A Schuyler County business is one of 20 worldwide finalists in the state’s Grow-NY competition. Seneca Farms Biochar is based in Odessa.

According to its website, Seneca Farms Biochar develops, manufactures, and sells innovative, cost-effective technology to produce biochar, wood vinegar, and activated carbon at scale. The company says its technologies sequester carbon and optimize financial outcomes. Grow NY is a food and agriculture business competition focused on enhancing the food, agriculture, and beverage innovation cluster in the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, and Central New York.

Three million dollars in prize money will be awarded to seven winners from among the 20 finalists, including a one-MILLION dollar top prize. All finalists will now work for ten weeks with assigned mentors and take part in business development activities. That will culminate with a live pitch at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit.

The winners will be announced on November 17th.

Botaniline, Buffalo, N.Y. – Botaniline creates ground proteins that are lower in salt, saturated fat, and calories by utilizing plant-based ingredients to replace some of the meat, producing flavorful, more sustainable meat products.

Craft Cannery, Bergen, N.Y. – Craft Cannery takes cherished recipes from your kitchen to the shelves of grocery stores, restaurants, farmers markets and beyond, specializing in the contract manufacturing of sauces, dressings, marinades, and more.

Dynamic Air Cooling (DAC), Elbląg, Poland – Dynamic Air Cooling (DAC) is an environmentally-friendly air conditioning and refrigeration technology that uses no synthetic HFC coolants and features no thermal emissions, bringing a breakthrough cooling technology to fight climate change.

Edenesque, Kingston, N.Y. – Edenesque curates clean, simple, and delicious artisanal plant-based milks that foster health and nutrition, made with whole ingredients that support and strengthen bodies without any fillers or additives.

Forte Protein, Ithaca, N.Y. – Forte Protein uses a plant-based technology to produce a broad spectrum of meat, fish, and dairy proteins without the need for animals, eliminating the carbon footprint involved in animal agriculture.

Hago Energetics Benefit Corporation, Camarillo, Calif. – Hago Energetics uses innovative decarbonization technology to convert animal and agricultural waste into green hydrogen and biochar.

Hempitecture, Sun Valley, Idaho – Hempitecture is on a mission to create healthy, energy-efficient building materials that positively impact people and the planet by capturing carbon dioxide and replenishing farmland. Its biobased insulation makes construction projects more sustainable, healthier, and higher performing.

Humatico, Warsaw, Poland – Humati.co technology creates high quality organic fertilizer from any available organic raw materials, including agricultural waste, algae, sapropel, peat, and brown coal.

KEHO, New York, N.Y. – KEHO makes complex science deliciously digestible, curating savory snack bars that are keto-friendly and 100% plant-based. With no sugars, sweeteners, or artificial flavors or colors, KEHO packs up real food for real lives.

Labby, Cambridge, Mass. – Labby’s technology provides rapid, accurate, and affordable solutions for dairy farms, leveraging AI-enabled optical sensing for raw milk testing that delivers instant insights to your fingertips.

Mi Terro, Los Angeles, Calif. – Mi Terro is helping to protect the environment by upcycling agricultural waste and engineering it to replace plastic in the food, packaging, and fashion industries.

Norwhey Brewing, Ithaca, N.Y. – Norwhey transforms New York state’s yogurt byproducts into a delicious, Nordic twist on hard seltzer by responsibly capturing and fermenting excess whey from the production of strained yogurt and turning it into sustainability you can taste.

ProAgni, Lavington, Australia – ProAgni ProTect is a revolutionary range of supplements and feeds for livestock that lowers methane emissions from sheep and cattle without the use of antibiotics, decreasing a producer’s environmental footprint without increasing costs.

Sweet Pea Plant-Based Kitchen, Rochester, N.Y. – Sweet Pea is a plant-powered kitchen creating transformative paths to wellness, combining the benefits of its plant-centric food meal service and nutrition coaching to help people sustain a healthy life.

Tomgrow, Tel Aviv, Israel – Tomgrow provides a programmable growth medium that can be customized for specific crops and plants, enabling plants to access water and nutrients on demand and combatting the wastefulness and environmental impact of traditional growing.

UNNICO FOOD, Mamaroneck, N.Y. – UNNICO offers plant-based yogurts and creams that taste and feel like a yogurt, but are jam-packed with probiotics and fortified with fiber, creating a vegan, dairy-free treat that tastes as good as it is for you.

Vivid Machines, Toronto, Canada – Vivid X-Vision system captures the visible and chemical details of every plant across an entire crop from bud to harvest to manage growth, predict yield, and provide means for early diagnosis of pests, diseases, and nutrient deficiencies.

We Are The New Farmers, Brooklyn, N.Y. – We Are The New Farmers brings the benefits of microalgae straight into smoothies with its fresh, frozen, farm-grown spirulina cubes that are packed with dense micronutrients and loaded with antioxidants.

Zalliant, Amsterdam, N.Y. – Zalliant’s loT and artificial intelligence technologies provide value and efficiency to farmers through improved decision making and management.

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