A collage of images showcasing the work of the Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture.

Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture

at Cornell AgriTech

Push. Pull. Grow.

The New York State Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech serves as a hub connecting businesses and entrepreneurs with the services they need to succeed. The Center of Excellence works with partners across the state to increase the size and scope of the food and agriculture economy in New York by fostering the growth of new companies, new products, and existing businesses. Our Center focuses on:

  • Pushing entrepreneurs and startups to launch their businesses in New York and commercialize products and services.
  • Pulling companies into the state by connecting them with innovation resources and economic development partners.
  • Growing existing food, beverage and agriculture-related companies from across New York State through business mentoring, technical assistance, research, business-to-business partnerships, supply chains and the myriad resources they need to succeed and thrive.

Resources and Services

We offer access to:

  • Cornell food, beverage and agriculture research.
  • Business mentorship.
  • Incubators and accelerators.
  • Training and education.
  • Product development, testing and validation.
  • Business-to-business partnerships and supply chain asset resources.
  • Connections to processors, manufacturers, production facilities, co-packers, warehouses, distribution, retail and marketing services.
  • State, federal and local economic development resources.
  • Co-working, lab and manufacturing spaces.
  • Aerial drones, robots and other digital agriculture tools. 

Jumpstarting the farm and food economy

Contact us!

Are you looking to start or grow a food or agriculture business in New York? Let us help. 

What People are Saying

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The Center of Excellence connects the dots between new and existing businesses and the tools they need to thrive.

“Cornell helped shape every decision that we made. Literally every single aspect of this has been touched and improved by the amazing, brilliant minds at Cornell.”— Tracy Luckow, Whipnotic

"We saw the tremendous potential at the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park to collaborate with other producers. It seemed like it was really electric." — John Zuccarello, Siena Development Group

“I wish we had been working with the Center of Excellence when we first started. . . It’s been so valuable having their resources, expertise and the connections that come with [the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences] – one of the most successful and well-regarded agriculture schools in the world. They helped us connect with the right people and resources on our path toward market traction with some of the largest food retailers in the U.S., and have fast-tracked our progress tremendously.”—George Zheng, Leep Foods

“The Center of Excellence has introduced us to so many opportunities and events in the region. I think the reason we’re in Wegmans right now is because the Center of Excellence brought us to last year’s Future of Food Summit, where we were able to connect with the right people.”—Jason Goodman, Antithesis

“Cornell has been fantastic. The professors don't just know their stuff, they know farmers, they have real-world connections. It's been a hugely rewarding symbiotic relationship.”— Chris Wightman, VM Agritech

“The CoE has been extremely supportive. I feel like it’d be an impossible journey without Cornell.” — Leslie Woodward, Edenesque

Four cans of Whipnotic whipped cream in a row.
A bottle of alcohol-free rum, with "Seir Hill" written on front.
A collection of mushrooms
Chocolate covered chickpeas crushed up on a white table
Hop leaf infected with powdery mildew being inspected in a lab.
A woman wearing a white lab coat and hair net holding two bottles of milk.

News + Events

A man holding a trophy

Field Note

Meet the grain-swimming robot set to revolutionize crop management
Lorenzo Conti admits he wasn’t thinking about starting a business when he first discovered the “Crover effect.” Conti was completing his PhD in granular materials at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland when he discovered that the...
  • Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture
  • Cornell AgriTech
A cup of Vêsucré's frozen vegan dessert.

News

These vegan frozen dessert cups are taking New York by storm
After Sarah Hartmann adopted a vegan diet in 2020, she ran into a big problem: she couldn’t find a vegan-friendly frozen dessert she liked. So Hartmann, who built a career in non-profits and sports marketing, got to work developing her own. What...
  • Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture
  • Cornell AgriTech
Three men standing on stage in front of a sign that reads "$250,000"

News

Award-winning Ithaca startup growing with Cornell AgriTech's help
Somewhere along the way from growing up in Iran, earning a doctorate degree in organic chemistry and moving to the United States to become a postdoctoral fellow in food chemistry at Cornell University, Mohammad Arshadi developed a unique passion...
  • Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture
A blue bag of pancake mix next to a plate of pancakes.

Field Note

Beans for breakfast: How Cornell AgriTech helped this NYC startup grow
Vasquez moved to New York from Ecuador in 2017 with the primary goal of learning English. Toward the end of 2019, after two years of language school, she stopped in at the City University of New York (CUNY) Welcome Center, intrigued after a...
  • Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Cornell Food Venture Center
Four men standing in front of a purple UV light.

News

With Cornell's support, CNY company using algae to fuel ag innovation
“Diatoms were there at the beginning, and they became the basic food for life,” said Lou Lamphear, executive partner at Pure Future, a new Central New York-based company that, with the help of Cornell AgriTech, is betting that the future of...
  • Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture
  • Cornell AgriTech

Ready to start and grow your business? Let the CoE help.