By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Frugal vs. cheap in agriculture
Dr. Victor Martin
Updated: Nov 12, 2022, 9:00 PM
Published: Nov 12, 2022, 9:01 PM

The drought monitor report as of Tuesday, Nov. 8, indicates the same drought conditions as last week and the rainfall we received wasn’t enough to change things. We are still in extreme drought and it will take exceptional amounts of precipitation to improve conditions. In this area, we are in extreme drought with exceptional drought inching closer. Exceptional drought is in southern Stafford County and most of Pawnee. If this continues, it will be in Western Barton County next week. For comparison, this is worse than 2012 and it is not even close. The six to ten-day outlook (Nov. 15 to 19) indicates a 91 to 100% chance of below normal temperatures and a chance of normal to slightly below normal precipitation. The precipitation we did receive does help the wheat that’s already emerged hang on and should help the wheat that hasn’t yet merged or sprouted come up. The cold temperatures will slow that down a bit. The eight to 14-day outlook (Nov. 17 to 23) indicates a 60 to 70% chance of continuing below normal temperatures and a 33 to 40% chance of above below normal precipitation. Not what anyone wants to hear.

Today, as we head into the start of the holiday season, many producers are wrapping up field work from harvest to wheat planting and even getting equipment cleaned up and put away for a bit. It’s also the time to start planning and thinking about next year. Today, let’s discuss frugal vs. cheap in agriculture.

Frugal: “thrifty use of nonrenewable resources. Economical, stresses prudent management, lack of wastefulness, and use of things to their best advantage.” Cheap: “unwilling or very hesitant to spend money.” Cheap vs. Frugal: “Cheapness uses price as a bottom line; frugality uses value as a bottom line.” No producer wants to waste money or spend more than they need to. However, the important thing for all of us and especially those in agriculture is to be frugal, not cheap. Being frugal doesn’t mean you don’t spend money but you invest or use it wisely. Being cheap means spending as little as possible. A frugal producer in the long run often ends up spending less money and reaping greater profits in the long run and the cheap producer often ends up wasting money and ends up with lower profits. All of us remember the adage that it takes money to make money. So, let’s discuss a real-world example or two to illustrate the point.

This is a time of year to consider soil sampling, depending where you are, for pH, (P) phosphorus, etc. to determine fertilizer needs for next years crops. Not a huge investment but also not cheap. It’s especially important if you haven’t soil tested for a while or if you had poor crops due to the heat and drought. Skipping the test to save money, yes, some still do. Could cost you more money in the long run. Low pH where you need liming will affect crop growth, nutrient uptake, soil applied herbicide activity and result in lower yields. Many soils still have much of the fertilizer applied for the 2022 cropping year available and need little if any say P. Or your field may be short and you lose yield by not applying enough fertilizer. Next spring, it would be wise to check profile nitrogen levels as there may be significant N left in the soil. N you don’t need to apply. The list of examples could fill several pages of the newspaper. 

The point of all this is simply that it pays to be frugal and spend money when needed as it improves the bottom line.


Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620-792-9207, ext. 207, ormartinv@bartonccc.edu.
Pawnee Valley Community Hospital now offers proven PAD treatment
pvch-set-pad
Sayra Santacruz, respiratory therapist, and Dusty Thacker, director of Cardiopulmonary Services at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital, demonstrate supervised exercise therapy for patients with peripheral artery disease.
Published: Apr 3, 2025, 1:50 PM

Anyone who has a diagnosis of peripheral artery disease (PAD) now has access to a “proven, effective treatment” at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital (PVCH), said Dusty Thacker, director of Cardiopulmonary Services.

The treatment is called supervised exercise therapy (SET) and is specifically tailored to PAD, a condition in which blood vessels to the legs and feet become narrowed or blocked. This is due to a build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries that limits blood flow.

“SET is a structured workout program designed to help people improve their physical health under the guidance of a trained professional,” Thacker said. “Sessions are tailored to the person’s needs and focus on improving strength, endurance and mobility.

“The treatment also helps improve circulation, which can reduce or eliminate pain while walking.”

Exercise sessions typically involve a combination of aerobics, strength training and stretching. This includes walking on a treadmill at a moderate pace, with an incline, until the patient begins to feel mild to moderate leg pain.

The patient then rests until the pain subsides before resuming the exercise during up to 36 sessions with a registered respiratory therapist.

“SET is a key treatment approach that focuses on improving blood flow, reducing leg pain and enhancing overall mobility,” Thacker summarized.

Smoking and diabetes are the strongest risk factors for PAD, Thacker noted. Other factors include being over 75; high blood pressure and/or cholesterol; not enough physical activity; stress; diets high in saturated fats; obesity; chronic kidney disease; and family history.

“A few classic symptoms of PAD are pain, burning or cramping in your legs and feet during an activity that improve with rest,” Thacker said.

Others are leg and foot pain at night or while lying down, as well as coldness or numbness in the legs or feet. Additional possibilities are leg weakness or heaviness, slow-healing sores on feet or legs, discolored skin and leg-hair loss.

The therapist offers education about smoking cessation, a heart-healthy diet, weight management, blood pressure control and increasing physical activity.

“We are pleased that we now offer this important exercise therapy,” Thacker commented. “Many of our patients have benefited from our Cardiac Rehab and Pulmonary Rehab services by gaining control of their symptoms, improving their quality of life and reducing the risk of future hospitalizations.

“SET is a similar service. Patients with PAD now have a treatment that can help them manage symptoms and improve overall vascular health.

“We are excited to expand our cardiopulmonary services and incredibly fortunate to partner with HaysMed and the DeBakey Heart Institute. This collaboration connects our Larned community with any necessary advanced services and direct access to cardiologists. It allows us to offer specialized care close to home, significantly enhancing the quality of care and positively impacting our patients’ health and well-being.”


Pawnee Valley Community Hospital, 923 Carroll in Larned, is a 25-bed facility, offering many services not typically available in a smaller facility. Included are 24/7 emergency care; acute, skilled and specialized nursing; surgery; high-tech imaging and laboratory tests; wound care; rehabilitation; and sleep and diagnostic center. PVCH Family Medicine provides the full range of family-medicine services; physician-assisted weight loss; and women’s health services. The hospital’s number is 620-285-3161; the clinic’s number is 620-804-6007.