For three days in early August at Stocking Hall, a handful of judges saw, sniffed and sampled 234 cheeses in 24 categories – all of it made in New York.

This year’s 76West Clean Energy Competition brought together 19 technology startups – including two led by Cornell alumni – to pitch their ideas to spur clean energy solutions in the Southern Tier.

Leep Foods, an upstate New York producer of specialty mushrooms, is working with the Center of Excellence at Cornell AgriTech to develop a blended burger using mushrooms and grass-fed beef.  

Cornell has the only comprehensive berry team in the Northeast, combining expertise in horticulture, entomology, plant pathology, agricultural economics, berry breeding and management for the benefit of New York state's $20 million berry industry. 

The Yang-Tan Institute has received a $1.5 million grant from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council to build a statewide community of practice to support justice-involved youth who have disabilities.

The ILR Buffalo Co-Lab instituted a new program this summer called Working on Democracy: Buffalo Summer Fellowships with NYS Legislators, in which three undergraduates worked on projects with state lawmakers.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., on Aug. 2 announced $500,000 in funding for the USDA establish the first industrial hemp seed bank in the U.S., co-located at Cornell AgriTech, which will be used to breed and study new hemp cultivars. 

Cornell professor Harold Van Es and extension specialist Ryan Maher will help lead the conversation on soil health and preservation at Empire Farm Days, Aug. 6-8 in Seneca Falls, New York.

The Cornell Local Roads Program improves New York’s roads by serving the 1,500 village, town and county officials who maintain them, with workshops, technical assistance and up-to-date best practices.