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that were set up by the Department of Commerce decades ago, to assist in technology for manufacturing, tend to be outdated.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.
CoBank Knowledge Exchange’s Jeff Johnston shares the group’s positive perspective on expanding data centers into rural areas and weighs the risks and rewards for those communities.
January 16, 2026 01:44 PM
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Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller joined us to discuss data center expansion, farmland preservation, rural economic impacts, and imminent cattle biosecurity concerns affecting agriculture today.
January 16, 2026 01:28 PM
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The Pennsylvania Farm Show continues through Saturday, wrapping up another successful year of celebrating agriculture in the Commonwealth.
January 16, 2026 01:26 PM
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Shaun Haney joined us to discuss Canada’s new trade agreement with China, the potential impact on farmers and exporters, and what it could mean for U.S.–Canada trade relations going forward.
January 16, 2026 01:16 PM
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The proposal signals a renewed push to offset tariff-driven losses, stabilize nutrition programs, and broaden eligibility for farm aid, though its path forward will depend on congressional negotiations.
January 16, 2026 11:58 AM
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The application deadline is March 8, 2026. The 1890 National Scholars Program aims to encourage students at 1890 land-grant universities to pursue careers in food, agriculture, and natural resource sciences.
January 16, 2026 10:42 AM
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