Or she'll build a mews like she builds the rest of her enclosures...so the hawk will have a dinner ticket to free-range chicken.
24 losses and she's only writing about doing something? What happened to her coop? Does she not lock anything up at night? I'm assuming this is happening at night.
It's all a ruse to get readers to feel sorry for her and donate.
She is a master manipulator who preys on people's sympathetic nature by not only playing the victim but victimizing her livestock for blog material.
It's inconceivable an adult of normal intellect (who wrote a book on raising chickens!) isnt able to modify her poultry management strategy to prevent predation.
...being hopeful mother nature will do your job? not the best bet.
Anyway! She wrote a book about raising chickens, and she can't even keep her own safe! If I were her publisher I'd be embarrassed. Then again, if I was her publisher I'd look into her skills a little bit more before publishing anything she wrote!
Check this out: "no commercial use?" and "you can't exceed a certain income?" Interesting....
Woginrich bought her home through the USDA’s Rural Development Program (www.rurdev.usda.gov). The nationwide program is available by county; the initiative was created to promote a country lifestyle. Homeowners are prohibited from utilizing the property for commercial use. Woginrich learned about the program through her realtor. “It was no money down, and you don’t have to have pristine credit,” she says. “And you can’t exceed a certain income.”
I doubt what she's doing is even remotely at all commercial. We used the same program to buy our house (Rural Development Guaranteed Loan Program) and we homestead, sell animals, etc. And unless she got accepted into the direct loan program instead of the guarantee, she's probably nowhere near the income limit. The direct loan program (where the gov't is directly issuing the loan), has a low income level, as in below poverty level practically. The guaranteed loan program (where the gov't guarantees the loan but doesn't lend the money directly) has pretty typical income limits for average income levels.
Oh, maybe I misconstrued the meaning of "commercial". I was thinking of all the workshops, etc. as a commercial enterprise. I see what you mean, though, like selling produce, livestock or other products for a living.
I had to get a business license in my county for doing business in my home as a transcriptionist (spare me...) The thing is, on the questionnaire/application it asks you all kinds of questions like: Will your business increase traffic; will it require parking space; odd but true.
In my opinion, commercial use means running a business. For instance, building a store or an office. The USDA loan is for primary residences, which it is for Jenna. It has to be your primary residence. Jenna has a few workshops...I don't see that as the same thing. I make soap in my house and sell it, and I have a USDA loan...I don't see that as violating the terms of the loan.
What Jenna does is considered commercial from various angles but all you need to know is she accepts money for time/services in a for profit venture. As a writer who is selling her content written from this property, she has a home office...requiring her (in most jurisdictions) to have a Home Occupation Permit/Commercial Occupancy Permit AND a Business License from the County and/or Town in which she resides. Commercial uses are permitted or not (though there are special use permits that can be applied for etc) based on zoning. Accepting money through a wool CSA is commercial based on activities at that location. For example, in an area zoned Residential/Single Family Homes the owner of a landscaping business may use his residence as a home office (though must apply for a Home Occupation Permit and Business License). While the home office is permitted, zoning would restrict the owner from parking business vehicles associated with the home occupation on his parcel, they would not be permitted to have any signs displayed advertising the business, etc. The residential feel of the neighborhood must remain. Properties zoned agricultural allow for expanded uses but still must meet zoning requirements/limitations and the business or property owner is required to have the appropriate licenses/permits prior to running any commercial business on the property.
My bank will not approve a home loan if the property is zoned agricultural in any way because of the possibility to commercially profit off the parcel. I'd say 80% of the county I lived in was zoned agricultural. What is most odd, given the example above, ANYONE can get a home occupation permit as long as they meet the requirements....which allows them to run a business from home from any zoning district, even if just from a desk. So my bank won't loan to parcels zoned agricultural due to commercial possibilities while the USDA will loan but prevents commercial activities? Why wouldn't the USDA want to encourage businesses? Katie, If you lived in the town I worked in and from your home made soap to sell online, to vendors, or at markets off site you would be required to have a business license (from the town AND county) and a Home Occupation Permit...and like Anon would have to agree you would not sell retail from your house, would not park a business vehicle, would not display business signage etc.)
Perhaps the USDA defines commercial on a much larger scale? Still, that is so limiting...they'll provide the means to get people on rural properties but won't allow them to use the land/space for profit? Freaking government!
I worked in Planning/Zoning and would have to review these permits (I feel your pain Anon...) and one question was how many square feet will the business activities take of your residence...because it couldn't be over 33%. Most of the time it was literally the square footage of a desk or table, what was needed to work from a computer.
I have no idea about where she lives, but from my experience this is why her commercial activities would need to be permitted...
buffer yard - is her parcel adjacent to a residential district, if so is there an appropriate buffer yard to reduce light/noise? Are the amounts of light/noise within the levels outlined in the zoning ordinance. ex - I dealt with zoning violations all the time when new lights were installed or old lights were replaced with fixtures that were not dark sky friendly. to limit the amount of light pollution dark sky friendly lights are required for all new builds and I could not sign off on their commercial occupancy permit to allow business activities unless they were correct. parking - while probably not on issue due to 6 acres, if she tried to have a workshop on a fraction of the land with twice the people, where do they park? A business must have appropriate parking for their paid customers/clients.
Zoning, while at times obnoxious, is in place for soooo many important reasons and w/o proper ordinances zoning would be quickly missed. Most people who came in for Home Occupation Permits were well below the level of what activities were allowed so it seems silly...but then we get the complaints of the lady down the street running a yoga studio out of her garage leading to increased traffic, issues with parking, noise etc. (not to mention her weekly "tag sales" which the local antique dealers made us aware of quickly...why should they pay rental space/taxes when she is running a full blown retail outlet for free out of her residence?)
She plays by her own rules...I'm not sure what size her recently built run in shed for the sheep was, but it more than likely required review and a fee for a building permit. It appears the only exception in her county is a building less than 144sq for residential storage (shed). http://www.co.washington.ny.us/PDF/Code/bldg_perm_app.pdf
Good fences make good neighbors...and playing by the rules is just part of the game.
All this is so area specific and difficult to navigate...at times it seems for small ventures the money that should be spent on the hoops and ladders negate any profit that could potentially be made which is so important for a newly started business.
Well when we bought our house through Rural Development, we were told they wouldn't lend on a "farm", as in a real working farm, but having a small acreage with animals (more like a "hobby" farm) would be fine. My sister in NC is also going through the Rural Dev. program, and they were denied a house on 13 acres because USDA was too worried that the land had the ability to support an actual working farm. They are now buying a house on 3 acres, which is still acceptable to USDA. It really varies by county though, so what may be acceptable in NY may not be acceptable in NC or MD.
Or she'll build a mews like she builds the rest of her enclosures...so the hawk will have a dinner ticket to free-range chicken.
ReplyDelete24 losses and she's only writing about doing something? What happened to her coop? Does she not lock anything up at night? I'm assuming this is happening at night.
It's all a ruse to get readers to feel sorry for her and donate.
ReplyDeleteShe is a master manipulator who preys on people's sympathetic nature by not only playing the victim but victimizing her livestock for blog material.
It's inconceivable an adult of normal intellect (who wrote a book on raising chickens!) isnt able to modify her poultry management strategy to prevent predation.
...being hopeful mother nature will do your job? not the best bet.
Anyway! She wrote a book about raising chickens, and she can't even keep her own safe! If I were her publisher I'd be embarrassed. Then again, if I was her publisher I'd look into her skills a little bit more before publishing anything she wrote!
ReplyDeleteCheck this out: "no commercial use?" and "you can't exceed a certain income?" Interesting....
ReplyDeleteWoginrich bought her home through the USDA’s Rural Development Program (www.rurdev.usda.gov). The nationwide program is available by county; the initiative was created to promote a country lifestyle. Homeowners are prohibited from utilizing the property for commercial use. Woginrich learned about the program through her realtor. “It was no money down, and you don’t have to have pristine credit,” she says. “And you can’t exceed a certain income.”
I doubt what she's doing is even remotely at all commercial. We used the same program to buy our house (Rural Development Guaranteed Loan Program) and we homestead, sell animals, etc. And unless she got accepted into the direct loan program instead of the guarantee, she's probably nowhere near the income limit. The direct loan program (where the gov't is directly issuing the loan), has a low income level, as in below poverty level practically. The guaranteed loan program (where the gov't guarantees the loan but doesn't lend the money directly) has pretty typical income limits for average income levels.
ReplyDeleteOh, maybe I misconstrued the meaning of "commercial". I was thinking of all the workshops, etc. as a commercial enterprise. I see what you mean, though, like selling produce, livestock or other products for a living.
ReplyDeleteI had to get a business license in my county for doing business in my home as a transcriptionist (spare me...) The thing is, on the questionnaire/application it asks you all kinds of questions like: Will your business increase traffic; will it require parking space; odd but true.
I am curious, why would holding workshops on her property for profit not be considered commercial use?
ReplyDeleteValerie
In my opinion, commercial use means running a business. For instance, building a store or an office. The USDA loan is for primary residences, which it is for Jenna. It has to be your primary residence. Jenna has a few workshops...I don't see that as the same thing. I make soap in my house and sell it, and I have a USDA loan...I don't see that as violating the terms of the loan.
ReplyDeleteWhat Jenna does is considered commercial from various angles but all you need to know is she accepts money for time/services in a for profit venture. As a writer who is selling her content written from this property, she has a home office...requiring her (in most jurisdictions) to have a Home Occupation Permit/Commercial Occupancy Permit AND a Business License from the County and/or Town in which she resides. Commercial uses are permitted or not (though there are special use permits that can be applied for etc) based on zoning. Accepting money through a wool CSA is commercial based on activities at that location.
ReplyDeleteFor example, in an area zoned Residential/Single Family Homes the owner of a landscaping business may use his residence as a home office (though must apply for a Home Occupation Permit and Business License). While the home office is permitted, zoning would restrict the owner from parking business vehicles associated with the home occupation on his parcel, they would not be permitted to have any signs displayed advertising the business, etc. The residential feel of the neighborhood must remain.
Properties zoned agricultural allow for expanded uses but still must meet zoning requirements/limitations and the business or property owner is required to have the appropriate licenses/permits prior to running any commercial business on the property.
My bank will not approve a home loan if the property is zoned agricultural in any way because of the possibility to commercially profit off the parcel. I'd say 80% of the county I lived in was zoned agricultural. What is most odd, given the example above, ANYONE can get a home occupation permit as long as they meet the requirements....which allows them to run a business from home from any zoning district, even if just from a desk. So my bank won't loan to parcels zoned agricultural due to commercial possibilities while the USDA will loan but prevents commercial activities? Why wouldn't the USDA want to encourage businesses? Katie, If you lived in the town I worked in and from your home made soap to sell online, to vendors, or at markets off site you would be required to have a business license (from the town AND county) and a Home Occupation Permit...and like Anon would have to agree you would not sell retail from your house, would not park a business vehicle, would not display business signage etc.)
ReplyDeletePerhaps the USDA defines commercial on a much larger scale? Still, that is so limiting...they'll provide the means to get people on rural properties but won't allow them to use the land/space for profit? Freaking government!
I worked in Planning/Zoning and would have to review these permits (I feel your pain Anon...) and one question was how many square feet will the business activities take of your residence...because it couldn't be over 33%. Most of the time it was literally the square footage of a desk or table, what was needed to work from a computer.
I have no idea about where she lives, but from my experience this is why her commercial activities would need to be permitted...
ReplyDeletebuffer yard - is her parcel adjacent to a residential district, if so is there an appropriate buffer yard to reduce light/noise? Are the amounts of light/noise within the levels outlined in the zoning ordinance. ex - I dealt with zoning violations all the time when new lights were installed or old lights were replaced with fixtures that were not dark sky friendly. to limit the amount of light pollution dark sky friendly lights are required for all new builds and I could not sign off on their commercial occupancy permit to allow business activities unless they were correct.
parking - while probably not on issue due to 6 acres, if she tried to have a workshop on a fraction of the land with twice the people, where do they park? A business must have appropriate parking for their paid customers/clients.
Zoning, while at times obnoxious, is in place for soooo many important reasons and w/o proper ordinances zoning would be quickly missed. Most people who came in for Home Occupation Permits were well below the level of what activities were allowed so it seems silly...but then we get the complaints of the lady down the street running a yoga studio out of her garage leading to increased traffic, issues with parking, noise etc. (not to mention her weekly "tag sales" which the local antique dealers made us aware of quickly...why should they pay rental space/taxes when she is running a full blown retail outlet for free out of her residence?)
She plays by her own rules...I'm not sure what size her recently built run in shed for the sheep was, but it more than likely required review and a fee for a building permit. It appears the only exception in her county is a building less than 144sq for residential storage (shed).
http://www.co.washington.ny.us/PDF/Code/bldg_perm_app.pdf
Good fences make good neighbors...and playing by the rules is just part of the game.
All this is so area specific and difficult to navigate...at times it seems for small ventures the money that should be spent on the hoops and ladders negate any profit that could potentially be made which is so important for a newly started business.
ReplyDeleteWell when we bought our house through Rural Development, we were told they wouldn't lend on a "farm", as in a real working farm, but having a small acreage with animals (more like a "hobby" farm) would be fine. My sister in NC is also going through the Rural Dev. program, and they were denied a house on 13 acres because USDA was too worried that the land had the ability to support an actual working farm. They are now buying a house on 3 acres, which is still acceptable to USDA. It really varies by county though, so what may be acceptable in NY may not be acceptable in NC or MD.
ReplyDeleteThat seems shifty. if zoning allows for certain permitted uses why should the lender dictate how the land is used?
ReplyDeleteThat loan is financially limiting what profit buying it outright or using another lender would allow.
how does the USDA justify that limitation?