Since its founding in 1865, Cornell has been a global pioneer in agriculture research. From breeding hundreds of new fruit and vegetable varieties, to developing inflammation tests to keep dairy cows healthy and productive, to curbing E. coli outbreaks, to creating and deploying digital agriculture solutions, Cornell’s agricultural contributions span veterinary medicine, farm production, food safety and nutrition, and sustainable, efficient food systems.
As the land-grant institution for New York state, the university supports farmers, small businesses, and families with far-reaching, innovative research and extension programs that generate insight and knowledge to bolster America’s food sources and systems. Cornell’s work spans Cornell Cooperative Extension programs reaching every New York county, experiment stations in Ithaca and Geneva, and a statewide network of farms, forests, facilities, and greenhouses for field-based research. Each year, Cornell spends more than $170 million annually on agriculture research, innovation, and outreach.
As part of an agreement with the federal government, the university is investing an additional $30 million over three years through the Cornell Future of American Agriculture Initiative. The initiative seeks to fund Cornell research with the most promise for practical, tangible, and applied benefits for farmers across New York and beyond, harnessing science and technology to advance American agriculture and the U.S. economy. The initiative leverages Cornell’s research and outreach strengths in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), while also incorporating the university's broad range of expertise across the sciences, including in computing and information science, and engineering.
Funding Priorities
To achieve the greatest impact, the initiative prioritizes two funding tracks: a faculty research grant program to directly benefit U.S. farmers through lower costs of production and enhanced efficiency, and an impact-ready grant program to fast-track practical innovations.
Faculty Research Grant Program
These grants, open to Cornell principal investigators, seek to translate basic foundational findings into impact and to advance long-term, systemic improvements to support American agriculture. These projects will help address critical objectives such as:
Developing technologies, practices, or approaches with transformative potential.
Enhancing sustainability, productivity, and efficiency of American farming.
Bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and practical implementation.
Fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across Cornell’s diverse expertise.
Informing the development of future agricultural policies.
Selected by the provost in consultation with CALS and CVM deans, these awards are designed to fast-track practical innovations for agricultural operations. Projects will emphasize cross-disciplinary collaborations and seek to achieve near-term breakthroughs. A request for proposals, an invite-only opportunity for college deans, is expected to open in mid-March 2026.
Initiative Leadership
Gary Koretzky, vice provost for research, administers the Cornell Future of American Agriculture Initiative for the Office of the Provost, and has established three committees to guide the initiative:
Faculty Advisory Committee. Comprising Cornell faculty from a range of disciplines, it crafts requests for proposals, evaluates submissions, and makes grants to projects that will positively impact farmers and the national farming industry.
External Stakeholder Committee. Representing a broad range of agricultural sectors across the U.S., this group advises on current and future needs of American farmers.
Impact Assessment Committee. Including Cornell faculty and staff with expertise in program impact and outcomes assessment for extension and translational research initiatives, it focuses on economic, regional, and industry agricultural outcomes of grants.
Natalie Bazarova, co-chair, Professor of Communication, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS); Associate Vice Provost of Research
Marcus Smolka, co-chair, Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics, CALS; Associate Vice Provost of Research
Marjolein van der Meulen, co-chair, Swanson Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell Duffield College of Engineering (Cornell Duffield); Associate Vice Provost of Research
Ariel Avgar, the David M. Cohen Professor, Labor Relations, Law, and History; director of the Center for Applied Research on Work, School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR)
Ed Buckler, Adjunct Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science, CALS; plant geneticist, USDA Agricultural Research Service
Diego Diel, Professor, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM)
Renata Ivanek, Professor, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, CVM
Thorsten Joachims, the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Computer Science and Information Science, Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Cornell Bowers); director of the Cornell AI Initiative; Vice Provost of Artificial Intelligence Strategy
David Lodge, the Francis J. DiSalvo Director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability; Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, CALS, College of Arts and Sciences
Sabine Mann, Associate Professor, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, CVM
Susan McCouch, Professor Emeritus, School of Integrative Plant Science, CALS
Sheila Olmstead, Professor, Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy (Brooks School)
Tom Overton, Professor of Dairy Nutrition and Management, CALS; program director, PRO-DAIRY
Dionne Pohler, the David and Alexandra Lipsky Professor in Dispute Resolution and Labor Relations, Associate Director of the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution, ILR
Matthew Reid, Associate Professor, Cornell Duffield
Jocelyn Rose, the Barbara McClintock Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science; Director of the School of Integrated Plant Science, CALS
Tom Schryver, Executive Director, Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA), Visiting Lecturer, the David J. BenDaniel Faculty Advisor for the BR Ventures Fund, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (SC Johnson College)
Christine Smart, the Goichman Family Director of Cornell AgriTech, Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science, CALS
Andy Turner, Director, Cornell Cooperative Extension; Associate Dean, CALS
Chris Wolf, the E.V. Baker Professor of Agricultural Economics, Academic Director of Land Grant Affairs, SC Johnson College
Benjamin Houlton, co-chair, Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Lorin Warnick, co-chair, Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine
Michelle Barrett, Dairy and Beef Portfolios, Zoetis
James Bittner, Partner, Bittner Singer Orchards
Katelyn Briggs, Animal Welfare and Sustainability, Fairlife
Mike Capel, Large Animal Veterinarian, Perry Veterinary Clinic
James Clement III, Rancher, Senior Vice President of Grass and Rangeland, EarthOptics
Jeffrey Crist, Owner and Operator, Crist Brothers Orchards
David Fisher, President, New York Farm Bureau, Partner, Mapleview Dairy
Allyson Jones Brimmer, Executive Director, Northeast Dairy Producers Association
Michael Kreher, Partner, Kreher Family Farms
Calvin Moody, Managing Partner of Various Dairy Production Units
Brian Nicholson, President, Red Jacket Orchards
Katie Schoenberg, Global Talent Acquisition Strategy, Elanco Animal Health
Kim Wagner, Founder and Co-Owner, Tbgd Partners, Founder and Co-Owner, Stoutridge Distillery and Winery
Craig Yunker, Managing Partner, CY Farms and Batavia Turf
Tom Schryver, chair, Executive Director, CREA, Visiting Lecturer, the David J. BenDaniel Faculty Advisor for the BR Ventures Fund, SC Johnson College
Andy Turner, Director, Cornell Cooperative Extension; Associate Dean, CALS
Antonio DiTommaso, Associate Dean and Director, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (Cornell AES); Professor, School of Integrated Plant Science, CALS
Ariel Avgar, the David M. Cohen Professor, Labor Relations, Law, and History; director of the Center for Applied Research on Work, School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR)
Basil Safi, Executive Director, Einhorn Center for Community Engagement
Charles Kruzansky, Associate Vice President for Government Relations, Office of State Relations
Chris Barrett, Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
Christine Smart, the Goichman Family Director of Cornell AgriTech, Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science, CALS
Jenn Smith, Director of Food & Ag Innovation Programs, Cornell Center for Regional Economic Advancement
Julie Suarez, Associate Dean, Director of Translational Research Programs, Office of Land-Grant Affairs
Miguel Gomez, Robert G. Tobin Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
Zoe Nelson, Associate Director for State Government Relations, Office of State Relations
