Applied research at Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) focuses on practical, industry-driven applied research that can be easily implemented by the agriculture industry. On average, OCCI works on 80 to 100 projects per year — with 84+ projects happening throughout 2024-25. This research includes both public-facing projects that are promoted externally as well as confidential projects.
Within broadacre, dryland crop and beef production, applied research is primarily focused on 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.
|
|
Agrivoltaics is the dual use of land for solar energy generation and agriculture production. It is a fairly new and innovative approach to generating clean, renewable energy from solar power while combining it with agricultural production.
This research project is collecting several types of data to re-evaluate strategies for mitigating drought in black chernozemic soils under a rotational production system by optimizing soil moisture, soil health and socioeconomic outcomes.
Olds College Centre of Innovation (OCCI) is collaborating with OPIsystems Inc., which is developing a new patented in-grain monitoring cable called the OMNI cable.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) has partnered with Farm Credit Canada (FCC) on a research project focused on the Crown corporation’s AgExpert Field farm management software involving nutrient management practices.
Olds College of Agriculture & Technology is collaborating on a research project with Nytro Ag Corp., the Canadian distributor of Green Lightning Ag. Nitrogen is essential for crop performance and is a costly input for producers.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) has partnered with Farm Credit Canada (FCC) on a research project focusing on the Crown corporation’s AgExpert Field farm management software involving exclusion areas. Portions of any field can be excluded from cultivated cropping practices for several reasons, including unsuitable soil for growing crops, along with factors like rock piles, natural areas and permanent or temporary waterways.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) has partnered with Farm Credit Canada (FCC) on a research project focused on the Crown corporation’s AgExpert Field farm management software. The core objective is to evaluate the software by using real-world data from the Olds College Smart Farm.
Olds College Center for Innovation (OCCI) is collaborating with AgTek 360 on a three-year applied research project from 2025 to 2028. It will evaluate humic-based products that aim to improve soil health as part of the company’s regenerative farming initiatives.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC) have teamed up to conduct further research about marginal land, which represents an estimated five to 10 per cent of cultivated land in Canada. Producers farm these areas at a net loss, creating challenges for their bottom line as they try to balance profitability with sustainable land use.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) is partnering with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC) to evaluate the quality and quantity of forage produced on areas of marginal land that have recently been converted from annual cropland to perennial grasses, flowers and legumes.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) launched a research project in 2025 that aims to give Western Canadian producers the insights they need to make more informed seeding decisions for faba bean production.
The Government of Canada has announced a $87.5 million investment over four years to support 16 collaborative research projects involving 165 researchers from 30 different academic institutions across Canada that will contribute to a sustainable, profitable and resilient agriculture and agri-food sector.
The goal of this project is to provide EarthDaily Analytics with a historical dataset of several fields on the Olds College Smart Farm for AI training, followed by in-field data collection and application validation data for the purpose of developing, validating and evaluating their remote sensing technology.
SimpleHedge is an iOS application focused on creating an interface that helps farmers easily hedge their crops. The software allows for financial management of tradable commodities like wheat and canola.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI), in partnership with TELUS, is researching the return on investment of variable rate fertilizer applications for producers.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) is working on a project to help reduce seed loss in straight-cut canola operations.
Seed monitoring systems can be a useful tool for producers, helping mitigate problems like planting too much seed or not having enough seed.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) is teaming up with AgExpert and FCC to evaluate farm accounting software using data from the Olds College Smart Farm.
North Star Systems is developing a cost-effective solution for measuring inventory levels in grain bins by leveraging their hardware and user platform.
Precision agriculture throughout Western Canada is rapidly growing, but adopting precision agriculture technologies — like variable rate application — is low, according to experts.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) and Alberta Grains are collaborating with producer partners to introduce a new on-farm research method in central Alberta. The project uses the On-Farm Precision Experimentation methodology defined by Data-Intensive Farm Management, focusing on different wheat seed and nitrogen rates over two years.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) is working alongside Trochu Motors and Precision Planting to compare the agronomic and economic impact of using a precision planter compared to a conventional air seeder during canola seeding in a field trial.
The Bio-Agtive Method is an innovative bio agtech approach which entails emission capture technology and re-purposing of biofuel exhaust emissions into a carbon-based biofertilizer.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) is working with Farm Credit Canada (FCC) to assess best management practices (BMPs) for the removal of marginal cropland from annual production.
LI-COR chamber technology will help OCCI collect high quality and high resolution data on how 4R (right rate, right time, right source, right place) nutrient stewardship practices impact N2O emissions — a highly relevant topic for the ag industry.
Bushel Plus provides a complete combine loss measurement system designed to quickly and accurately quantify harvest loss to assist in the calibration of combine settings during harvest.
Carbon Assets Solutions (CAS) is a new Canadian company that uses Mobile Inelastic Neutron Scattering (MINS) technology to determine carbon content in soils that may help producers access carbon credits.
Olds College is performing a historical data correlation analysis in partnership with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) to learn from existing data sources what variables matter most to forage growth.
Olds College and Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) are continuing their work together to determine if high definition imaging from unmanned aircraft vehicles (drones) can be used to classify hail damaged areas within crop fields.
Olds College is working with local Saskatchewan partners to gather historical and current information from the fields on the Saskatchewan Smart Farm for baseline data collection.
Olds College is working with TELUS Agriculture on assessing the return on investment of variable rate technology (VRT) which is a precision-ag approach allowing producers to manage defined areas of their fields differently.
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.
The HyperLayer Data Concept is a process that allows the Olds College Smart Farm to compile, analyze, and use virtually every type of agricultural data.
The two-year project started in 2025 with CBS Bio Platforms in Calgary, AB to evaluate Optimax-E on backgrounding beef cattle. Optimax-E is an exogenous fibrolytic enzyme (EFE) product, containing a wide range of enzymes for carbohydrate degradation.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) has partnered with the Agroforestry and Woodlot Extension Society of Alberta (AWES) to implement a shelterbelt project at the Pitstra Farm, part of the Olds College Smart Farm located west of Carstairs, Alta.
The Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production is identifying and quantifying a panel of predictive blood biomarkers of feed efficiency and parasite infections of sheep.
The Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production (TACLP) has been validating rapid on-farm forage nitrate tests to assist cattle producers in managing feed quality.
The TACLP at Olds College is enhancing climate change resiliency and environmental sustainability of the livestock industry through the use of innovative technology and rotational grazing practices on the Smart Farm.
The Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production (TACLP) team at Olds College is evaluating the effectiveness of virtual fence collars for cattle.
Using artificial intelligence for individual animal identification and monitoring is a novel concept that Olds College is exploring with an industrial client.
This project evaluates sire-progeny links, breeding plans and information management/record keeping in multi-sire breeding scenarios on commercial herds.
Researchers at the TACLP are studying and comparing differences in weight gain, health and reactivity at handling in imprinted against non-imprinted calves weaned through the use of either nose-flap, fenceline or traditional abrupt weaning.
The TACLP at Olds College is partnering with the University of Manitoba to identify the potential for intercropping corn with high protein forages.
The TACLP has embarked on a series of regenerative agriculture strategies at Pitstra Farm to modify the land, increase biodiversity of flora/fauna, increase yield and stocking rates, and improve the ecosystem function.
Olds College of Agriculture & Technology is collaborating on a research project with Nytro Ag Corp., Canadian distributor of Green Lightning Ag. Nitrogen is essential for crop performance and is a costly input for producers. Green Lightning Ag has developed a water-based enhancement system that converts atmospheric nitrogen into plant-available nitrate without forming ionic salts.
The Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) crops research team is collaborating with Bira Biro Import & Export Enterprise Ltd. to explore the feasibility of teff grain cultivation on the Canadian Prairies.
As food producers explore a broader range of plant-based protein options, there is growing demand for pea protein and flour.
Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) is collaborating with Farm Credit Canada (FCC) on a review of research literature that will focus on impacts to soil health due to cover cropping practices. This research project aims to help producers and industry to better understand the impacts, challenges and expectations associated with cover cropping, with a key focus on soil quality.
Crop research, small plot trials or full field investigations, is key to Olds College crop research portfolio.
Olds College Center for Innovation (OCCI) is collaborating with AgTek 360 on a three-year applied research project from 2025 to 2028. It will evaluate humic-based products that aim to improve soil health as part of the company’s regenerative farming initiatives.
By collaborating with industry and producers, this project is assessing and exploring tools such as VESS, CSHT, scorecards, the SASH Framework and soil quality test kits to expand soil health indicators for agricultural and environmental sustainability.
Located within the High Plains Industrial Park (HPIP) near Balzac, Alta., the Shuttleworth Conservation Park (SCP) serves as a large-scale living laboratory for applied stormwater research, developed in collaboration with Highfield Investment Group.
This project evaluates the economic and environmental benefits of using native wetland plants and floating island technology to treat feedlot runoff water. This effectively improves water quality for irrigation or livestock use by removing excess nutrients, heavy metals and other contaminants.
