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Critical new funding for the farm bill is in limbo as congressional leaders and the White House show little sign of progress toward a broader deal on government spending and immigration.

After scoring a major political victory with the passage of tax reform legislation in December, the Trump White House hopes to notch another win by passing legislation to upgrade the nation’s neglected infrastructure, including highways, bridges, broadband and marine transportation systems.

With the next round of talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade agreement set to begin in Montreal this month, President Trump is telling America’s farmers and ranchers that he is dedicated to completing a new deal.

U.S. and South Korean negotiators met all day last Friday in an effort to save the free trade agreement that unites the two countries. On the sidelines, the U.S. agriculture sector is desperately hoping the negotiators succeed so farmers and ranchers here can continue shipping more and more meat and grain to the Asian country.

The new year is bringing new blood to the Senate Agriculture Committee as it welcomes Nebraska’s Deb Fischer, a Republican, and Minnesota’s Tina Smith, a Democrat. The senators are joining just as the committee is preparing to ramp up efforts to bring home a massive new five-year farm bill, so there will be plenty of work and not much time for acclimation.