Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 6/20/18

Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows said late Tuesday night that he thinks he'll be able to deliver enough Freedom Caucus votes to guarantee passage of the farm bill when it's taken up for a second time, likely this week, as long as GOP leadership follows through on its promise to hold a vote on immigration legislation from Rep. Bob Goodlatte . He added that a further condition of support is that ag leaders address "a few" additional issues. Meadows didn't discuss those issues, but said he has an interest in limiting subsidy payments to farmers.

The North Carolina Republican told reporters that he met Tuesday with House Ag Chairman Mike Conaway and Majority Whip Steve Scalise to discuss how to clear a path for Freedom Caucus support.

Tick tock: We're just three days out from the Friday deadline for the House to reconsider the farm bill, H.R. 2 (115), in its present form, and it's still unclear when the second try will take place.

Conaway continues to be confident the bill will pass, though he admitted Tuesday night it'll come down to the wire. The Texas Republican said he plans to make an accounting of which members intend to be in town on the morning of any possible vote. The House is scheduled to take up the conservative immigration bill from Goodlatte this week — which was what conservative Freedom Caucus members demanded as a condition for voting for the farm bill.

The guessing game: As of Tuesday night, lawmakers on Capitol Hill were all over the place when asked when the vote would be held. Republican leadership is said to be planning for a Friday vote, though taking attendance will be key, especially if it's scheduled for Friday. Meadows, however, said on Tuesday he thought a vote could happen Thursday. Other Republicans were also betting on a Thursday vote. The bottom line: This is still a moving target.

How about those votes? "It'll be tight," Conaway told reporters. "We'll do a nose count to make sure who all's going to be here Thursday and Friday and what makes the most sense when people will be here."

"It'll be close enough that I'll have to make sure who's here on our side voting 'yes,'" he added.

Other Republicans were downright upbeat. Reps. Roger Marshall and Jodey Arrington, both junior members of the agriculture committee, said they expect the bill to pass with more than enough votes later this week. Asked whether they thought a sufficient number of conservatives had come on board, Marshall responded that he thought there would be more than enough.

The holdouts: How many Republican holdouts there are for the farm bill remains an open question. There are plenty of conservatives still holding their cards close. POLITICO pressed Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), a member of the Freedom Caucus, on where he stands on the bill, and after a couple of dodges he just smiled and said: "I'm leaning." Brat voted no last month.