At its roots, New York is an agricultural state. Agribusiness generates $8 billion in annual revenue and supports 200,000 jobs – which is why it's crucial that New York prioritizes innovation and growth within this key industry.
Empire State Development’s strategic industry investments are designed to support agribusiness at every step of the way: whether developing new technologies, helping family farms expand or bringing new agribusiness employers and jobs to the Empire State.
Find out more, below:
Encouraging innovation & emerging agribusinesses
New York is a national leader in agriculture, and we’re keeping our edge by staying at the forefront of innovation.
One example: Grow-NY an annual competition in Central New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier that attracts top innovators in food, beverage, and agriculture to New York and cultivates their success. Grow-NY is one of several business accelerators and competitions backed by ESD, which encourage innovation by connecting promising startups with industry-specific resources to grow their business.
The competition is managed by Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement and backed by ESD’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative.
Finalists receive mentoring from industry experts, and winners receive up to $1 million and commit to operating in one of the three regions for at least a year.
Unibaio, based in New York City, won first place in 2024 for developing more efficient and sustainable pesticides and fertilizers. Their microparticle technology reduces pollution by enabling farmers to apply up to 80% less pesticide and fertilizer to their crops.
“The mentorship we received and relationships we developed through Grow-NY were invaluable, helping us refine our strategy and prepare for growth,” said Unibaio CEO and co-founder Matia Figliozzi. “This win will allow us to scale our operations in Upstate NY and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient food system.”
Clean Label Solution is another one of the many agritech companies with cutting-edge ideas that have impressed Grow-NY's judges with innovative approaches to sustainable agriculture. The Ithaca-based startup won a $250,000 runner-up prize in 2023 for its livestock feed, which boosts dairy productivity while reducing the amount of methane, a greenhouse gas, emitted by cattle’s digestion.
Aiding growing agribusinesses
Most of New York’s farms – 98% – are family-owned: a total of 36,000 family farms. And New York couldn’t be the nation’s top yogurt producer, 2nd largest apple producer, and 5th largest dairy producer without them.
One way NYS supports small agribusinesses is through the JDA Agriculture Loan Fund.
The fund helps farmers – as well as food processors, distributors and aggregators – expand their businesses with loans from nine regional lenders.
Since the program launch in 2018, the program has helped to fund $44.33 million in growth-related projects for NYS agribusinesses through 2024.
The New York State Linked Deposit Program (LINC) is another program helping agribusiness grow: it can offer agriculture businesses interest rate reductions of up to 3% on loans through 66 commercial lenders around the state to expand their production capacity and improve their competitiveness. In 2024, LINC approved rate-reduction assistance on over $143.47 million in loans to NYS farms.
Boosting processing capacity
Besides being home to 6.5+ million acres of farmland, New York State is a center of food processing – especially for dairy, the state’s largest agricultural sector. New York’s 3,000 dairy farms produce 16.1 billion pounds of milk every year.
Since 2023, four agribusiness leaders have announced new investments that are boosting dairy processing and creating hundreds of new jobs here. New York State’s agriculture ecosystem and support have seeded their success:
- Chobani is investing $1.2 billion in building a 1.4 million-square-foot production facility in Mohawk Valley, the nation’s largest investment in food production. The facility will create more than 1,000 local jobs and boost milk processing capacity by 12 million pounds per day. "New York is where Chobani’s journey began,” said Chobani Founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya. “It was the perfect spot to start Chobani 20 years ago, and it’s the perfect place to continue our story." Chobani's new facility is located at the Triangle parcel at Griffiss Business and Technology Park, which received a $23 million FAST NY grant for infrastructure upgrades in 2024. The program, which funds infrastructure upgrades that prepare shovel-ready sites for future development projects, is one of the transformational tools ESD uses to encourage businesses to build facilities in NYS.
- fairlife, owned by Coca-Cola, is investing $650 million to open its flagship Northeastern facility in Webster, which will create 250 local jobs. The facility is being built at Tebor Road; the site received a $20 million FAST NY grant used to upgrade the site’s electrical infrastructure to attract agribusinesses. “Breaking ground on the new fairlife facility here in Webster marks an important milestone for The Coca-Cola Company’s presence in New York,” said Coca-Cola EVP and North America Operating Unit President Jennifer Mann. “The facility will build upon our strong legacy of economic impact in the state, adding competitive jobs and further bolstering economic vitality for New Yorkers.”
- Lactalis, the world’s largest dairy company, is investing $75 million to upgrade its facilities in Walton and Buffalo, retaining 800 jobs and creating 50 new ones. “The direct impact of Lactalis remaining and growing in Walton and Buffalo is hundreds of cheese manufacturing jobs but indirectly the plant also supports area dairy farmers by purchasing more than $180 million worth of milk each year, making the projects a win for both the manufacturing and agricultural sectors,” Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said.
- Cayuga Milk Ingredients, a farmer-owned dairy company based in Cayuga County, celebrated the opening of their $270 million expansion project in June. The project upgraded their facility in Aurelius, which will process milk from 22 family-owned dairy farms and create 150 new jobs. “Cayuga Milk Ingredients’ continued expansion in Cayuga County marks another exciting chapter in New York’s agricultural success story,” Governor Hochul said. “New York’s dairy industry serves as a crucial economic engine for our state, and our support for this project reinforces our commitment to those efforts and to our hard-working dairy farmers, further cementing our position as one of the nation’s top dairy producers.”
ESD’s Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits incentivized each of these major employers to grow here. The performance-based program supports business expansion with tax credits tied to job and investment commitments.
Helping bring food from farm to table
Distribution centers allow New Yorkers to enjoy the local dairy and produce we’re known for.
A major distribution center opened with ESD’s support in June: the NYS Regional Food Hub.
Located in the Bronx and run by the nonprofit Grow NYC, the 60,000-square-foot cold storage facility will source food directly from small and mid-sized regional farms, supporting local farmers and addressing a critical need for affordable produce in urban communities. The project will generate a 600% increase in the availability of locally sourced food and create 200 jobs. ESD invested $19 million in the hub’s construction, as recommended by the NYC Regional Economic Development Council.
Whether it’s support and investment for technology development, farming, or food processing and distribution, ESD supports companies operating in every area of the agribusiness industry.
This holistic approach to investment helps New York State attract and retain agribusinesses that drive innovation, growth, and employment in regional economies.
— Graylin Lucas, a rising senior at New York University, is a 2025 summer intern in the Office of Public Affairs at Empire State Development, based in New York City.