The property in question is zoned as "'agricultural' land for cash crop or general farm usage". Breeding horses might be a "general farm usage" but it sure isn't a cash crop. I'm not a farmer and I don't play one on the Internet...but I do know Andy... I'll ask his opinion and get back to everybody.
I want to take a look at a particular section of intrepid reporter Josh's work...
I then called Larry Gearhardt, director of Local Affairs at the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. He’s an expert on agricultural exemptions. He said the exemption is harder to determine with equestrian activities than with crops. People have horses for fun; they don’t grow corn as a hobby.
But here’s the essence:“If the land is devoted to a commercial agricultural use, than it can qualify for the (agricultural) program. People buy and sell horses all the time but that’s not necessarily enough to make it commercial.”
So is Zettler a professional or an amateur? I asked him.
He said he has one stud on the property and three mares. The stud is a prize-winner that he hires professionals to train and show for him. Said he:“If this stud horse does what we want it to do, I’ll make more money off this stud horse than I ever would practicing law.”
After his exhaustive investigation and analysis, intrepid reporter Josh apparently didn't ask the one question that might have settled the issue: Has Jack Zettler sold any offspring from this stud? It's been nearly a year since Kay Rogers looked in to it...are any of these mares even pregnant?
Here's the intrepid reporter credo!
And seeing as no one contested Zettler’s valuation, that’s where we left it as well.Translation: Yeah, I always implicitly trust the guy who I'm investigating. Well, he says he didn't do it and that's good enough for me and my readers! No, it doesn't matter that this guy has a "D" after his name at all, why do you ask? Oh, because I hound everybody with an "R" at the end of their name... Hmm...lemme get back to you on that one.
Lastly, why even bother Roger Reynolds with this? He's not Kay Rogers and isn't going to "go after" a political opponent -- particularly in this environment -- during an election year. He's got way too much class for that anyway. Not to mention the fact that he and his office are actually quite busy with the property assessments underway.
