TIME RUNNING SHORT ON FARM LABOR DEAL: Time is quickly running out on a pair of bipartisan senators trying to reach consensus on a farm labor deal known as the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, your host reports . The House-passed bill is hailed by supporters as a potential fix to the farm labor crisis thwarting agricultural production and contributing to the rising costs of food. It would create a pathway for undocumented farmworkers to recieve legal status and expand the H-2A program to allow a limited number of year-round visas. Remaining snags: Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) have hit snags on a number of key issues — drawing out the talks. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, a deal has been reached on the bill's wage provisions and the senators are close to agreement on the cap for year-round H-2A visas. But the expansion of worker rights — particularly the extension of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act to cover H-2A workers — continues to be a sticking point. Heard from the lobby: The American Farm Bureau Federation, which opposes the expansion of MSPA rights to H-2A workers, caps on the number of year-round workers and increased wages — looms large over the talks. If the Senate bill includes those provisions, the Farm Bureau's opposition could deter many Republicans from supporting it. The Farm Bureau opposed the bill as it was passed in the House. But left-leaning groups like Farmworker Justice, which supported the bill in the House, say the removal of MSPA protections for H-2A workers could be a deal-breaker — putting the bill's drafters in a delicate position. "The removal of MSPA coverage would doom the FWMA's chances of passage in the Senate and back in the House," said Andrew Walchuk, the senior policy counsel and director of government relations at Farmworker Justice. Inflation station: Food economists and proponents of the bill say it could be one of the best weapons against food inflation, which has risen at a rapid pace . If the Senate fumbles FWMA, lawmakers in Washington could blow their last, best shot at taming consumer prices at the grocery store. Tick, tock: The clock continues to be the number one foe of getting FWMA done in the Senate. The August recess — a month-long break of legislative action — looms less than two weeks away. And after that lawmakers will have their hands full with midterm elections and other legislative priorities, like funding the government. But even Crapo was not optimistic about the prospects of any immediate moves on the bill. "I don't see it happening before the August recess," he said, when asked if there would be action before then. GRAIN DEAL AT RISK: A U.N.-backed plan to allow Ukrainian food exports to navigate Russia's Black Sea blockade has raised hopes that the worst ravages of a global food crisis can be avoided, Meredith Lee and Eddy Wax report . But Ukrainian and Western officials are skeptical that Moscow will stick to the final deal. They believe it's likely that President Vladimir Putin will "weaponize" grain shipments in the future, slowing them down again to gain leverage. Proceed with caution: Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian MP representing Odesa, was cautiously optimistic last week, but said he expected Putin would eventually "try to make a bottleneck" of the sea corridor "to make it slow and vulnerable." That would enable Russia "at any moment" to restart the blockade, Goncharenko said in an interview. "Putin is weaponizing everything. So he will definitely weaponize this." Odesa attack: Just hours after the signing ceremony for the agreement last week, a Russian airstrike hit Odesa — putting the deal at risk. ON (AND OFF) THE HILL THIS WEEK: A pair of Democratic House Ag Committee members will hold a farm bill listening session in Minnesota today, where they will hear from producers in the state on priorities for the 2023 bill. The session, being hosted by Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and chaired by Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), is the latest in a series of listening sessions held by lawmakers responsible for crafting the next farm bill. What we're watching: An early trend has emerged in recent listening sessions, with producers and lobby groups urging lawmakers to increase funding for the bill's safety nets. The farm bill funds programs like crop insurance and other safety nets meant to back up farmers in the case of loss. But farmers and ag economists have told lawmakers that the programs in the 2018 bill have not been adequate to handle cascading shocks from the Covid-19 pandemic, inclement weather and natural disasters like wildfire, storms and drought. How lawmakers will deal with that in a farm bill that is expected to be flatly funded remains an open question, but would require some shifting of funds from other programs. Also happening this week: On Thursday, the House Ag Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research will hold a hearing on USDA's Hemp Production Program. Hemp producers have been urging lawmakers to make more coherent policy on the product, saying the current sporadic state of regulation roils profitability.
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