Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 9/13/18

House and Senate ag leaders huddled Wednesday night in what was by all accounts a crucial meeting if they hope to strike a farm bill deal and produce a conference report before the Sept. 30 deadline. How much ground the "Big Four" made during the late-night meeting could determine whether they'll finish in time or be forced to fall back on a temporary extension of current farm and food policies set in 2014.

The objective, Senate Ag Chairman Pat Roberts said before the session began, was to settle budget numbers for each farm bill title. "That drives the discussion on what you can or cannot do," the Kansas Republican said. Without that budgetary agreement, the negotiators "just bounce from topic to topic and then you realize you're applying dollars that we don't have," he said.

His House counterpart, Mike Conaway, seemed to prefer a different approach: Figure out the policy first, and the dollars later, as Pro Ag's Helena Bottemiller Evich and Liz Crampton report. The Texas Republican said he didn't want to "get boxed in a number that precludes me to get the policies I want as well."

Either way, the calendar is working against Roberts, Conaway, and the top Democrats on the Senate and House Ag panels: Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson. The Senate adjourned Wednesday night until Monday, and the House is scheduled to be out for recess all of next week. Roberts said talks could continue next week if Conaway and Peterson return to Washington.

"I don't want to get out over my skis, but we've got to fish or cut bait here quickly," Conaway said before the meeting. He's facing a wall of opposition from Roberts, Stabenow and Peterson, who oppose controversial language in the House measure, H.R. 2 (115), that would impose stricter work requirements on millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients, among other changes.

Maybe next week? "I have a feeling that next week might be the final time that we have to reach some kind of agreement," Roberts said. If not, he indicated there's some flexibility to stretch talks beyond September.

The real deadline: "The world doesn't end if we don't reach an agreement," Roberts noted. "It's in December when in fact you have to move. At that time then you'd have to get an extension. Farmers, ranchers, growers, they don't want that. They'd like some certainty and predictability."