More than eight years after Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act, the Food and Drug Administration, industry and outside scientists are still struggling to figure out the best way to ensure the water used for irrigating and packing fresh produce is safe.

Climate change and regulation of greenhouse gases are hot topics in Washington again, and Democratic presidential candidates are pledging to make them major issues in the 2020 election. That’s raising questions for the first time in a decade about the role that farmers could be asked to play in reducing carbon emissions, and how growers could benefit.

Despite President Donald Trump’s ongoing battle with lawmakers over funding a border wall, preliminary efforts are underway both at the White House and in the House to craft immigration legislation that could address the labor shortage in agriculture.

Advocates for dairy farmers pressed USDA officials at a farm bill listening session to move quickly to get payments to financially strapped producers, while other groups urged the department to put a priority on removing barriers to cover crops and scheduling signups for major conservation programs.