Applications for the annual Grow-NY food and agriculture business competition are open to high-growth agrifood startups through May 15.
Food & Ag Entrepreneurship Programs
Our programs include competitions, business development, grants, and resources for food and ag innovators. These programs fuel economic growth, support entrepreneurship, and help build a resilient, sustainable food system in New York State.
Grow-NY Business Competition
Business competition growing an enduring food and agriculture innovation cluster
Northeast Regional Food Business Center
Helping farmers and food businesses access new markets and available resources
Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition
Competition for innovators using raw milk and/or dairy ingredients
Impact
Our programs bring innovations, jobs, funding, and international recognition to our region.
Over $100 million in follow-on funding awarded to startups who have committed to investing in Central New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier
Nearly 250 jobs created by food and agriculture program companies
Over 100 national and international news stories highlighting New York as a leader in food & ag innovation
Our Innovation Network
We partner with dozens of regional and national food & ag organizations to bring our programs to life and support innovators at any stage of their entrepreneurship journey.
News in Food & Ag
Applications open for seventh annual Grow-NY competition
Empire State Development Announces Selected Finalists for Round Six of Annual $3 Million Grow-NY Global Business Competition
Inventing a new product that you can hold in your hands and bring successfully to an eagerly awaiting market is sometimes likened to childbirth: If we knew from the outset how hard it was going to be, fewer of us would do it.
Dairy Runway Welcomes a Fresh Batch of Entrepreneurs
This month, a new cohort of dairy innovators started Dairy Runway, a free entrepreneurship program supporting early-stage ideas for value-added dairy products using New York State cow’s milk.
Introducing Carol Fitzgerald: A Dairy Runway alum launching her new business, Hazy Fudge
Carol Fitzgerald’s entrepreneurship journey began with making whiskey-infused fudge for members of her son’s band, Whiskey Shivers, and their parents as a gift around the holidays.
Dairy Competition Winner Awarded $200K Grant
Laura Mack, the owner of an independent ice cream parlor called lu•lu Ice Cream in Vergennes, Vermont, won a $200,000 Existing Dairy Processor Expansion Grant from the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NEDBIC) in November.
Dairy Innovators Welcome to Apply for Dairy Runway Entrepreneurship Program
Launched earlier this year in partnership with the Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center (NDFRC), the program offers a free, virtual curriculum that focuses on product concept and consumer discovery, along with training in prototype development and business coaching.
Grow-NY Winners Aim to Make Regional Economic Impact
Hypercell Technologies of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, was named the $1 million grand prize winner of the fifth annual Grow-NY Food and Agriculture business competition. Six other winners split a combined $3 million in awards.
Governor Hochul Announces Round Five Winners of the Grow-NY Food and Agriculture Business Competition
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced Hypercell Technologies, of Peachtree Corners, Georgia as the grand-prize winner of this year’s Grow-NY business competition.
Grow-NY Startups Enrich Robust Agri-Food System
The startups battling for $3 million in prize money in the fifth annual Grow-NY Food and Agriculture Business Competition aren’t just bringing revolutionary innovations to market that could change the way we feed our planet – they are enriching the region’s robust agri-food system, too.