A hand pours grain back into a bag

Economic Development 2020

Spotlight on the Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture

Our Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture (COE) is a dynamic hub for food and agriculture entrepreneurs across New York state. Since the COE was established in 2018, it has leveraged the unparalleled research and expertise of Cornell University to accelerate growth and position New York state as a global leader in food and agriculture.

140

companies worked with

$70.5M

positive economic impacts since 2018

785%

increase in economic impacts since the first year

Many of the companies working with the COE have added and retained jobs, increased revenues, secured public and private investments, and expended capital to grow their operations – all while dealing with the unprecedented challenging effects of the global pandemic this past year.

Of the companies working with COE, 43 companies that reported metrics recently:

  • Created and retained 296 jobs
  • Increased revenues by $31.4M
  • Realized cost savings of $6.7M
  • Acquired $23.M in non-government funds
  • Were awarded $6.4M in federal funding
  • Expended $3M in capital funding
A building in the background, a street sign in the foreground

$1.47M expansion at Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park

Our COE helped secure $1.47M in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce for a new manufacturing building at the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park, located on the Cornell AgriTech campus. The facility will be home to mid-level businesses liked Assured Edge Solutions that are looking to expand. The new building and subsequent companies within exemplify the incredible ecosystem that exists through Cornell AgriTech and the COE.

More about the COE expansion

New business space at Cornell AgriTech

The COE is launching a new co-location space for food, agriculture and agtech businesses of all sizes in 2021. Businesses will have the unique opportunity to use Cornell AgriTech lab spaces and facilities while working in close proximity to world renowned food and agriculture experts. More information on this can be found in this section of our annual report.

2020 Facility Innovations

New COE report shared for NYS entrepreneurs

The COE and the Grow-NY program at Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement collaborated to research and publish the state’s first-ever report for entrepreneurs on innovation opportunities in its agrifood ecosystem, titled “A Call for Agrifood Innovation in New York State."

Read the Agrifood Innovation Report

Report highlights