Ike Edeogu is the Applied Research Manager for crop research and environmental stewardship with Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI). Ike is passionate about research that can benefit agricultural producers.
Ike has always been interested and driven by research, technology development, and technology integration that can solve problems within the agriculture industry and make a genuine difference to producers. He enjoys that every workday is different, tasks are always changing, and what you’re involved in and working on truly makes a difference in the bottom line for farmers and rural communities.
Ike is a professional engineer (P.Eng.) with an M.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Alberta. Prior to joining Olds College in 2020, Ike worked with Alberta's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for about 25 years in the application of applied research and innovation techniques and principles towards the advancement of Alberta’s agricultural sector. He has a vast network of professional contacts from across the private sector, academia, government, and non-government organizations — both across Canada and abroad.
Ike recalls an eight-month internship to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec back in 1998 that deeply impacted his research journey. The internship was in the field of horticulture and focused on post-harvest opportunities to help producers better preserve their harvests with minimal chemicals to lengthen the product shelf life. Ike reflects on this internship fondly since it made him want to help farmers. As an intern, Ike helped research cost-effective solutions that were environmentally friendly and sustainable such as forced-air cooling systems utilizing ice cubes for refrigeration. This experience in Quebec impacted Ike’s passion for sustainable agriculture practices that truly benefit producers.
Multi-tasking is a huge part of Ike’s role at the College. His teams are involved in research with crops (both small plots trials and full-field commercial scale investigations), water resource management, land management, renewable/green energy, carbon management, by-product development and utilization, air quality management, and green infrastructure development. The crop research and environmental stewardship teams also work with a large number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help them assess, evaluate, validate and improve agricultural products. Ike is quick to commend the support from the federal and provincial governments to smaller companies in this field which helps get their technologies and products into the Canadian market to the benefit of Canadian consumers, and ultimately the economy.
Ike sees the importance in a zero waste policy and finding ways to utilize every by-product in the agriculture industry, such as composting. He also stresses the importance of shelterbelts stemming from his time at Alberta's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and finding smart and effective ways to use every part of the land with precision farming by planting different crops, trees or grasses.
Ike aims to help farmers better adapt to changes in the climate by researching economically viable ways they can diversify farming practices, and bring forth residual income by taking into consideration climate change management and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Ike stresses the importance of finding ways to make every acre of farmland work such as renewable energy utilization and biogas production.
When he isn’t dreaming of research and sustainability, Ike is at his home-base in Edmonton focused on his family. He has three kids (almost all out of high school) who are starting their post-secondary educations. People who know Ike would describe him as kind-hearted, and someone who likes to laugh, make jokes and tell stories. He has a strong interest in sports — soccer, floor hockey and golf are at the top of the list — with a long-standing history of coaching sports under his belt. Ike also is a proud volunteer at long-term care and assisted living facilities with Alberta Health Services.
Crop Research, Environmental Stewardship
