WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) predicted a five-year farm bill would be in conference this month despite delays caused by the government shutdown.

Denham was the only lawmaker to appear at the Oct. 2 closing day of United Fresh Produce Association's Washington Public Policy Conference, a session that was scheduled to end at 2 p.m. but ended at 10 a.m.

The government shutdown left its mark as Sam Kass, assistant White House chef, cancelled his appearance, and another eagerly anticipated speaker, Mike Taylor, deputy commissioner for food and veterinary medicine at the Food & Drug Administration, telephoned that morning to cancel the Oct. 2 session because of the shutdown.

Denham highlighted the farm bill's investments in research and subsidy cuts, and he noted there's a move to reauthorize the nutrition title for three years, instead of the traditional five-year period.

"It's something to be aware of," he warned.

The day before, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said the Senate had reappointed conferees to meet with the House and work out differences between different versions of the farm bill.

The California lawmaker said legislation to deal with agricultural water shortages, a major issue in his state, has been "squeezed" by events including the government shutdown, Syria and gun-control measures that cropped up after the Washington, DC, shootings at the Navy facility.

The biggest issue is immigration reform, he said, and "we need to get this right once in our lifetime."

Denham acknowledged he's taken some heat for his views, and that it's not easy to keep Congress focused on the issue.

Steve Scaroni of Scaroni Ranches praised Denham for taking leadership on the immigration reform issue. But there was "a lot of midnight oil" burned in carving out an agreement for the Senate bill, he noted, and it was frustrating the House will not bring the issue up for a vote.

While United Fresh members had met with House lawmakers the first day of the government shutdown, they did not get the same chance with the Senate. The group's march on Capitol Hill to discuss burning issues was derailed when United Fresh organizers discovered that Senate offices would be shuttered to visitors.

Tom Stenzel, United Fresh president and chief executive officer, said news of the cancellation by FDA's Taylor was especially unfortunate because the industry is in the midst of "serious food-safety issues" over the agency's Food Safety Modernization Act rules.

The trade organization has several workgroups developing comments on the regulations, and United Fresh is pushing to have the FDA reissue the produce safety rule once more before letting it go final.

To close the meeting, Stenzel took time to thank WPPC attendees for being able to "roll with the changes" in the wake of a political stalemate on Capitol Hill.

"You've been the best trade association during a time like this," he said, but added that produce companies are accustomed to rolling with changes.