The State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill (SUNY Cobleskill) has received a $1,000,000 commitment from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo toward the development of a dairy processing center.

Richard A. Ball, New York state commissioner of agriculture and markets, announced the award at the 2014 New York State Yogurt Summit, an event hosted by Lieutenant Governor Robert J. Duffy at Cornell University on Oct. 15.

"SUNY Cobleskill is immensely proud to be a leader in workforce development for the dairy industry," remarked Dr. Debra H. Thatcher, acting president of SUNY Cobleskill. "This generous investment by Governor Cuomo and New York State, coupled with federal and private funds, will significantly bolster our ability to effectively meet the multiple needs of dairy-related businesses throughout the state."

According to Dr. Jason R. Evans, associate professor of agricultural business at SUNY Cobleskill, "The dairy processing center at SUNY Cobleskill will further the college’s mission of providing real world, experiential education for its students and will prove a valuable asset to the region’s food economy."

Within the new facility, students will work alongside faculty and industry experts in cheese, yogurt, fluid milk and ice-cream manufacturing processes. In addition, the center will provide processing space for the region’s dairy producers and a venue for technical assistance and education for New York dairy producers and processors in areas such as quality control, solid manufacturing practices, regulatory compliance and food safety and sanitation.

"It is critically important for New York state to make sound investments in training entrepreneurs, managers and workers for the Northeast’s burgeoning value-added dairy industry. We are grateful for the state’s commitment to this project," said Evans.

SUNY Cobleskill has a more-than-700-acre campus that includes a 200-cow contemporary free stall dairy, a USDA-inspected meat laboratory, an equine complex, a fully equipped agricultural engineering technology facility, two commercial kitchen laboratories and a student-run restaurant. PD

—From a SUNY Cobleskill news release