Smart Farm
In the summer of 2018, Olds College launched the Olds College Smart Farm: a cutting-edge learning environment that has grown to include 3,600 acres of farmland, infrastructure, and staff who are experienced in ag tech research and development. Olds College Centre of Innovation (OCCI) and Smart Farm are accelerating the development and adoption of technologies and practices that result in improved productivity, profitability and sustainability of the agriculture and agri-food industry through industry-driven applied research.

yt Advancing Canada's Ag Industry | The Olds College Smart Farm
The Olds College Smart Farm is essentially a giant lab that provides the agriculture sector a venue for commercial scale applied research. It is attracting investment and engagement from companies ranging from multi-national ag and tech companies to SMEs (small and medium enterprises). It also provides our students with a learning environment centred on the future of ag and technology, setting the learning experience apart from other programming in the country.
The philosophy and principles guiding the development and operation of the Olds College Smart Farm are centred around engaging producers and industry on addressing real-world problems by utilizing and integrating technology and data. The Smart Farm is also focused on teaching students how to integrate, manage and leverage ag technology for the enhancement and sustainability of agri-food production.
The purpose of the Olds College Smart Farm
Establish the most efficient way to collect and implement the world's best digital agriculture technologies for crop and livestock production;
Demonstrate increased efficiency of farming operations through implementation of smart technologies and practices; and
Utilize commercial and pre-commercial technologies for world class education, demonstration, and applied research.
The Smart Farm creates a place for producers, industry partners, students and faculty to look at the opportunities and challenges facing the agriculture industry and investigate solutions to evolve agriculture practices. In the end, Olds College believes that our focus on ag technology and the problems to be solved will serve as a catalyst for new thinking and leadership that inspires cross-industry solutions, innovation and strategic decision-making.
Olds College Smart Farm Crop and Livestock Plan
The Olds College Smart Farm includes 3,600 acres of land for crops and forage production (excluding ponds, roadways and natural areas):
1,117 acres on main campus at Olds, AB
418 acres across Highway 2
308 acres at Pitstra Farm west of Carstairs, AB
312 acres at Steckler Farm west of Didsbury
600+ acres at the Field Crop Development Centre located at Lacombe, AB
800 acres west of Craik, SK
Olds College Smart Farm Project Map
The Olds College Smart Farm also maintains a cow herd with approximately 150 commercial breeding females. The College uses a 3-way cross of Gelbvieh, Simmental and Angus. In addition to the commercial beef cattle, Olds College has a herd of 15 Purebred Red Angus animals with plans to continue expanding that number in future years. On average, the Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production (TACLP) evaluates over 1,000 animals each year for custom feeding trials, residual feed intake trials, and other research initiatives on a fee-for-service or cost recovery basis. The Smart Farm also includes 150 breeding ewes. The animals at Olds College are involved with student learning opportunities along with applied research activities on the Smart Farm.
Media Releases
- Smart Farm Receives Funding for Livestock Production Applied Research April 05, 2022
- Olds College Smart Farm Expanding Into Saskatchewan to Support Learners and Industry March 08, 2022
- Improving Sustainability in Agriculture with Better Space Data from DragonEye Satellite February 07, 2022 MST
- Serial Ag Entrepreneur and Author Creates New Student Awards at Olds College January 18, 2022
- The Sky’s the Limit with TELUS Agriculture December 20, 2021
Smart Farm Projects & Activities
Primarily focused on five main areas of applied research — autonomous agricultural equipment, sensors, data utilization, technology development and validation, and regenerative agriculture — 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.
Smart Farm Articles
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Understanding & Measuring ‘Mobile Network Connectivity’ for Smart Farming
Posted March 14, 2022
The demand for food is increasing alongside a growing population. Digital farming and smart ag technologies — autonomous equipment, sensors, artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics — will play a large role in the future of sustainable agricultural production. However, smart ag technologies are reliant on connectivity. ...more
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Grain Yield Forecast on the Smart Farm
Posted February 01, 2022
Written by: Alex Melnitchouck, Ph.D., P.Ag., Chief Technology Officer, Olds College
Setting up right yield goals and forecasting yield during the growing season is the Holy Grail of precision agriculture. Both USDA and Statistics Canada, as well as some private companies, forecast grain yield during the growing period at the country scale, using remote sensing data, and they do it quite accurately....more
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FCDC’s First Growing Season with Olds College
Posted November 24, 2021
The Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC) at Olds College was in full swing for the 2021 planting and growing season. FCDC — located in Lacombe, Alberta — breeds new varieties of malting barley, feed and forage barley, and spring and winter triticale supported by pathology, quality, and biotechnology labs. ...more
Thank you to our Olds College Smart Farm Partners
Investors
Partners
Neighbors
Friends
Alberta Real Estate Foundation Alberta Wheat Commission Boyden Canada Canadian Red Angus Promotion Society Homestead Feast NRCC-IRAP SaskWheat and Western Grains Research Foundation Western Grains Zelenka Farms | Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada Alberta Beef Producers amii Arable Labs Canada Malting Canadian Agriculture Partnership Climate Field View Crop Pro Consulting Decisive Farming Farmobile | Farmer's Edge Grain Discovery ICT International Intelliconn/Verigrain Mitacs NuFarm Pessl/Metos Raven Bay RealmFive Red Shed Malting | SAIT Stream Technologies Union Forage University of Manitoba & Beef Cattle Research Council Croplands (WEEDit) Wilson, Erma & Roy WIN Zedi Zone Startups Calgary |