Smart Farm Operations - Dedication to the Farm Team

The Smart Farm at Olds College of Agriculture & Technology wants to highlight and acknowledge the ‘behind the scenes’ technical and logistical expertise on the farm team. They’re involved in every aspect of keeping the Smart Farm operating, thriving, and ready for applied research and student experience activities!

Someone from the farm team is always on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. After daily meetings starting at 7:30 a.m., the farm team disperses to conquer the endless farm-related tasks.

Ken Miller

Ken is the Smart Farm Manager and has worked with Olds College of Agriculture & Technology for 2.5 years, and is also an Ag Business alumni of the College. Ken manages every aspect of the Smart Farm Operations and farm team, and is focused on his team’s success with safety being a number one priority. He is incredibly dedicated to the local community, and ensures both the campus and neighbours to the College are always a top consideration.

Ken and his team work behind the scenes to make the magic happen for student experience and applied research. The team is involved in all facets of crops, land, livestock and facilities and can essentially be described as Santa’s elves — working tirelessly around the clock and behind the scenes to ensure facilities, equipment, student experience teams, and researchers have the support they need to operate smoothly.

Outside of work at the College, Ken operates a mixed cow/calf operation west of Olds with his wife and is a proud dad to three children. He also enjoys hunting along with bbqing and smoking meat in the backyard!

Darrell Scheidt

Darrell has been with the College for three years, and his role focuses on the health and well-being of the cattle. He supports cattle operations which includes helping manage the feedlot, feeding cows, supporting calving and maintaining fences. He also has a big hand in helping students at the College get hands-on experience with the cattle through labs and calving through their programs, such as Animal Health Technology (AHT) program. Darrell says the highlight of the farm team is working with animals everyday and getting to help students gain the experience they need in their programs.

Darrell has extensive experience managing grain and hay farms and cow/calf operations as well as working with cattle at the local auctionmart. He owns his own small cow operation outside of town and is grateful calving season at home occurs at a different time of year than at the College. Darrell is also an alumni of Olds College of Agriculture & Technology and took beef production.

Randy Jensen

Randy has worked at the College for three years, and explains his job as quietly working behind the scenes to help the farm move forward into the next phase and season. His daily tasks include everything from livestock chores, repairing and maintaining farm equipment, welding, carpentry, machinery operation, combining, moving grain, and a finely honed diagnostic skill.

Randy enjoys the sense of accomplishment from working on the farm and that his job is different every day — but mostly he loves working with animals. He knows nearly every cow and their personality, and has an incredible memory when it comes to bovine succession. Randy enjoys sharing stories and experiences from his time with the College, and is always happy to explain the field work and machinery to colleagues who are wandering around the fields and binyard.

If Randy isn’t on the Smart Farm, he’s quietly working in his automotive shop. Randy’s previous experience includes ag commercial lending with management experience and business risk management, but these days he prefers to be in the fields or feeding animals.

Noah Kehoe

Noah recently joined the farm team after graduating from college with an Animal Science Technology Diploma with a major in beef, and is excited to be part of the advancement of technology and sustainability in agriculture at Olds College of Agriculture & Technology. His role is a unique position of helping with everything and anything related to Smart Farm operations and livestock. 

Noah highlights that he enjoys the variety of work he does, and all the different people he gets to work with on the Smart Farm including colleagues, researchers and students. Farming has been in Noah’s family for generations, and when he isn’t working, he’s usually helping on the family farm or working on his truck.

Colin Jorgensen

Colin joined the farm team to help out during calving season this past January, and stayed on after experiencing the variety of working in Smart Farm Operations. He enjoys that every day brings forward new tasks that need to be completed. 

Colin brings skills and knowledge to the farm team from working in farm management his entire life, and having personal and extensive experience working on a variety of farming operations. He especially enjoys working outdoors with cattle and livestock, but is always happy to help out with whatever is needed such as silaging, animal health, and calving. When Colin isn’t working on the Smart Farm, he enjoys fishing, relaxing on vacation and pursuing personal development, plus trying out new hobbies such as raising white-tail deer.

Roger Leclaire

Roger has been with Olds College of Agriculture & Technology for 12 years and is primarily responsible for animal husbandry. He heads the sheep department and also works with the cows regularly. Roger designs the breeding program for the sheep, and works closely and mentors student teams during lambing season. He is dedicated to his work and is on the clock 24/7 during lambing and calving season. Roger enjoys working with the animals and is quick to say his colleagues on the farm team make for a great working environment. He also highlights working at the College is a continual learning experience for everyone.

Roger thoroughly enjoys animal husbandry and is never far away from livestock. He has spent his whole life on a local farm that breeds and raises national champion Clydesdale horses. His parents were in the Clydesdale business, and Roger has passed his love for horses to his own children who have won championships in driving Clydesdales with one daughter currently in school to become a veterinarian. His numerous certificates in animal reproduction and animal nutrition for both bovine and equine come in handy at the College and his home farm. Roger is regularly touring state fairs with his champion Clydesdale horses and definitely has a passion for livestock.