Farmers attending the sixth annual AgSmart education expo not only learned about the latest cutting-edge innovations from researchers at Olds College of Agriculture & Technology, but they also taught the experts a few things too.
“I think AgSmart is a good platform to bring both groups together,” said Dr. Semeton Amosu, a Research Associate and Soil Scientist at Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI). “We get to talk to them about what we’re doing and we get to know what their concerns are.”
The three-day event was held July 29 to 31 at Olds College, which is one of the top research colleges in Canada. It marked the first time the agriculture and technology fair was overseen by the organizers of the annual Agri-Trade Equipment Expo in Red Deer, Alta., following an agreement signed last year.
Since its launch in 2020, AgSmart has become a premier agricultural exhibition, highlighting the latest research and advancements in agri-food technology. “It’s pretty easy to sit on the farm, and not come to this kind of event and become lost,” said producer Mark Kaun, 68, a graduate of Olds College who is a former member of its board of governors.
“I’m a mature farmer and the technology that I’ve seen has helped me throughout my career. I just finished 50 years of farming and the technology that’s coming might allow me to farm longer than what I am now.”
Olds College was ranked 14th among Canada’s top 50 research colleges in 2024 by Research Infosource Inc. The campus includes the Smart Farm, which is a living laboratory for crop, livestock and agricultural technology research spread over 3,000 acres.
AgSmart featured numerous field demonstrations and dozens of presentations on campus, connecting producers directly with experts from Olds College and beyond.
“AgSmart at Olds College is the essential meeting place where cutting-edge research and industry innovation converge, propelling our producers towards a more sustainable and prosperous future for agriculture,” said Todd Ormann, Vice-President of External Relations and Research. “Every year, the show builds on that foundation of being an educational exhibition, an event to help industry learn and disseminate information about our important industry of agriculture.”
Amosu said the event gave him the opportunity to explain his research on soil health to visiting academics from Kazakhstan. He hoped it could spark a formal research collaboration between the central Asian country and Olds College.
“Farmers from across Western Canada have also come in to ask how they can manage their soil, and that’s the purpose of this event. They get to know what we’re doing and the solutions we have for whatever problems they have on their farms, and we get to learn from them about the challenges they’re facing.”
Kaun said AgSmart is an invaluable resource for producers. “You can spend hours and hours online looking for information and you may not find what you’re looking for, but you can come here and actually get some face-to-face time with technology thinkers.”
He attended a presentation by Rob Saik, founder and CEO of T1 Technology Corp., about harnessing the power of artificial intelligence on the farm. Saik is an agrologist, entrepreneur and author who has founded many companies in the ag tech space, including AGvisorPRO, a global mobile connectivity platform for agriculture.
Artificial intelligence is arriving as farmers face challenges like climate change, labour shortages and the need to implement sustainable practices, said Saik. Its ability to make predictions can be particularly powerful when paired with devices like grain bin sensors and soil moisture probes, he explained.
Saik expects it will be useful for predicting yields as well as disease and pest outbreaks, along with estimating weather and market risk. However, he said artificial intelligence won’t replace producers anytime soon because farmers are unwilling to abdicate their central role in making decisions, which requires more than predictions.
“The second part is judgment, so you have prediction and judgment, then you make a decision, and judgment can’t be easily coded. It relies a lot on human intuition.”
The importance of the human factor was underlined by AgSmart keynote speaker James “the Iron Cowboy” Lawrence. The former Calgarian is an endurance athlete renowned for his feats of physical and mental stamina, most notably the Iron Cowboy Project in which he completed 101 Ironman-distance triathlons in 101 consecutive days.
Due to the high demand for tickets, his presentation July 29 was moved to the TransCanada Theatre in the Olds College Fine Arts and Multimedia Centre to ensure everyone had a seat. Lawrence told the audience he learned it’s each person’s reaction to adversity, and not adversity itself, that determines how their life story will develop.
“Everybody’s ‘hard’ is different, and it’s just how you decide to show up in your life. You can’t overcome your hard if you stay home and you don’t show up, you don’t tackle it and you don’t try to become the best version of who you are.”
Other events at AgSmart included Olds College’s announcement of Farm Credit Canada (FCC) as its 2025 Partner of the Year. This prestigious award, the highest honour the College bestows, recognizes organizations demonstrating exceptional support and commitment to the College’s vision of advancing agriculture for a better world.
FCC, a federal Crown corporation, has been a loyal and consistent supporter of Olds College for many years due to their shared commitment to agriculture — and was previously honoured with the award in 2020.
“We are proud to call FCC a partner of ours, and we are thankful for their long term vision and support for Olds College,” said Ormann.
“We hope for many more years of collaboration. At Olds College, we are so fortunate to have a variety of industry partners that align with our vision of advancing agriculture for a better world. The support we receive fuels our ability to innovate, adapt and lead, and together, continue to redefine what’s possible in agriculture.”