Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) and Olds College of Agriculture & Technology are proud to re-sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) – reinforcing their shared commitment to advancing smart agriculture through applied research and innovation, and extending their partnership for another five years.
The MOU sets a strategic framework for continued collaboration in the development, testing, training and demonstration of emerging smart agriculture technologies. Central to the partnership is collaboration in applied research that includes data collection and analysis, evaluation of new digital tools and the sharing of nonproprietary data to benefit producers, AFSC programs and Alberta’s agri-food industry.
“AFSC and Olds College are natural allies – AFSC supports Alberta agriculture through insurance and lending, while Olds College advances agriculture through education and research,” says Todd Ormann, Vice President, External Relations & Research, Olds College. “We share a clear vision to transform the industry and support Alberta’s farmers, producers and agriculture industry. Thank you to AFSC for your work and for our strong, ongoing partnership.”
Building on a partnership that earned AFSC the Olds College Partner of the Year award in 2023 — and supported by AFSC’s role as a proud AgSmart sponsor — the agreement also enhances opportunities for student engagement with in-class presentations and producer-focused skill development training.
Together, AFSC and Olds College will pursue joint applied research projects, including automation technologies such as drones for programs such as estimating hail damage; field trials on the Olds College Smart Farm to validate and demonstrate new applications; and business risk management analytics and technologies that support AFSC and its clients. These projects, along with exploring how AFSC production data can be used to test models and ground truth research initiatives, will further the agriculture industry by using combined data sets and resources.
“As provincial organizations, sharing resources, time and commitment has made a real difference,” says Darryl Kay, Chief Executive Officer, AFSC. “Many of the program improvements we’ve seen in recent years are a direct result of our collaboration with Olds College.Partnerships like this are vital to growing and sustaining agriculture, giving us the opportunity to work in the field and benefit directly from our partner’s industry expertise.”
Through this renewed partnership, both AFSC and Olds College reaffirm their dedication to strengthening Alberta’s agriculture sector and supporting the future of farming.
The Smart Farm is working towards providing producers with real-life applied research to help them make informed decisions about implementing technology in their own operations.