Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 11/20/18

House and Senate agriculture leaders and their staff continued negotiations Monday, trading offers and insisting they're getting close to a final deal. With lawmakers out of town this week for the Thanksgiving holiday, updates have been few and far between.

Time is of the essence: MA readers are well aware that negotiators don't have much time to make a deal and get the details wrapped up so Congress can move in early December. Significant policy tweaks at this stage will also need new CBO scores (not the easiest thing to accomplish the week of Thanksgiving).

Abraham blames Democrats: Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-La.), a member of the House Agriculture Committee, on Monday accused House Democrats of trying to delay farm bill talks to punt the issue to the next Congress. "We can ram this through, and I think that's what we've got to do at this time," he told a local outlet. A spokesperson for House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway did not respond to an inquiry about whether he agrees with Abraham.