Tax breaks for Amish horses are holding up the farm bill at this critical moment. It raises serious policy questions about the Amish as a special-interest group. Do Amish farmers really need accelerated depreciation on their two-year old horses? Do the Amish have a PAC?

Seriously, the Amish farmer was Sen. Charles Grassley's fall back position on why it's important that Congress keep in the farm bill a Senate tax provision that changes the acceleration schedule for horses.

This isn't about Kentucky race horses. This is about Betsy pulling the wagon that take Amish milk and bread into town to sell every Saturday. Though, it isn't clear why lawmakers would not just simply say this is an issue largely for race horses and make the case about that. Instead, it's the Amish, with all the lobbying power they wield in Washington, that are making the play for this tax break.

Right now, if you bought a horse and, as the Tax Code declares "placed it in service" for your Amish farming operation, the age of the race horse, er, work horse, matters.

A two-year-old horse has a seven-year depreciation schedule, while a three-year-old horse has a three-year depreciation schedule.

Now, there is probably a problem here. Everyone knows most Amish work horses probably are turned over every five or six years. So if an Amish farmer puts a horse in service as a two-year-old, the farmer gets depreciation on the horse for five years, then sells the horse, the depreciation has to be recaptured when the farmer files his next taxes. It's probably killing Amish farmers, who also face challenges with the farm-income caps and 1031 exchanges.

Actually, if you look at it from a more practical view of, say, the race-horse industry, it's unlikely there are very many two-year-old horses that run the tracks for seven years, or move on to breeding purposes so the owner can have full depreciation on the animal. Whether they go out to pasture or are sold off before their ninth year, the racing owner has to recapture the depreciation on the horse when factoring if there is a capital gain or a loss on the animal.

So this controversial tax provision wants to make all horses put in service, Amish, Kentucky thoroughbred or otherwise, on a three-year depreciation schedule. And that's why the provision is of great interest to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., because his state of Kentucky has a large horse racing industry.

And that's practical, Amish or no Amish, but the provision is drawing a bullseye right now in the farm bill debate that doesn't need more distractions.

DTN's Jerry Hagstrom reported today that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has specifically pointed out that provision. Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., Grassley and Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., have all defended the provision. Pelosi has told Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont, that she will not allow money intended to be used for nutrition programs to be diverted to race horse tax breaks.