New York dairy farms produced 77.4 million pounds of cheese (excluding cottage cheese) in September, up 10.1 percent from the year-ago period, but 0.5 percent below August’s production level, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reported.

Butter production in New York totaled 1.86 million pounds in September, up 3.7 percent from September 2016, and up 36.3 percent from August 2017. 

In neighboring Pennsylvania, dairy farms produced 33.2 million pounds of cheese (excluding cottage cheese) in September, up 7.3 percent from a year ago, but 3.2 percent below the prior month’s production. Butter production in the Keystone State totaled 6.37 million pounds in September, down 9.1 percent from September 2016, but up 48.3 percent from August 2017, according to                the USDA.

ELMIRA — Chemung Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: CHMG) announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 26 cents per share.

The banking company will pay the dividend on Jan. 2 to common stock shareholders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 19, according to a Chemung Financial news release.

At its current stock price, the dividend yields about 2.2 percent on an annual basis.

Chemung Financial is a $1.7 billion financial-services holding company, headquartered in Elmira, which operates 33 branches through its main subsidiary, Chemung Canal Trust Company. Started in 1833, Chemung Canal Trust says it is the oldest locally owned and managed community bank in New York state. 

Chemung Canal Trust ranks eighth in deposit market share in the 16-county Central New York area, according to the latest FDIC data. It has 20 branches, with nearly $970 million in deposits, in the region.

Chemung Financial is also the parent of CFS Group, Inc., a financial-services subsidiary offering mutual funds, annuities, brokerage services, tax preparation services, and insurance. It also has an insurance company subsidiary called Chemung Risk Management, Inc., which is based in Nevada.

Personal income per capita increased in all 16 Central New York counties last year, according to new statistics on personal-income growth by county. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) issued the report on Nov. 16.

The BEA defines personal income as “the income that is available to persons for consumption expenditures, taxes, interest payments, transfer payments to governments and the rest of the world, or for saving,” and per capita personal income as the personal income of an area divided by the area’s population.

Eight Central New York counties matched or exceeded the statewide average of 1.8 percent personal-income growth. Another two counties met or exceeded the 1.6 percent national rate. 

Tioga County generated the highest growth rate, rising 2.3 percent, while Tompkins County grew the least, at 0.1 percent. 

While the region fared well in terms of growth rate, the per capita personal income averages across all Central New York counties were well below the national figure of $49,246 and the statewide average of $59,563. Onondaga County had the highest personal income per capita in the region with $47,865, while St. Lawrence County’s figure of $34,364 was the lowest in the area.

Nationally, personal income per capita grew in 2,285 counties, fell in 795, and was unchanged in 33. Growth rates ranged from -40.8 percent in Kenedy County, Texas to 27.1 percent in Tillman County, Oklahoma. Per capita personal income averages ranged from $16,267 in Wheeler County, Georgia to $199,635 in Teton County, Wyoming.

HERKIMER — Kevin Crosley, president and CEO of Arc Herkimer, was honored with the Outstanding Professional Achievement Award from the National Council of Executives (NCE) of The Arc of the United States. 

He received the honor at the NCE awards luncheon at the annual national convention on Nov. 2 in San Diego, California.

 The award recognizes NCE members who live by the “core values of The Arc by providing leadership resulting in outstanding achievement and a significant improvement in supports and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families,” according to an Arc Herkimer news release. 

“I am humbled and deeply honored to receive this award on behalf of the 700 people with disabilities and nearly 400 incredible staff at Arc Herkimer,” Crosley said in the release. “It is a true honor to be recognized by your peers in the industry and I couldn’t be more proud of the outstanding supports and services we provide for our families in Herkimer County. We have now placed Arc Herkimer on the national map and should be very proud of that accomplishment.”

NCE is a peer membership organization of leaders from The Arc’s network of nearly 700 chapters. 

UTICA — Allied American Abstract Corp. was set to formally open its new downtown Utica office on Nov. 30 with a ribbon-cutting event with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce. 

The company recently moved to the Clark City Center at 181 Genesee St., Suite 602.

Allied American Abstract handles title searches, title examinations, issues title commitments, arranges for closing services, and issues title insurance. Its customers include attorneys, consumers, realtors, and lenders in Central New York.

The company also has locations in Onondaga, Madison, Chenango, and Herkimer County, according to its website. Allied American Abstract’s president is Mike Gigliotti.

DeWITT — Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 34 cents a share on its common stock. It will be payable on Jan. 10, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 15. 

The dividend is the same amount that Community Bank paid last quarter, when it boosted the quarterly payment by 2 cents a share. The DeWitt–based banking company has hiked its dividend for 25 straight years.

The dividend represents an annualized yield of about 2.6 percent, based on the company’s current stock price. 

Community Bank System operates more than 230 branches across upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Massachusetts through its banking subsidiary, Community Bank, N.A. It has total assets of about $10.8 billion, ranking it among the nation’s 150 largest financial institutions. 

SYRACUSE — The 16 semifinalists in the second round of the Genius NY program are working on video presentations explaining why their company would be the “best fit” for Genius NY.

A panel of local judges will review the presentations and select the six finalists participating in Genius NY 2.0. 

CenterState CEO should announce the six finalists for Genius NY in late December.

Genius NY, a business-accelerator program at CenterState CEO’s Syracuse Technology Garden, on Nov. 16 announced the 16 semifinalists in the competition’s second round. 

Genius NY stands for Growing ENtrepreneurs & Innovators in UpState New York.

The companies, which are developing innovations in the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) industry, were selected from a highly competitive pool of more than 250 submissions to compete for $3 million in investments. 

Of the 16 semifinalists, three teams represent Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Additionally, women co-founded three teams chosen as semifinalists, according to CenterState CEO.

“We are excited to welcome these forward-thinking entrepreneurs to Central New York for round two of the Genius NY competition,” Howard Zemsky, president, CEO & commissioner of Empire State Development, said in a CenterState CEO news release. “This unique contest supports UAS startups in developing the next-generation technologies that are helping Central New York, and its burgeoning drone industry, to rise.”

The semifinalists are:

• AgriSense, which is headquartered in the Finger Lakes region, according to its website.

• AndroMeta-X, which CenterState CEO lists as a New York company

• Quantifly, a New York company

• Kairos Weather Corporation, from New York

• SkyTubeLive, a New York company

• Syracuse University applicant (new company)

• Dropcopter, California

• Dronetechuav, Texas

• Fovea Aero Systems LLC, New Jersey

• Kinaptic, Maine

• Precision Vision, New Mexico

• USDRobotics, Florida

• Systems Technology Solutions, New Mexico

• OneSky, Switzerland

• Fotokite, Switzerland

• BioCarbon Engineering, United Kingdom

Growing in CNY

The competition’s judges will be looking for companies that will stay in the Central New York region and utilize the ecosystem, will scale and be successful, and represent diversity of technology focus and team makeup.

“The teams we have selected represent the very best of an incredibly competitive application pool,” Rick Clonan, VP of innovation and entrepreneurship at CenterState CEO, said in the release. “These high-quality teams will benefit from the success of the program’s first round and will have the necessary resources to accelerate the growth of their businesses while contributing to the region’s leading expertise and advancement of the UAS industry.”

The program, which is funded by Empire State Development in a model similar to Buffalo’s 43North program, will invest more than $3 million in six companies over the course of the year-long competition, “making it the largest business accelerator competition for the UAS industry in the world,” CenterState CEO said. 

The advancement of the Genius NY program builds on the progress of CNY Rising, the region’s award-winning “strategic plan to generate robust economic growth and community development.”

CenterState CEO will announce the grand prizes during an event in April, where teams will compete live by pitching their technologies to a panel of judges. The program will award three grand-prize investments, including $1 million, $600,000, and $400,000. 

The remaining runner-up teams will each receive a $250,000 investment.