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Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network

A Network of Smart Farms Improving Smart Ag Technologies

The Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network, led by Olds College, is a network of Smart Farms committed to sharing data and expertise that will help farmers, industry and developers better understand, use and develop smart agricultural technologies. 

Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network

CAAIN - Connect Create Cultivate
With $1.1 M from the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN), the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network is an $2.9M initiative, lead by the Olds College Smart Farm and includes Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm located at Langham, Saskatchewan, the Lakeland College Student-Managed Farm - Powered by New Holland at Lakeland’s Vermilion campus in eastern Alberta, University of Saskatchewan Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence, and Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives Inc.

Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network Sites

Olds College LogoGlacier Farmmedia Discovery FarmLakeland College LogoUniversity of Saskatchewan LogoManitoba Beef & Forage Loggo

Our Vision: The Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network will accelerate the development and adoption of agriculture technologies across Canada by providing a platform for knowledge transfer and dissemination of information related to utilization of technologies and data for Canadian agriculture. 

Overarching Goal: The overall goal of the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network is to build a collaborative framework among Canada’s Smart Farm initiatives for sharing of data and expertise to help farmers, industry and technology developers better understand, utilize, and develop smart agriculture technologies and systems.

Key outcome: Accelerated development and adoption of smart agriculture technologies which will help producers manage their risk of production, improving the productivity and sustainability of their farms.

  

Lakeland College research team members install the METOS sensor at the Student-Managed Farm – Powered by New Holland in Vermillion, AB.

Olds College research team members install the METOS sensor on the Olds College Smart Farm located at Olds, AB.

METOS sensor installed at the Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm in Langham, SK.

Objectives:

  • Be a national leader in the dissemination of information related to agricultural technology development, data utilization, and adoption of practices to improve productivity, sustainability and profitability of food production in Canada.

  • Build a network of experts to provide leading edge training and learning opportunities for producers, agronomists, technology developers and students.

  • Identify and curate linkages and collaborations among “living labs” that will accelerate the development and adoption of technologies and practices.

  • Accelerate the validation of agricultural technologies and disseminate third-party, independent evaluations of agricultural innovations.

  • Develop (or produce) a robust and reliable data set of sufficient size for researchers, producers, industry and technology developers to refine existing tools to make them more regionally relevant or develop novel regionally-suited tools.

Current Projects

Soil, Crop and Climate Sensors

The first project for the network will evaluate the functionality, connectivity and value of data collected from a common suite of sensors measuring soil, climate and crop conditions at sites in three provinces. For Dr. Joy Agnew, Associate Vice-President of Applied Research at Olds College and Principal Investigator for the project, the collaboration across different agriculture zones and land bases brings more depth to the results of the evaluation, and that will benefit farmers and developers.

“Independent validation of ag technologies is critical and so is ensuring that validation is done using more than a single Smart Farm,” comments Dr. Agnew. “By joining with other partners, we’ll be providing farmers with information that will meaningfully inform their decisions about how and where to use sensor technology.”

Each project site has installed METOS Canada’s wireless sensors and devices that provide data including:

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Field Monitoring

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Weather Monitoring and Forecasting

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Water Management

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Disease Modelling

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Insect Monitoring

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Nutrition Management

Some sites will use the data to make on-farm management decisions like timing of fungicide application, and will evaluate the benefit of using data to manage those decisions. As the project continues and additional projects are identified within the network, this page will become the information repository for the network.

“We’ve used METOS sensor data in our field-scale projects for a couple of years and now, having access in real time to similar data from other sites in Canada will expand our understanding of its value,” says Blake Weiseth, Applied Research Lead at Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm and Agriculture Research Chair at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

  Watch: Pan Canadian Smart Farm Network with Blake Weiseth

Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Projects

Network Members Assets & Infrastructure

Each member of the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network offers specific site assets and infrastructure for future research projects and collaboration to enhance smart ag technologies. Read about the various locations, technology, expertise, equipment and more of each site within the network.

Contact Olds College Centre for Innovation to find out more about the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network or inquire about joining the network.

Olds College

map Location: Olds, Alberta

Additional sites:

West of Carstairs, AB

West of Didsbury, AB

Lacombe, AB

land Land

3,600 acres - crops & forage production
Field Scale & Plot scale

Pastureland

Wetlands

Native/prairie lands

livestock Livestock

Beef herds
Commercial breeding females (150)
Purebred Red Angus heifers (15)

Breeding ewes (150)

tech Technology & Equipment
  • Cropping equipment - field & plot scale

  • Livestock equipment (Monitoring with Growsafe, GreenFeed, SenseHub Allflex, etc.)

  • Livestock technology - GPS collars, tracking systems, water level detection devices, etc.

  • Autonomous Agriculture Equipment 
    • OMNiPOWER Platform
    • 30’ SeedMaster Air Seeder
    • New Leader Spreader
    • 120’ Pattison Sprayer
  • Drones & thermal, RGB/multispectral cameras

  • Soil, moisture, nutrient sensors

  • Weather stations

  • Optical Spot Spraying equipment

  • Connectivity - Wireless/5G network/LoRaWan

  • Crops & livestock databases

user Expertise & Leadership
  • Agricultural Engineering

  • Animal Science & Welfare

  • Crop Production

  • Data Science & Agronomy

  • Instrumentation

  • Land & Water Reclamation

  • Livestock - Genetics, Reproduction, Nutrition, Production, Management

  • Machine Automation

  • Plant Science & Entomology

  • Precision/Digital Agriculture

  • Project & Ag Business Management
  • Rangeland Health

  • Remote Sensing Technology

  • Soil Science

  • Technology Development

  • Telematics & GIS/GPS

add Additional Assets
  • Smart Ag Innovation Centre

  • Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC) - plant research/breeding

  • Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production & labs

  • Beef & Livestock Centre - calving, lambing, artificial insemination, animal processing
  • 1,000-head capacity feedlot

  • National Meat Training Centre
  • Farm Shop & equipment

  • Brewery

  • Greenhouses

  • Soils, Plants & Chemistry labs

  • Incubator space

  • Equine & Rodeo Centre

  • Conference Services

  • Continuing Education Services

Lakeland College Logo

map Location: Vermilion, Alberta

Additional sites:

Lacombe, AB (pulse research)

Edmonton

Producer fields

land Land

3,000 acres - crops & forage production
Field scale & Plot scale

Pastureland

Wetlands

Access to native & prairie lands

livestock Livestock

Beef herds
Commercial Angus (90 cows)
Purebred Angus (40 cows)
Research (80 cows crossbred Angus)

Dairy herd (280 head Holsteins)

Bison herd (200 cows)

Horses      

tech Technology & Equipment
  • Livestock equipment 

    • Three beef handling systems

    • Monitoring with Growsafe, Growsafe-Beef, GreenFeed, SmartFeed Pro, etc.

  • Livestock tracking devices

  • Soil, moisture, nutrient sensors

  • Drones & multispectral cameras

  • GPS systems & mapping

  • Autonomous Agriculture Equipment

    • Robotic & conventional milking systems (dairy)

    • Lely Vector automatic feeding system (dairy)

    • Auto steer on certain tractors

  • Cropping equipment - field & plot scale
  • Weather stations

  • Optical Spot Spraying equipment
  • Agriculture Technology Centre

  • Connectivity - Wireless/LoRaWan

  • Crops & livestock databases

user Expertise & Leadership
  • Agronomy

  • Ag Business & Financial Management

  • Ag Marketing & Sales

  • Animal Health & Welfare

  • Crops & Livestock Equipment & Technologies

  • Crop Nutrient, Fertility Management (4R), Production & Management

  • Integrated Crop Management

  • Livestock - Genetics, Reproduction, Nutrition, Feeding, Production, Management

  • Plant Science

  • Precision/Digital Agriculture

  • Rangeland Health

  • Regenerative & Sustainable Agriculture
  • Remote Sensing Technology

  • Robotics & Automation

  • Soil Science

  • Telematics & GIS/GPS

  • Weeds, Insects & Diseases
add Additional Assets
  • Student-Managed Farm - Powered by New Holland

  • Dairy Learning Centre

  • G.N. Sweet Livestock Research Centre - 300 head capacity for feed intake, feed efficiency, related research

  • Animal Health Clinic

  • Equine & Rodeo Centre

  • Bioenergy & Crop Research Building

  • Farm Shop & equipment

  • Calving Barn

  • Artificial Insemination Centre
  • Soils, Plants & Chemistry labs

  • Wet Lab

  • Conference Services

  • Continuing Education Services

Logo

map Location: Langham, Saskatchewan

RM of Corman Park Section 15
Northwest of Langham, Saskatchewan

15-39-8 W3M

610 acres

land Land

Field of Excellence: 180-acre flax & wheat split 

Water Management Project including network of surface ditches

Crops & forage production

Brown soil zone

net Network

Glacier FarmMedia

  • largest agriculture media company in Canada

  • extensive farmer network through publications, events & market listings

Publications

  • Alberta Farmer

  • Manitoba Co-Operator

  • Le Bulletin

  • Farmtario

  • Grainews

  • Country Guide

  • Canadian Cattlemen

  • The Western Producer

Research, weather & markets

  • Discovery Farm

  • METOS Canada

  • Glacier MarketsFarm

Tradeshows & conferences

  • Ag in Motion

  • Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show

  • Farm Forum Event

  • Advancing Women in Agriculture

Ag Marketplace & listings

  • Ag Dealer

  • Farmzilla

  • Prairie Ag Catalogue

tech Technology & Equipment

Agriculture equipment

  • Vaderstad 980 air cart

  • CLAAS 780 TT combine

  • Trimble TMX-2050 monitor

  • Shore Model 920 moisture tester

  • Grain cart

  • Brillion forage seeder

  • High clearance sprayer

Cropping equipment - field & plot scale

Variable rate prescription MAPS report

METOS hardware

Connectivity - Wireless/5G network/LoRaWan

user Expertise & Leadership
  • Knowledge Transfer Initiatives

  • Crop Production

  • Data Science & Agronomy

  • Land & Water Reclamation

  • Plant Science & Entomology

  • Precision/Digital Agriculture

  • Project & Ag Business Management
  • Remote Sensing Technology

  • Soil Science

  • Telematics & GIS/GPS

add Additional Assets

Extensive network of industry partnerships

Privately & publicly funded research

In-field demonstration

Student-focused clinics

University of Saskatchewan Logo

map Location: Clavet, Saskatchewan

Additional sites:

Lanigan, Sask.

Goodale, Sask - Specialized Livestock Research Facility 

Pathlow, Sask.

land Land

15 quarters - Clavet

12 quarters - Lanigan

12 quarters - Goodale

6 quarters - Pathlow

livestock Livestock

300 head cow-calf

100 replacements

1,250 head feedlot

80 bison (2 herds of 40)

tech Technology & Equipment
  • Livestock equipment (monitoring with Growsafe, GreenFeed & Smart Paddock)

  • Livestock weighing

  • Rumen condition monitors

  • Climate monitoring/weather stations

  • Drones with multispectral cameras & lidar

  • Connectivity – wireless/LoRaWan

  • Soil moisture, temperature & salinity sensors

  • Groundwater monitoring network

  • Variable rate manure spreader

  • 24 stall indoor Metabolism Barn

user Expertise & Leadership
  • Agricultural Engineering

  • Agroclimatic Processes

  • Data Science & Management

  • Environmental Assessment, Monitoring & Management

  • Forage, Breeding & Pasture Management

  • Instrumentation

  • Livestock Genetics, Reproduction, Genomics, Nutrition, Production, Management, Cow-Calf & Feedlot

  • Microbiome

  • Research Facilitation

  • Soil Fertility & Processes

Manitoba Beef & Forage Loggo

map Location: Brandon, Manitoba

Additional sites:

Brookdale Farm Station 

Johnson Farm Station 

First Street Pasture

land Land

1,480 acres - perennial forage & annual crop production
Replicated paddocks average 10 acres
Marginal & high agricultural capability landbase

Perennial pasture

Wetlands

Native Aspen Parkland Prairie

livestock Livestock

Beef herds
Commercial angus cow-calf (150 cows)
Replacement heifers (25)
Bulls (7)

tech Technology & Equipment
  • Field scale annual cropping equipment - Auto steer on certain tractors
  • Field scale hay production equipment 
  • Livestock handling systems (x3) - Livestock Manager & EID Tag Reader, batt latches, solar-powered fencing cart
  • Weather stations
  • Farm station wide connectivity - WiFi/LoRaWan
  • Livestock monitoring technology - SmartFeed Pro solar trailers, GPS collars/ear tags, Hobo pendant (fitbit), Moonsyst Smart Rumen Bolus, Onecup AI cameras, Allflex SenseHub ear tags, water temperature & water level detection, pasture cameras  
  • Drones (RGB & multispectral) & thermal cameras
  • Soil & forage sensors - water infiltration, chlorophyll meter, canopy light sensor, soil solvita measurement reader, brix refractometers  
  • Water quality monitoring equipment 
  • Crops & livestock databases
user Expertise & Leadership
  • Annual Forage Agronomy
  • Crops/Livestock Equipment & Technologies
  • Data Science & Statistics
  • Grazing & Grassland Management
  • Habitat Biodiversity
  • Knowledge Transfer Initiatives
  • Livestock - Cow-Calf Herd Husbandry & Production Management
  • On-Farm Demonstration
  • Precision/Digital Agriculture
  • Research Facilitation
  • Soil Health
  • Sustainable & Regenerative Agriculture
add Additional Assets
  • Producer focused on-farm demonstration
  • Brookdale Farm Learning Centre 
  • Precision Ranching Data Centre
  • Farm workshop & indoor handling facilities (x2 farm stations)
  • Mobile laboratory trailer 
  • Soil & forage sampling equipment - hydraulic truck mounted & trailer mounted soil sampling, bale core samplers, forage drying ovens
  • Extensive network of academic, industry & not-for-profit conservation partnerships
  • Extension programming bridging stakeholders from the public, academia, industry, government & farm production

Expanding Across Canada

The Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network plans to expand into more geographic regions across Canada and work with many production systems, such as broad acre dryland crop production, irrigated crop production, livestock production, horticulture/greenhouse production, row crop production and value added processing. There will also be opportunities to link the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network with other Smart Farms.

To be considered eligible to join the Smart Farm Network, a site must have the capacity to utilize and/or validate agricultural technologies and contribute to the data/information sharing and dissemination focus of the network.

Representative(s) from the site must attend quarterly meetings, participate in network building and sharing of connections, contribute content to quarterly reports, newsletters, present at key events, and contribute to other dissemination platforms that will be shared with producers, technology developers, and the general public, all to the benefit and betterment of the entire Smart Farm Network

In the longer-term, the Smart Farm Network will represent all geographic regions of Canadian agriculture and encompass as many production systems as possible, including broad acre dryland crop production, irrigated crop production, livestock production, horticulture/greenhouse production, row crop production, etc.

Industry Partners

ATBCAAIN - Connect Create CultivateGlacier Farm MediaMetos CanadaMNP LogoUFA