Seven food and agriculture startups will share $3 million in investments through the eighth annual Grow-NY competition. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the winners Nov. 13 after finalists pitched their businesses at a two-day summit in Rochester.
Barnwell Bio, a New York City startup, won the $1 million top prize. The company studies the microorganisms found in barns to help poultry and livestock producers identify risks to animal health. Ithaca-based CryoBio won $500,000 for its work on protecting crops from frost.
What the awards mean for upstate New York
The seven winners were selected from 20 finalists. Each winning company must establish operations in Grow-NY’s 22-county upstate region for at least a year and work to build jobs, partnerships and business operations there. The region includes parts of Central New York, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier. The announcement did not name specific job totals or locations for the winning companies.
Another Ithaca startup, RETRN Bioworks, received a separate $5,000 audience-choice award. Summit attendees voted for that prize. The competition is administered by Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement.
