Healthcare Focus

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It is timely to think about “Medicare about how sick their patients were. This care, your doctor or an insurance company? Joining Advantage” as this is the season when resulted in Medicare being overcharged. a Medicare Advantage plan puts you in a network. folks of Medicare age decide what to do Our tax money funds Medicare, so when The doctor you wish to see, the doctor who is most with their insurance for the next year. Medicare is overcharged we the taxpayer experienced taking care of your problem, may not be Medicare Advantage is misnamed as it is are defrauded. It is estimated 2020 over- in the network you join. charges by Medicare Advantage were between $12 and $25 billion. (For a bit of perspective, the budget for NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, was $21.5 billion). The Center for Medicare Services has been ineffective at eliminating this problem. I am sure those of you in the Medicare age range have noticed the flood of advertising for Medicare Advantage plans every fall. That should give you a clue as to how profitable the Medicare Advantage programs are for the insurance companies. Remember your tax money is paying for all that advertising. You may have also noticed it is quite difficult to pick a Medicare Advantage plan due to the myriad different deductions, copays, incentives, etc. offered. A word of caution: If you are starting Medicare or if you are in Medicare with a supplemental insurance policy (not Medicare Advantage) think twice about getting a Medicare Advantage policy. The rules make it nearly impossible to switch from Medicare Advantage back to original Medicare with a supplemental (Medigap) policy (the insurance not really an advantage nor is it original Medicare. A bit of history is in order. After Medicare was started in 1966, it became apparent the original Medicare had some significant gaps which should be fixed — for example, significant copays for hospital stays; no coverage for vision, hearing and dental problems; and no out of pocket maximum. The logical thing (logical from the patient’s point of view) would have been to expand Medicare to cover these gaps. The U.S. insurance industry convinced legislators to allow the sale of policies to cover some parts of this gap with additional profit to the insurance companies if less money was spent on care. The term “Medicare Advantage” was introduced in 2003. How does Medicare Advantage work? The Providers (doctors, clinics, hospitals) bill the insurance companies for the services provided to the patients and the insurance companies have complex contracts with the providers and Medicare. HEALTHCARE FOCUS By Mark Brakke Some of you reading this column may wonder if I am exaggerating. I am not. A good place to learn more is the PNHP.org webpage where they have an extensive set of information on Medicare Advantage. On Oct. 8 the New York Times published, “The Cash Cow Was Insatiable, How Insurers Exploited Medicare Advantage”. You can also simply google “problems with medicare advantage” and find many well documented articles. When you read or listen to discussions of this subject, always ask yourself who is speaking. The insurance industry clearly does not have an unbiased perspective. (Chicken farmers will tell you: Do not let the fox design the chicken coop.) There really is no good reason for our Medicare insurance being complicated and subject to fraud and administrative inefficiency. Original Medicare is administratively efficient and should have been left that way. As a tax payer I think we should do away with Medicare Advantage and replace it with an improved version of the original Medicare. We all need to remember we live in a democracy. If we want government policy to change we need to com-

The first obvious problem with this approach is companies have the option of denying you that municate regularly with our elected representatives. the introduction of another party in the insurance plan. With original Medicare, the doctor or hospital billed Medicare and Medicare paid based on a set fee schedule. With Medicare Advantage, the hospital or doctor billed the insurance company which got change ….and they usually do deny the change.) When you are in Medicare Advantage, the insurance company is involved in approving the care your doctor thinks is necessary. Who should determine your Mark Brakke is retired after caring for patients in Coon Rapids, Minn. for 41 years. He has served on boards of two HMOs. Questions relating to health care can be sent to editor@thelandonline.com. ❖ paid by Medicare based on a complex formula and the insurance company paid the provider. This is obviously inefficient due to inserting another business into the billing/payment process. www.TheLandOnline.com

The next problem involves incentives. The contracts between the insurance companies and Medicare encourage the insurance companies to spend less caring for the patients. That kind of New crop insurance resources for incentive causes the insurance companies to sometimes deny needed care. small and organic producers Unfortunately, there is another major problem. Many of the insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage insurance manipulated the information Two new resources from the Center for Rural Affairs describe coverage options available for small and organic operations: the Micro Farm program and Contract Price Option. cover a crop’s value. The Contract Price Option is only available for acres under contract. Acres with and without contracts can still be insured under the same policy, but The Micro Farm program insures the expected rev- those acres not under contract will be factored into a enue of an agricultural operation, and is designed weighted average at the price established by RMA. with small ones in mind. The coverage protects against loss of revenue from commodities grown or purchased for resale during the insurance period. To learn more about these programs, visit publications. cfra.org/ Operations eligible for Micro Farm must make less than $350,000 in approved annual revenue, with no more than 50 percent of total revenue coming from commodities purchased for resale. Farmers with questions about crop insurance are invited to reach out to the Center for Rural Affairs for one-on-one support. Contact Kate Hansen at kateh@cfra.org or (515) 215-1294. For producers growing or transitioning to organic crops, the Contract Price Option can be used to better This article was submitted by the Center for Rural Affairs. ❖

By RICHARD SIEMERS

The Land Correspondent

It would be difficult to find a time when dairy cattle were not a part of Bonnie Mohr’s life. She grew up on a dairy farm near Gibbon, Minn. with her seven siblings, doing farm chores including milking cows. She also showed cattle and was on a dairy judging team.

Mohr attended college at the University of Minnesota - Waseca, majoring in dairy production and agricultural communications. Married and living in Minneapolis after graduation, she worked for Holstein World in communications, sales and marketing. Her husband, John, who grew up on a dairy farm near Hanska, Minn., also had a job in sales. In the 1980s they took the opportunity to buy a farm near Glencoe, Minn. and went into the dairy business. (You can read about the farm, Glenmark Genetics, at www.glenmarkgenetics.com)

“I felt strongly that I would end up somewhere in the field of agriculture and, more importantly, in a dairy company where I could use my background,” Bonnie said. “I always kind of laugh and say, ironically, I did end up in dairy communications, but in a way that I never expected.” You see, Bonnie Mohr communicates about dairy farming with a paintbrush. For years, her prime subjects were dairy cattle. “Very shortly into the early part of my career I realized that I could paint cows well because I used to judge them. I was on the judging team so I knew anatomy and bone structure and the like.” Still, painting was not a career she expected to be in at all. The closest she came to formal training was at the age of 12. While she wasn’t turning out paintings, her parents saw an interest in design and drawing and enrolled her in a class with a local artist as a Christmas gift. She loved art class in high school but felt she was an average student. Living in the Twin Cities gave her access to art shows and galleries. “There was this gnawing level of curiosity and interest in pursuing my art,” she Photo by Richard Siemers Bonnie Mohr holds a print of her painting “The Beautiful Cow.” It is one of her favorites said. “I really can’t explain it.” and one of her most popular works. The cows and pasture are on Bonnie and John’s She didn’t just go to art shows. She used farm. them to learn. “I would seek out artists that I thought were the best and go to their booths, study their art, ask questions,” she said. “It was a whale of an opportunity to talk in person, one-on-one. I always said the quickest way to advance in anything in life is to surround yourself with other successful and intelligent people that you can learn from. So basically I’m self-taught, and the way I got started was by talking to other artists who Photo submitted were successful.” Bonnie and her husband John farm near Glencoe, Minn. While she may have considered herself to be an “average” student in art, she discovered she had a God-given talent and began to develop it. “I was learning a sideline career in art while I had a full-time job, and waiting for the time when I had enough courage to think I could actually make a living at art,” Bonnie explained. “My husband was very supportive, my biggest fan, and he encouraged me to do that.” Answers located in In the early 1980s, the popular art was western and

Classified Section See MOHR, pg. 13

MOHR, from pg. 12

wildlife — Terry Redlin, Les Kouba, Robert Bateman. That wasn’t her interest. She loved cows, she knew cows, she was comfortable with cows…and nobody was painting cows.

“I started painting cows,” she said. “I found a niche in the marketplace. People were liking my work, buying my work, so I took the leap of faith. I was young at the time and I thought if it doesn’t work out, I can get a job anywhere.”

Her folks had taught her that with hard work and common sense, she could succeed at anything. That “leap of faith” landed her in a new career. Her love of dairy cattle was shared by others. Much of her clientele were dairy farmers, and she could paint any breed.

About the time she quit her job and started painting, the Mohrs started their dairy farm and started a family which eventually totaled five children. The next years “were a blur,” Bonnie said. She was helping in the barn, having babies, raising children, painting, answering phones, packing orders.

When the third child came along, she told John, “Either I milk cows or I paint them, but I can’t do both.” He agreed. He hired help with the dairy. She focused on being a mom and developing her business. The business developed to where they built a gallery, store, and studio next to their house on the farm. Two full-time employees assist in having the gallery open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., as well as with social media and other details.

Photo submitted She painted cows exclusively for 15 to 20 years. She had come close to saturating the market — especially since the dairy industry and her customer base were shrinking. It was time to move beyond her “comfort zone”. She broadened her subject matter to general agriculture and rural America, and about ten years ago added “inspirational art and paintings with a message. Some have words, some don’t.” She reflected, “I was pleasantly surprised to find that I’m really loving painting other things [than cows] and I’m feeling more purposeful, that God has a bigger calling for me than to paint pretty pictures of cows. I think combining art with a joyful or strong or powerful message makes it more than art. It makes it a statement of how to live life. That’s where I see my art going now and that’s what I hope my future will be, and I’m very excited about that.” Bonnie loves to paint, but it is more than a way to make a living. The world is changing and she wants to change with it. She said the way to grow is to explore and try new things, and she chooses not to paint just for the sake of painting. She feels that her painting has a two-fold purpose: One is to allow God

Bonnie paints in oil, creating around 15-30 new Photo submitted to work through her, the other is to serve the people around her. works annually, depending on her schedule, and the “I’ve always said that you’re not given anything to size and detail of the paintings. She sells the original keep it or to have it. You’re given it to share it, to paintings, as well as Giclée (reproductions on can- make the world a better place,” she said. vas), prints and cards, both at her gallery and on-line.

Photo by Richard Siemers Next to Bonnie and John’s farmhouse is Bonnie’s gallery, store and studio.

See MOHR, pg. 15

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By WHITNEY NESSE skipping school in fourth grade to The Land Correspondent haul round bales!” he shared. BROWNTON, Minn. — Over the Although Sam, his dad and his Buffalo Creek and through the town of brother all share the daily duties of Brownton, Minn., to the Merry Little the farm, Sam is specifically in Farm we go! charge of the bookkeeping. Josie is

This may be the tune you were singing willing to hop onto a tractor whenif you were on your way to Merry Little ever she is needed during spring Farm the weekend after Thanksgiving; and fall field work. “I’m mostly the when husband and wife team, Sam and meal delivery gal!” she laughed. Josie Sanken, opened up their Christmas “Meal delivery and most importantshop for local artists to sell their work. ly, emergency seed runs and parts The goal, Josie said, is to provide a local runs,” added Sam. Josie fills in establishment for rural artists to showwherever she can around the farm. case and sell their work without having In talking about the agricultural to drive to the metro area. What’s more production side of the Sankens’ venis that Merry Little Farm offers an tures, they shared this year went opportunity for folks to visit a working surprisingly well. Josie said that the farm! This year marks the third season goat herd expanded nicely this year. for Merry Little Farm. “We have some wethers that will be

Both Sam and Josie are actively work- going to market in early December,” ing in production agriculture. Sam, along she said. As far as crop production, with his father and brother, raise corn Sam said that yields were rather and soybeans on the family’s sixth gen- surprising once the combine was eration farm. Sam and Josie are in their rolling. “After getting the crop in the pilot year of raising and finishing meat ground late this spring and wet, cool goats and broiler chickens. On top of conditions the first half of June folthat, they have two small children: lowed by hardly any rain through Winne, who is four years old and Waylon July and August, we were very who is two years old. “Winnie is very impressed with the yields,” Sam excited to be part of Merry Little Farm said. “Both corn and soybeans outthis year!” relayed Josie. yielded our expectations. We were

For Josie, painting, creating, sculpting and music Minn. very, very pleased with that.” have been lifelong passions of hers. At the age of 14 Raising animals has been a The idea of opening up a holiday she began selling some of her artwork. “They were lifelong hobby of Josie’s as well. shop came around in 2018. “I cooked called ‘Promise Ponies’,” Josie recalled. “I would take During her growing up years, up the idea of wanting to have a clay and blend it together to make a really cool rain- her family owned a hobby farm holiday event. I’ve always been big bow pattern of color and sculpt them into ponies.” where they raised horses, chick- into Christmas and wanted to start As a teenager, Josie’s “Promise Ponies” were sold in a local coffee shop near her hometown of Almelund, ens, steers and rabbits. She was also very active in 4-H as a youngster, showing many of the something!” said Josie. “I’m an entrepreneur and Christmas is my kryptonite!” animals they raised at the coun- 2019 was the opening year of ty fair. Josie is still an avid Merry Little Farm where there were horse lover, owning two horses. only four other vendors, Josie said. She has thoroughly enjoyed “We sold handmade items like crafts sharing that hobby with their and art,” she said. The first year children. went quite well considering there Sam’s agricultural back- was an ice and snow storm that blew ground looks slightly different. through the weekend of the sale. “I grew up on a farm. My dad Sam said they decided to open a secraised hogs until 1996. [My dad] ond weekend that year because of has been a crop farmer ever the unfavorable weather. since then — except for a few batches of Holstein Now, Josie said, she is shifting gears from crafts to steers that he finished,” said Sam. “I am actively art, pottery, photography and hand-painted pictures farming with my dad and brother now.” in order to make Merry Little Farm more of an art Sam, his dad and brother grow corn and soybeans gallery and boutique. “I want to keep it different. I Agronomy Energy Feed Grain and also have a seed dealership called Sanken Seeds. want art. I am a passionate artist and I don’t think www.crystalvalley.coop “I always had an interest in the farm,” he said. there are many opportunities for people [who are artOnce he was old enough to drive a tractor, he has ists] to locally showcase their art. I want to support been helping on the farm. “I have fond memories of See MERRY LITTLE FARM, pg. 15

Photos by Whitney Nesse Winnie, Waylon, Sam and Josie Sanken.

Winnie lends a hand helping mom set up displays at the Merry Little Farm.

WAITE PARK, Minn. — Applications from Conservation-Minded Landowners for the Fiscal Year 2023 NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) are due by Dec. 16.

Farmers and landowners are encouraged to apply for financial assistance to implement conservation activities under four Regional Conservation Partnership Program projects in Minnesota:

Minnesota Department of Agriculture — Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program Project #2129. Covers all of Minnesota.

Minnesota Department of Agriculture — Irrigation Partnership to Protect Groundwater Project #2365. Counties: Becker, Benton, Cass, Dakota, Douglas, East Otter Tail, Grant, Hubbard, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Morrison, Pope, Sherburne, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Wadena, West Otter Tail and Washington.

Farm a venue for local artists

MERRY LITTLE FARM, from pg. 14

local artists,” Josie offered.

When asked what his involvement in Merry Little Farm is, Sam laughed and said, “I hang Christmas lights!” He also added he does wood cutting, shop projects and assembling things. “Typically, Josie spends evenings during harvest in the shop creating,” Sam said. “The weekend of the shop, I keep the kids happy and the bonfire lit.”

“I love Christmas!” Josie announced. “We’re celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior!” As a child, Josie’s family would have multiple Christmas celebrations that she has fond memories of. “There is always something so special about Christmas. To me, it means tradition. I saw Merry Little Farm as a way to start a tradition — not just for family, but our community,” Josie shared. “I love opening our doors for people in our community. It gives people the opportunity to meet their neighbors.”

The future of Merry Little Farm is indeed merry and bright! Josie and Sam want to add Christmas trees for sale next year, they said. The Sankens’ want to offer more opportunities for folks to add to their family traditions. “Tradition is something you can count on. It’s memorable,” Josie said. Creating

Along with growing corn and soybeans, the Sankens have expanded their goat herd in 2022.

a space for families to make happy memories, start traditions and appreciate local art as well as experience firsthand a working farm is what Merry Little Farm is all about!

Merry Little Farm is located on Page Avenue a few miles north of Brownton, Minn. ❖

Join The Land Online!

Facebook.com/TheLandOnline Twitter.com/TheLandOnline Instagram@thelandmagazineonline

American Bird Conservancy — Improving Forest Health for Wildlife Resources Project #2245. Counties: Beltrami, Itasca, St. Louis, Cass, Becker, Hubbard, Crow Wing, Carlton, Pine, Mille Lacs, Lake of the Woods, Clearwater, Wadena, Roseau, Lake, Kanabec, Morrison, Koochiching, Aitkin and Mahnomen.

Morrison Soil and Water Conservation District — Camp Ripley Sentinel Landscape Project #2677. Counties: Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, and Todd

RCPP promotes coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns. Through RCPP, NRCS seeks to coinvest with partners to implement projects that demonstrate innovative solutions to conservation challenges and provide measurable improvements and outcomes tied to the resource concerns they seek to address.

For more information visit the NRCS Minnesota RCPP webpage at www. nrcs.usda.gov.

This article was submitted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. ❖

Mohr has no plans to retire

MOHR, from pg. 13

Bonnie is 60 and retirement is not even in her vocabulary.

“I truly love what I do, and I truly have a passion for it,” Bonnie said. “I’m truly grateful that God gave me this job. I hope that my best art is still coming. I hope that God’s going to take everything I’ve learned about art and all the life experiences I’ve had as a wife and a mom and a business owner and do something really awesome with it. I’m at a point now that I want to take everything I’ve learned and give back.”

Lest the cows are feeling neglected, she assures that she will always paint some cows. They may even see her in the barn. She still helps with milking on occasion.

“We have a working dairy,” she emphasized. “People come [to the farm] not only to see the art but the cows as well, and bring kids and grandkids.”

Yes, she will always paint some cows, “but I want to transition into more inspirational and general art with positive and uplifting messages, just because I think our world needs it right now.”

You can see what she is talking about at her website, www.bonniemohr.com, where you can also find directions to the farm, or find her on Facebook and Instagram @bonniemohrstudio. The studio on the farm is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Check the website for events or tours. ❖