The New York Sustainable Agriculture Working Group is sponsoring an all-day conference, "Making it in the Northeast: Small-scale food processing on the rise," on Tuesday, Jan. 21, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Four Points Sheraton, 441 Electronic Parkway, Syracuse, N.Y.

The number of small-scale food processing enterprises -- more than 5,000 in New York alone -- is growing, experts say. "Small-scale processing is exploding," said Duncan Hilchey, the agricultural development specialist with Cornell University's Farming Alternatives Program. "While much of the food processing industry is consolidating, home-based and farm-based micro-enterprises and cottage industries are experiencing robust growth."

Speakers will focus on the problems and successes in small-scale food processing, ways to improve marketing opportunities and how to improve farm income with value-added products. There also will be concurrent workshops on business management issues, technical questions and answers, and creative marketing strategies.

The conference also is sponsored by the Farming Alternatives Program at Cornell; the Food Venture Center at Cornell's Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y.; and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. The conference is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.

The $15 registration fee includes lunch. For reservations or information, contact Alison Clarke at (716) 232-1463.