Smart Farm Articles & Stories

Answering the Digital Ag Question

Industry partners and producers have identified that Ag digitization represents the one of the biggest opportunities – and one of the greatest barriers – for the future growth and development of the sector. However, data is often a double-edged sword: too much is choking many producers, and too little is preventing enhanced decisions that can strengthen production, sustainability and profitability.
Autonomous Equipment On the Olds College Smart Farm

Earlier this spring, Olds College was excited to announce it was the only post-secondary institution in the world to deploy the fully autonomous DOT Power Platform as a teaching and research tool on the College’s Smart Farm. This next generation of ag-technology gives Olds College students one-of-a-kind learning opportunities on commercially available field-scale robotics technology on the College’s Smart Farm.
Finding Solutions for Real-World Problems

Olds College knows that it has a responsibility to facilitate innovation throughout the ag sector and help producers, business and industry find solutions to real-world problems. We also know that successful research begins with building the right team. That’s why Olds College was delighted to recruit Dr. Joy Agnew as the Associate Vice President of Applied Research and head of the Olds College Centre for Innovation in January 2019.
Growing from the Ground Up

The state of a field is influenced by many variables that are interconnected and dependent on each other. In a field used for cattle grazing, these variables are even more diverse, and managing them can prove a daunting task. This is the purpose behind Olds College’s Regenerative Agriculture project: an undertaking that seeks to identify the key variables of field management to make the most out of a piece of land.
Olds College Crop and Livestock Plan 2020

Olds College Smart Farm includes 1,843 acres of land for crops and forage production (1,117 acres on main campus, 418 acres across highway 2, and 308 acres at Pitstra Farm - excluding ponds, roadways, and natural areas).
Renewed Approach to Agronomic Management

The Olds College farm has historically focused its usable farmland to support the needs of the college’s livestock enterprises through hay, pasture, silage, feed grains and some cash grain. However, with the introduction of the Olds College Smart Farm a new agronomic approach is required to support the needs of students, staff, researchers and industry partners.
Werklund School of Agriculture Technology

Launched in September 2019, the Werklund School of Agriculture Technology is committed to providing a one-of-a-kind learning experience that prepares students for future-focused careers and leadership roles throughout the ag sector.
Yield Forecast, Virtual Yield Mapping, and Yield Loss Assessment

Smart farming is not an “easy button”, which can do everything on the farm just by pressing it. It is hard work, where agricultural specialists are empowered by various tools and technologies helping them to be more productive and efficient. Smart Farm uses many analytical tools to improve the efficiency of farming operations. Satellite and drone imagery is a good example of such tools.