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Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture

Go here for resources on COVID-19 for Food, Beverage, and Agriculture Businesses.

A dynamic hub for innovation and collaboration, the Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech leverages the unparalleled research and expertise of Cornell University to accelerate growth and position New York state as a global leader in food and agricultural advancement by:

  • 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

Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech

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What People are Saying

“Working with the Center of Excellence has been a unique and wonderful experience; I’ve never seen this amount of effort and help from just an idea.”—Chris LaCorata, Empire State Brands

“Upstate New York offers a unique triage for food and ag startups, with the research of Cornell University, business impact of companies like Wegmans, and the Center of Excellence offering businesses and startups unparalleled support and connections to funding sources in the region. It is a trifecta unlike any other part of the country.”—Aaron Gobin, AgVoice

“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

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Success Stories

Empowering Businesses

Learn how the Center of Excellence has supported and empowered businesses to grow and thrive: 

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News & events

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News

Report guides food, ag entrepreneurs; $1M contest opens
The report, titled A Call for Innovation: New York’s Agrifood System, seeks to foster regionalization and diversity in these industries by offering evidence-based recommendations and guidance to aspiring entrepreneurs in agriculture, food...
  • Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Agriculture
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News

′Yemisi Awosan: Celebrating culture one recipe at a time
What inspired you to launch Egunsi? As a young adult, I spent hours in the kitchen helping my mother prepare meals for our family, but I had never really done any cooking on my own. It wasn’t until I went away to college at the University of...
  • Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Food Science
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News

Poultry biotech startup wins $1M Grow-NY top prize
Soos and six other finalists were awarded a total of $3 million in prizes following the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit, Nov. 17-18. Administered by Cornell and funded by Empire State Development, Grow-NY capitalized on the virtual format to expand...
  • Center of Excellence in Food and Agriculture
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Organic

Register for the 2021 Grow-NY Food and Agriculture Competition

Grow NY Competition

Resources and partners

The Center of Excellence maintains partnerships with a wealth of programs and resources primed to support food and agriculture companies grow and thrive. Contact our team to get connected to valuable resources like these:

  • Incubators and accelerators
  • Training and education partners
  • Testing and validation services
  • Trade association support
  • Business-to-business (B2B) relationships
  • Supply chain assets [feedstock and packaging suppliers, processors and manufacturers, production facilities, co-packers, warehousing, distribution, retail and marketplace]
  • State, federal and local economic development incentive programs
  • Capital resources
  • Marketing resources