.5 million acres of lakes, reservoirs and ponds, and more than 800 square miles of bays and estuaries in the United States have poor water quality because of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution,” according to EPA. “Additionally, nutrients can soak into ground water, which provides drinking water to millions of Americans.”

We didn't clean up our act so now we are forced to!  Thanks to our negligence, I have to have a license now to buy and apply fertilizer.  I have to pass another test and try to keep it up to date and renewed!

Why don't we all do things right like we have talked about on HyMark High Spots for the last five years???

Ed Winkle

Is Prayer Answered?

I was taught to pray as a child in Sunday School.  Mrs. Dorothy Yockey was my teacher and I learned to love prayer at a young age.  I can still hear her teaching my class the Beatitudes.

Is prayer answered? (I really like this writing on this subject.)  You bet it is!  I encourage prayer to my readers but that is your choice and it is a personal choice.  Why would I ask you to pray?

It isn't rocket science that something, someone created this amazing Universe we live in.  I remember laying in bed as a teenager and letting my mind travel through the distance of It.  It is so vast and amazing and unknown and scary, I don't recommend you do that.

Through my exploration, though, I found the God of My Understanding.  He knew me before I was created and wants the best for me.  That, I do understand.

May 1 is National Day of Prayer and I encourage every citizen to just give God thanks, even if you don't like what is happening to you.  We all have a lot to be thankful for and you don't have to be too smart or travel very far to realize that.  About the time I start feeling sorry for myself or my condition, I see someone I wouldn't trade shoes with.  I pray for thanks immediately and God's Will for that person, not what's happening to them now.

I told a farmer friend just today, "Robert, we’ve always noticed answered prayer and really noticed it this winter with LuAnn’s brother Tom who was diagnosed with brain cancer and nearly died Dec 23.  His treatment and recovery and all of the people God put together to make that happen is the most visual answered prayer LuAnn and I have seen in a long time, if not ever."

We don’t always like the answer to our prayer but we rejoice when it’s even better than we hoped for!

Blessings,

Ed and LuAnn

Living In The Country

Living in the Country

I'm honored to write a story here, on Mr. Winkle's blog! Being neighbors with him and Mrs. Winkle have been wonderful these past 6 years. We truly couldn't ask for better neighbors!

   Moving here to Martinsville, has been probably some of the best years of my life! When you live in the country, on a farm, there's never a dull moment. Never a time when you're standing around looking for something to do... There's always something that needs to be done, animals to be taken care of, gardens to tend, well you all know... And that's what I love about it! (the picture shows Savannah's mom and most of her family at a barn quilt tour we held here 4 years ago)

    After moving here in 2007, some of us were homesick for quite awhile. Some of us, referring to the six brothers and two sisters I have. Yes, it's a lot - But I love every one of them! They all know what will rub you the wrong way sometimes, but you've just got to brush it off and forget about it. Leaving all our friends behind, and moving to a completely new place. A new atmosphere. Yes, it was a change...But isn't any move, for anyone? You learn to adapt. Anywhere you move you end up meeting new people, doing new things, and just changing things up. Isn't that what life’s all about? It'd be boring living in the same place, doing the same things, living the same day-to-day life, for your whole time you have here on earth. So why not spend it mixing things up, here and there?

    Before moving here, we lived in more of a rural town. After moving out here to God's open country, I'd never go back...At least I hope not. The sunrises, sunsets, and beautiful skies at night are amazing - I've never seen them so beautiful before! "Red skies at night, are a sailors delight. Red skies in the morning are a sailors mourning." So many nights we have amazing red skies, shining through the open corn fields, leaving the sun shining bright the next morning.

    But, why did we move here? Well, we originally had alpacas, and the 4 acres we had, 2 of which were woods, just wasn't making the cut. We needed more room. More space to expand. We found this place and here we are! The alpacas have since moved on, while Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats moved in. I honestly love these guys. They have the sweetest personality. Nothing like the skid dish alpacas. The feeling of bringing back fresh milk from the barn, is a great feeling. Knowing you are providing for your family, is an amazing thing. With a few other animals - chickens, cats and a dog, we are continuing to build up this farm, little by little. Angora goats are in the plans for the near future!

It's the people here too! They're always willing to lend a hand, always there when you need them, and they sure are some of the nicest people!

      Watching the farmers harvest their crops after a long year of preparation, is something I'm grateful I get to see! I love watching them do something that makes the world go around. Something that is of great need in this world. Something that so many people take for granted - I wish more people understood the time and work it takes to put the food on their plate. And appreciate the farmers a little more for all the work they put into taking care of God's land.

   Moving here has taught so much...Learning how to provide more for my family, how working hard really pays off - And I love that!...It makes you really appreciate the simpler/smaller things in life and not always worry about trying to look/be better than someone else, but to live this life - Working hard, being grateful for what you have, who you are, are making the best out of every day!

Savannah

Did You Ever See A Hessian Fly?

Reader Kevin and I were discussing the very discouraging topic of what I call, "sorry wheat."  Sorry wheat is very disappointing if you really wanted it for grain.  It's been turned into a cover crop many times because the stand was just not there to take it to harvest.  Killing half dead winter wheat is one of the hardest things I've ever tried to do because it is normally such a survivor.

We shared pictures and I told him that I've never lost a crop planted in September so far.  Usually we try to plant after "fly free date" which is October 2 here.  Something about that timing, I've had 3 good crops now planted in September and only 50-50 planted in October.  Don't quote me on that, it's probably 80-20 but one spoiled crop is enough for me.

What is that blasted Hessian fly that caused this?  Has anyone ever seen one in the last century?

Most farmers wouldn't know a Hessian fly if it stung them.  Seriously.  They are that rare.  Let's keep them that rare.  I probably walk as much wheat as anyone in these parts and they are rare, thankfully, but I have seen them.  I think dad said they destroyed a crop or two in the 30's?

"The adult Hessian fly is a tiny, dark-colored insect about 1/8 inch long that resembles a large gnat or small mosquito. Females lay eggs on the seedling leaves, which hatch in three to seven days. Newly emerged maggots will move down to the crown of the plant and reside in the grooves of the leaf sheath and stem. They will feed on plant tissue by using their mouthparts like sandpaper and lap up juices that seep out.

Larvae are the only stage that damage wheat; adult flies do not feed. Maggots usually feed on the lower leaves and stems and reduce plant vigor. Infested plants become stunted and stiffly erect, and leaves are thickened with a bluish green color. A single maggot feeding on a plant for three days can stunt a young plant or tiller. Heavily damaged plants usually die during the winter.

Outbreaks of the Hessian fly have caused severe losses in wheat for the past 230 years in this country. It also may damage barley and rye, but not oats. Its damage was first observed in North America in the Long Island, NY area in the late 1770s.

It is not definitely known how the fly arrived from Europe or the time. My favorite story is the one that reports that the fly was found in the vicinity where Howe’s British troops were encamped. It was thought that Hessian soldiers in his army brought the pest from Europe in straw used for bedding; thus its name -- Hessian fly. The Hessian fly moved from Long Island approximately 20 miles annually until it reached the wheat growing region of the Great Plains. Problems associated with the pest and possible control methods are discussed at length in Thomas Jefferson’s agricultural writings.

Hessian flies caused a US shortage of wheat in 1836 that caused economic problems for farmers prior to the Panic of 1837.  It was reported in Ohio agricultural reports as early as 1847. In the latter part of the 1800s Hessian fly infestations were specifically reported in Crawford, Defiance, Seneca, and Wood counties of Ohio. Serious outbreaks occurred in Ohio in 1895 and 1920. Parts of Indiana had serious outbreaks as late as the early 1960s."

If you want good wheat, push the date.  If everyone listens to me, we will have another outbreak.  I don't think we plant enough soft red winter wheat for this to be a problem but it could be.  Do not drill wheat in wet soil when more rain is coming.  I've tried that and it resulted in sorry wheat.

Ed Winkle