The President’s Commerce Secretary was in the hot seat this week, talking American manufacturing with a Senate subcommittee.
Kansas Senator Jerry Moran questioned Lutnick over a program that helps smaller U.S. manufacturers. The department is not requesting money for that program next year. Lutnick says it is not forgotten, but rather being reworked.
“Programs that were set up by the Department of Commerce decades ago, to assist in technology for manufacturing, tend to be outdated. The new technology is AI-driven, automated, and I think we need to reexamine and retool a whole variety of these programs so that we are able to provide the best technological assistance rather than just continuing our program that’s decades and decades old.”
The Hollins Manufacturing Extension Partnership was started back in 1988. It is a public-private partnership that was designed as a cost-share program. Leaders say the program helped manufacturers get $15 billion in sales last year.
Weak crop margins and tariff uncertainty are delaying machinery purchases and signaling slower capital investment across U.S. agriculture.
March 05, 2026 02:04 PM
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Farm Bureau Economist Dr. Faith Parum explains the role farm safety net programs play in supporting farm finances as growers head into the 2026 planting season.
March 05, 2026 01:16 PM
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Corn demand is rising thanks to ethanol expansion, yet year-round E15 remains missing from the Farm Bill—leaving farmers questioning the policy gap.
March 05, 2026 12:09 PM
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Bipartisan momentum builds, but final farm policy remains unsettled.
March 05, 2026 10:14 AM
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Valley Irrigation’s Darren Siekman explains the advantages of their new pivots for growers managing acreages of up to 60 acres.
March 04, 2026 04:40 PM
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Jeramy Stephens with National Land Realty explains how the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling and ongoing ‘America First’ trade policy raise new questions about U.S. farmland values and agricultural market stability.
March 04, 2026 12:04 PM
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