Grow-NY seeks applicants for fifth round of food and agriculture competition

The state is accepting applications for the fifth round of the Grow-NY food and agriculture competition.

The application period continues through 5 p.m. on June 15, Empire State Development (ESD) announced Friday. To apply and learn more about the Grow-NY competition, those interested can visit www.grow-ny.com.

ESD describes Grow-NY as a competition that attracts “high-growth” food and agriculture startups to compete for $3 million in total prize money each year and supports 20 finalists through a business-development phase that connects them with the region’s resources.

The Grow-NY region covers a 22-county area spanning Central New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier. It has already seen the addition of more than 200 new jobs and tens of millions of dollars in follow-on investment as a result of the competition, per the ESD announcement.

After four rounds of competition, the Grow-NY effect has resulted in the addition of “hundreds new jobs, the revitalization of commercial space, the development of agrifood infrastructure, and the follow-on of over $82 million in new investor activity lifting the critical ag sector throughout the region. It goes beyond the startups in our portfolio, and beyond even the food and farming communities, to lift businesses small and large throughout the region” Jenn Smith, Grow-NY program director, said in an ESD release.

“The fifth round of the Grow-NY agribusiness accelerator will help to build on the incredible success of earlier competition winners whose entrepreneurial ideas are fueling economic growth Upstate,” Hope Knight, president, CEO, and commissioner of ESD, said. “These innovative companies have attracted significant investment throughout the Grow-NY region and around the world and I can’t wait to see what the next crop of selected, forward-thinking entrepreneurs will bring to the table.”