Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 36

Sunday. July 16, 1989 DcojurJllinxHsJ 5: -J uct," Plassmeyer says. "A half-gallon of ice cream costs about $2. With that you can give dessert to a family of four and still have some left over. "(A half-gallon) weighs about 2 pounds.

Where else can you buy anything for less than a dollar a pound." In its fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1988, the Decatur plant produced 6.8 million gallons, and at the current pace, the plant will produce 7.2 million gallons. That pro-; duction is a significant increase over the plant's previous owner, Swift which was producing less than 1 million gallons a year. SINCE PRAIRIE Farms purchased the plant in June 1977, the Carlinville-based, farmer-owned cooperative has made continual improvements, including a super-cold contact-plate freezer that has sped production of ice cream in half-gallon rectangular containers. The most recent expansion includes a new four-door loading bay.

Vanilla is Prairie Farms' biggest-selling flavor and the favorite of Plassmeyer. "Once you start putting flavors in it, it covers up the taste," Plassmeyer said. "I always eat the vanilla of competitors to find out if it's good ice cream." "(But) at the different socials," says sales representative Dwayne Korts, seldom do people pick vanilla." By JON GARDNER Herald Review Staff Writer It's National Ice Cream Month do you know where yours is made? If it's Prairie Farms ice cream, chances are it's made at the dairy's ice cream division plant at 757 N. Morgan St. The plant produces 600,000 gallons of "America's No.

1 dessert" every month ranging from one-quart cartons to three-gallon pails distributed to Illinois and surrounding states. And if it's Old Recipe ice cream you're eating, the Decatur plant is the sole source of that variety. Not surprisingly, the summer months are the biggest months for ice cream manufacturers. With the addition of new accounts, last month was the Decatur plant's biggest production month ever, requiring 1 million pounds of milk and 500,000 pounds of cream, according to plant manager Gary Plassmeyer. AND THIS, THE nationally commemorated month, will be capped off with the dairy's fifth annual old-fashioned ice cream social.

The social will be held during the court- ty fair, from 2 to 8 p.m. July 29 at the Decatur-Macon County Fairground. The admission price of $1 will buy all the ice cream -you can eat "Ice cream is like an impulse prod "Nfe i'J 1 by Larry DaHey SWEET JOB: Greg Walker loads boxes into a machine that packages ice cream at Prairie Farms Dairy nwsDinigj contingent on prior stays in a hospital or skilled care facility. Does the policy exclude certain conditions? Alzheimer disease and other organically related mental disorders, such as Parkinson's and stroke-induced dementia, may afflict half of all nursing home residents. Pass up policies excluding these.

Is it guaranteed renewable? Look for a provision guaranteeing renewability, which ensures the policy will stay in force as long as you pay the premiums. Can you pass the health screen? The younger and healthier you are, the greater your chance of getting a policy that has few qualifications. Does the policy cover home care? Benefits are usually half of those in a nursing home. A number of states offer guides to buying insurance. Ask your state insurance office whether it offers one on long-term-care policies.

claims data is trying to corner business. They will likely come back for rate hikes sooner or later. ONE WAY AROUND that is to hold out for a policy that guarantees a life-insurance-type protection against an unexpected hike in premiums. The other, is to search out coverage with, a nonforfeiture benefit, which means that even if you are unable to meet the premiums after a set number of years, the policy will remain in effect and pay at least a portion of benefits; -f The cost of the premium also -depends on the number of days you wait before benefits begin and how long they last. Most policies let you choose waiting periods of up to 100 days, during which you pay out of pocket.

Try to take a minimum of 20 days. But the longer the waiting period, the cheaper the premium will be. One caveat: The restrictions on some policies may make the long waiting period a bad idea. A policy with a 100-day, waiting period that requires skilled care would be worthless because skilled care is rarely needed for that long. And Medicare covers skilled care for 150 days.

The price of the policy also goes up as the benefit period lengthens. Coverage typically ranges from two to six years. A policy allowing beneficiaries to alternate between home and nursing home is preferable. The best policies reimburse equally for the three levels of care: skilled, intermediate and custodial. THE OTHER KEY provisions that can affect the quality of the coverage you buy can be found in 4 the fine print on each policy.

Does the policy require a doctor's certification of "medical necessity" for admission? Better policies do not make admission A $50-per-day benefit bought at age 65, for example, would have to be $150. at age 85 to provide the same protection. Still another approach is to consider a policy that allows you to adjust your benefits periodically. But this works only if the company bases increased premiums on your age when you buy. However, the higher inflation goes, the less future fixed benefits are worth.

Newer policies come with optional inflation protection, a rider that typically boosts the' per-day benefit about 5 percent a year, which can add up to 30 percent or more to the premium. But the usefulness of such protection is limited, since it is rarely compounded. So-called level premiums are the norm in the industry. This means the seller can't raise the rate on an individual policy without state approval. But use the premium only as a guideline for purchase because it can be artifi- cially low if a company with weak facilities that provide daily-living assistance for a set fee have waiting lists that run from several months to four years.

IF YOU DO DECIDE to buy private long-term-care insurance, middle-age is the recommended time to buy especially if you upgrade your policy periodically to protect against inflation. Your risk from an insurer's standpoint is still low and premiums are relatively affordable. Premiums begin to go up sharply after age 60. 1 a Group plans are likely to be the best value, with premiums sometimes 20 percent to 30 percent lower than comparable individual coverage. Annual individual premiums can run from $400 to $1,000 at age 60 and from $1,100 to $2,100 at age 70.

So what do you get for your money? Most policies are-indemnity insurance, which pays a fixed-dollar amount per day ($30 to $150) no matter what the actual charges are. Nursing home fees average $75 per day and can easily be twice that in some areas. TO GET MORE man the standard allotment, some people buy more-generous coverage to start. By CHANGING TIMES The Kiplinger Magazine If you're thinking of taking out a nursing home insurance policy on yourself or a family member, be sure you get all the facts first. People as young as 40 are buying these policies, and business is booming.

Unfortunately, a lot of folks are wasting their money. High on the list of reasons to buy nursing home insurance is the hope that insurance will spare beneficiaries the fate of going on welfare. Another is the expectation that protection will help the elderly avoid becoming a burden to their families. And having the right policy could also pave the way for admission to a decent nursing home. People are turning to private insurance in part because government help such as Medicaid, the state-supervised health care program for the poor, requires you to spend yourself into virtual impoverishment before becoming eligible.

Even that is no guarantee you'll get the care you need. Medicare pays for only 150 days a year of skilled nursing home care. Privately available alternatives, like medigap insurance, exclude long-term care. And private nrm I CONVENTIONS MM Aug. 3-5, Land of Lincoln Quilt Association, Holiday Inn.

Aug. 4-6, Grain and Feed Association of Illinois, Holiday Inn Aug. 11-18, ASA Women's National Softball Tournament, Bbrg-Warner Field. -vj' MUSTKB Save time. anytime! Tired of waiting in line to do your banking? Our CASH STATION card can save you time anytime you bank at a 24-hour teller machine.

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Then bank at your convenience at any of these ATMs: CASH STATION1" CIRRUS" EXCHANGE EASYANSWER MONEY NETWORK -AND MORE! About 300 dealers of NobleBear Inc. seed company will be at the Decatur Holiday Inn Friday and Saturday for an annual kickoff meeting. Several new varieties of corn and soybeans held over from last year because of the drought will be previewed, said Terry Winter-land, marketing manager. There also will be reports from the firm's partner, Bioseeds Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn.

Bioseeds is working on ways to improve nutritional value, starch content and milling qualities of varieties. Dealers will have a reception from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday followed by an awards dinner. They also will tour test plots and the Noble-Bear facilities at Wyckles Road and Interstate 72. Other upcoming meetings and conventions include, according to the Decatur Area Convention Visitors Bureau: July 28-30, Prairieland Country Western Dance Festival, Holiday Inn.

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