By Gene Hall

Has the ultra-conservative think tank Heritage Foundation and its lobby arm Heritage Action been banned from the Republican Study Committee’s farm bill meetings? Yes, according to reporting in the National Journal by Tim Alberta and in Thomas Driscoll’s excellent Ag-to-Go policy newsletter.

In previous farm bill debate, all the Heritage did was misrepresent itself, mislead many Republican House members and embarrass House Speaker John Boehner.

According to Ag-to-Go, Heritage recommended—to cheerleading from many conservatives in and out of Congress—that the farm part of the farm bill be split off from the food stamp part for a separate vote. Many Republicans agreed, and Heritage hinted it was on board.

By Mike Barnett

City fresh.

That’s the idea behind Springdale Farm, a five-acre agricultural oasis in the heart of Austin.

Owners Glenn and Paula Foore have planted seeds to support a growing local food movement in the deep, rich soils of the Colorado River bottoms, located in an East Austin neighborhood just three miles from the State Capitol. Landscapers by trade, the Foores started growing food in 2009 when the local economy turned south.

By Gene Hall

I have been amused by recent reports that folks who dabbled in self-sufficient chicken farming have overrun pet shelters with no longer wanted chickens. It’s really a serious thing, but it’s just so predictable!

It really sounds good on the surface. “Hey hon…let’s keep a few chickens in the backyard. We’ll have fresh eggs. The kids can play with them and it will be really cool.”

By Mike BarnettI must say, I was surprised when I saw a post relating to the purported dangers of GMO dog food on Facebook by Caroline O’Sullivan, DVM. She is not just any veterinarian. She is a holistic veterinarian. And that’s dandy with me that Dr. O’Sullivan considers all aspects of a dog’s needs, including psychological, physical and social, should be taken into account and treated as a whole. I’m not sure that the dog cares, but the good veterinarian is not marketing to dogs, she’s marketing to people.

By Mike Barnett

America is in an awful state, my dad would say if he was still alive.

I can hear our conversation now. “This country’s going to hell in a hand basket,” he’d growl. “Why all the political bickering? Where’s the leadership? Why this fiscal irresponsibility? Why can’t we solve the problems we have instead of creating new ones?”

And then, as my dad was wont to do, he would offer some solutions. I’m sure it would follow the lines of the advice he gave me when I was growing up. Here are five things dad would teach the government: