The Labor Department is proposing to overhaul wage requirements and streamline the application certification process for the H-2A farmworker visa program, which is under heavy demand by growers searching for new sources of labor.

House Democrats say they are sympathetic to farmers who are struggling to find sufficient labor, but a compromise on fixes to the H-2A visa program will likely require support from farmworkers.

The U.S.-China trade negotiations return to Washington this week amid signs of progress, while Senate Republicans seek to move forward with a long-stalled package of disaster aid eagerly awaited by a growing list of farmers.

Editor's note: This is the third in our seven-part in-depth editorial series where we look ahead at “Farm & Food 2040.” Part three looks at how the failure to pass meaningful immigration reform is fueling adoption of the newest technologies in automation—primarily robotics—to stem the need for immigrant farmworkers. And we also feature new research identifying the "Farmer of the Future."

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue pleads for support for a not very popular House guest-worker bill while the Trump administration ponders its own executive fixes to current H-2A farmworker program.