A Cornell AgriTech greenhouse

Facility Updates

Food science building to get $20M upgrade

In February 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced $20 million in New York state’s 2024 budget for Cornell AgriTech’s food science building. This funding will allow us to make critical maintenance updates, ensuring that we’re able to continue making an impact on our state’s food and craft beverage industries. The building is home to the Cornell Food Venture Center, Cornell Craft Beverage Institute, Institute for Food Safety, Produce Safety Alliance, High Pressure Processing Validation Center and Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture.

A group of people stands on a stage

National Grape Improvement Center progresses

Plans for our National Grape Improvement Center, made possible by a $68 million federal grant, are progressing well. Construction is expected to begin in June 2024 and be completed by the end of 2026. The state-of-the-art building will help accelerate the genetic improvement of grapevines and allow more opportunities for on-site collaborative work between the USDA and Cornell AgriTech, connecting cutting-edge genetic research to grow the sustainability and the competitiveness of the U.S. grape industry.

Black and white digital building plans

Other facility upgrades

Many facility improvements occurred over the past year to support the accessibility, longevity, sustainability and overall research capabilities of our campus. Projects completed include:

  • Installment of new elevators in Hedrick Hall and our food science building.
  • New autoclaves were installed in Barton Lab and our surge building. An autoclave is a machine used to carry out industrial and scientific processes requiring elevated temperature and pressure in relation to ambient pressure and/or temperature.
  • New roofs were installed on Sturtevant Hall and Jordan Hall.
  • All fields except Crittenden North now have fencing to prevent deer from eating research crops.
  • A full infrastructure upgrade occurred at our Darrow Research Farm, including tile, fencing, ditching, roads and irrigation piping.
  • Self-built walk-in growth chambers, as well as three new reach-in growth chambers, were installed in our horticulture greenhouse range.
  • A project began to upgrade greenhouse lighting.
  • Plug-in hybrid cars and charging stations were added to our vehicle fleet.
  • Our campus was awarded a $100,000 grant from NYSERDA to study future heating/cooling options for campus.
  • An overhaul of Barton Hall mist chambers is underway.
  • The replacement of a Barton Hall cooling tower is underway.
  • A new cooling infrastructure for our raw products building is underway.

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