"Instead of pennies per gallon (of goat's milk), we can sell it for thousands of dollars per gallon. That is the premise," he said.

At this point, Nexia, founded in 1993, is losing money, Turner said on a tour of the facility last week. He expects the company will begin turning a profit in about two or three years, once it develops commercial markets for products made from BioSteel.

Economic development officials envision biotechnology as a growth industry in upstate New York in the years to come.

Companies like Nexia, that rely on agriculture, are ideally suited to rural areas.

"This is not going to happen in New York City, but it is going to happen in the North Country," Turner said.

Three biotechnology-related firms are located in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, and the Adirondack Economic Development Corp. is attempting to attract more to the area, said Ernest Hohmeyer, the group's president.

The Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs region has an edge in attracting large research and manufacturing firms because of its proximity to colleges in Albany, while the Lake Placid area is more likely to attract smaller specialized firms that deal with marketing or testing, he said.