Governor Hochul Announces Lactalis to Invest Over $75 Million in Two New York State Manufacturing Facilities

Jul 04, 2025

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced Lactalis USA will invest more than $75 million to upgrade both its Walton and Buffalo facilities, enabling them to expand capacity and gain efficiencies. The projects in Delaware and Erie counties include the purchase of new equipment and upgrades that will allow the dairy manufacturer to retain more than 800 full time jobs and create more than 50 new jobs.

Lactalis USA is part of Lactalis, the world’s largest dairy company, and has chosen to expand in New York State thanks in part to support from the Governor and Empire State Development.

“New York will continue to work with businesses in the agri-food sectors as they expand and grow to ensure good-paying jobs remain in our communities,” Governor Hochul said. “By investing in the Lactalis USA facilities and assisting with improvements, New York is retaining hundreds of jobs and adding new jobs, as well as helping to support the region’s dairy farmers.”

Source : ny.gov

Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies