SUNY Cobleskill Offers Free and Low-Cost Training

Where can you go to get training to help your small business become more successful?

The SUNY Cobleskill Institute for Rural Vitality offers programs and training to help you achieve success. If you are a farm or other type of small business located and have impact in one of the six counties that make up the Mohawk Valley region, you can participate in their low cost or free programs to help you launch your business to the next level.

Here are two upcoming programs offered:

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Microcredentials

The next Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Microcredential training course begins at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, August 15, 2025, at SUNY Cobleskill Institute for Rural Vital located at 152 Albany Avenue, Cobleskill, NY.

What you’ll learn

At this 2-day training course you’ll learn how to implement the seven HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) principles with this microcredential. You will gain essential skills, knowledge and experience to be able to identify, evaluate and control food safety from raw material production, procurement and handling, processing and manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. You will understand preventative food safety systems and be able to identify physical, biological, and chemical hazards during the food handling and preparation stages.

This is one of four microcourses that comprise the Meat Process and Food Safety microcredential, along with Beef Processing, Lamb and Goat Processing, and Beef Processing. Successful completion prepares you to advance or to immediately apply for positions in meat processing, butchering, and animal production as well as in commercial kitchens and food preparation facilities. This microcredential is a non-credit offering, however, the college will award successful completers with academic credit by evaluation (Credit for Prior Learning) should you decide to enroll in one of the related degree programs.

Skills covered

• Food Safety
• Sanitation
• Controlling Hazards
• Control Measures

This microcredential is stackable which means that credits earned in the completion of this microcredential can be applied toward completion of a related certificate or degree program. It is a building block that gives you a jump start to education and career success.

Agricultural Business A.A.S.
Animal Science A.A.S.
Culinary Arts A.O.S.
Agricultural Business B.T.
Culinary Arts Management B.B.A.
Agricultural Business B.S.
Animal Science B.T.

Register here: https://slate.cobleskill.edu/register/microcredentials_application

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Business Development Bootcamp Fall 2025

Starting a NEW business or want to enhance your EXISTING business?
The Institute for Rural Vitality (IRV) at SUNY Cobleskill is proud to have been designated as the official Mohawk Valley Entrepreneurship Assistance Center (EAC) by Empire State Development, New York State’s economic development agency.

Register Now!

Registration is now open for the upcoming Fall Business Development Bootcamp. You can register for the Bootcamp for free at https://slate.cobleskill.edu/register/?id=b312f028-e27d-40b0-b0bc-aa32b9fa4c95

Benefits

As a result of this designation, the IRV will be offering an array of business development services going forward, regardless of industry; these services include a FREE 10-week Business Development Bootcamp course in the fall and spring as well as one-on-one counseling and support to meet each entrepreneur’s specific needs and help them grow their businesses.

These services include, but are not limited to, assistance with:

• business planning
• marketing strategy and research
• brand development
• creating a website and/or social media accounts
• accounting and recordkeeping
• business registration and certifications
• how to take advantage of procurement opportunities
• how to find funding
• connections with experts and mentors

Eligibility

In order to receive services through the IRV’s EAC, you will need to operate your business or have economic impact in the Mohawk Valley – including Herkimer, Fulton, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego, or Schoharie County. But that’s it! You can receive support through the EAC regardless of what stage your small business is at or what product or service you would like to offer.

If you have questions about the services, the EAC program, or the IRV itself, please send an email to

Institute@cobleskill.edu.

About SUNY Cobleskill Institute for Rural Vitality

The Institute for Rural Vitality was introduced in 2016 through a $749,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a unique partnership with Albany Law School. The Institute’s mission encompasses a broad range of initiatives and activities: to engage the substantial resources of SUNY Cobleskill in collaboration with regional partners to enhance community and economic vitality in rural New York.

Through the institute’s centers and local community partners the Institute addresses the region’s most pressing issues to develop and enact sustainable solutions. SUNY Cobleskill students and faculty are at the fore of community partnerships and coalitions, adding their expertise to that of their partners to support economic development initiatives.

The Institute is also designated by New York State os the Mohawk Valley Entrepreneurship Assistance Center. The Centers provide instruction, training, technical assistance, and support services to individuals interested in starting or have recently started their own business, or entrepreneurs seeking to expand or strengthen their early-stage business.

“The Institute’s designation as an Entrepreneurship Assistance Center is a validation of its expertise and success in supporting the entrepreneurial goals of its client partners,” said Dr. Scott Ferguson, Executive Director of the Institute for Rural Vitality. “As we continue to foster economic growth, we stand as a vital resource for business-owners seeking to thrive in the Mohawk Valley and beyond.

In addition to financial and technical assistance, client partners of the Institute have access to SUNY Cobleskill’s shared-use facilities, including a Dairy Processing Center, a USDA-certified Meat and Fish Processing Laboratory, four certified kitchens, an operating bistro, a Taste New York retail store, food packaging, brewing, and distilling laboratories, and multi-purpose training and workspaces.

SUNY Cobleskill and the Village of Cobleskill are located in Schoharie County in the Mohawk Valley Region of Upstate New York.