Continuing Education: Agriculture

Agribusiness Finance Certificate
Advance your rural enterprise! Upgrade your management skills and improve your financial assessment skills! Whether you are a rural business owner or an agricultural lender, this online program will assist you in promoting better business practices within conventional and non-conventional agriculture.

This Certificate is designed for the rural businessperson. A heavily agri-related online education, this certificate is ideal if you're looking to upgrade your management skills and improve your financial assessment abilities. Whether you're a rural business owner or an agricultural lender, this online program will assist you in promoting better business practices within conventional and non-conventional agriculture. - 4 required courses + 1 elective.
- Each course can be taken on a stand-alone basis.
- Each course is 15 weeks in duration
- All courses entirely online, fitting your schedule
- No previous college education necessary
Dates: Courses offered January - May & September - December
Delivery Method: Online
Costs: Tuition - $799 per course plus textbook costs
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Agriculture Lender’s Workshop
For more than 35 years, the Agriculture Lenders Workshop has been a professional development experience for beginning and continuing lenders and other financial professionals in the agricultural industry. This 5 day long virtual workshop provided by Olds College, a leader in virtual and distance learning, will provide each participant a window into today’s agriculture and instruction about how to be an effective farm lender.
Dates: June 6-10, 2022
Length of Workshop: 5 Days
Delivery: Virtual, by Olds College
Tuition:
- Early Bird Special: $895 + GST until Mar 15, 2022
- After Mar 15, 2022 $995
* includes all the sessions and materials required for the workshop.
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Agriculture Sales Certificate
Agronomy Certificate Level I
Train while you work!
This entry-level program answers the industry's call for trained crop scouts possessing basic agronomic skills. Interactive online discussion is emphasized to meet your needs, and an on-campus Field School will cap the program of study. You may have had previous post-secondary training but lack specific knowledge in agriculture, or you may have agricultural experience in another country but require specific training in Western Canadian farming practices. Course specifics include:
- Crop Production Systems
- Insect & Disease Management
- Intro Soils & Crop Nutrition
- Weed Fundamentals
- Field Scouting and Data Management
- Field School (online & 5-day residency)
Delivery: Online with 5-day Field School Residency on Olds Campus
Course Dates: Course dependent
Costs: Tuition - $799 per course plus textbook
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Agronomy Certificate Level II
The Agronomy Certificate Level II program builds upon the agronomic skills gained in the Level I certificate. Upon completion of these courses, you will be able to integrate agronomic concepts and make general recommendations regarding crop production.
As with Level I, this program will include interactive online discussion emphasized to meet learner needs. Course specifics are currently under development but will include five courses:
- Integrated Pest Management
- Soil, Water & Fertility Management
- Crop Management & Planning
- Crop Production Technologies
- Crop Diagnostics
Delivery: Online
Dates: Course dependent
Costs: Tuition: $799 (+ textbooks as required for each course)
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Certified Crop Adviser

Advance your career – become a Certified Crop Adviser.
Take advantage of this intensive tutorial training session and prepare to write the Certified Crop Adviser Prairie Province and International exam. The instructors have a wealth of knowledge that they will share with you to help you feel better prepared to write the exam.
Dates: January 17 - 20, 2023
Delivery: Olds Campus
Costs: $599 Tuition
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CODESYS

This Specialized training focuses on Programming / Coding PLC's ( Programmable Logic Controllers) that can be used in controlling Machines, a Hobby Project, or developing controls for an idea that relies on Electronic Control. The 4 Day Program uses CODESYS as a method of Instruction, and has a Variety of Hardware to try the Code on. ...more
Drone School for Farmers & Agronomists

This drone school designed specifically for farmers and agronomists will give students two full days of hands on flight training for beginners. There are 101 uses for ag drones including both crop and livestock applications. During this training there will be practical on farm examples used to help gain experience with mapping and the software involved. After completion of the course, participants will be able to take the online certification test with Transport Canada to fly legally.
Program Dates: August 11 - August 12, 2022
Costs: $599+ GST *includes a practice drone for you to keep*
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Drone Use in Agriculture

Tune in for this two (2) hour webinar that is designed to give participants a look at some of the different drones being used in agriculture. You will get a look at the footage taken in fields and a knowledge of the different types of equipment that will make your job in agriculture a little easier. The opportunities to use a drone are endless when you just open yourself up to the idea, let us show you how!
Includes 1.5 hour webinar, followed by a Q&A.
Delivery: Online
Cost: $20
Date: TBD

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Pasture to Plate Direct Marketing

Pasture to Plate - Livestock Direct Marketing is a one of a kind short course. Participants will gain skills over a six-week time frame that will help them to better understand livestock agro-food systems, niche product marketing, and how they can apply direct marketing skills to their own operations.
With recent regulation changes in Alberta, producers can now obtain an on-farm slaughter license thus allowing producers more flexibility when selling a live animal directly to a consumer. This interactive short course will give you training, skills, and ideas to start direct marketing your products from your own 'Pasture to the consumers Plate'!
Dates: January 23 - March 3, 2023
Delivery Method: Online
Costs: $249
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Pasture Browsing with Goats

During this intensive two-day workshop participants will learn how pastures can be revitalized using goats to target browse, identify weeds and gain agronomy insights while also studying the various topics associated with the care of the goat. This unique goat focused workshop will give you all the tips and tricks to get your goats working for you!
Dates: TBD
Delivery Method: Class Room
Costs: $299
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Prescription Mapping with Trimble Software

During this very intense one week course, you as the participant will learn how to gain access to the information your equipment has known for years, and you can stop paying third-party companies to gather it. Based on data from your own field history gathered over the past 2-3 years, we can create the profit-and-loss maps to guide decisions. The sooner we begin to collect this data from the fields, the faster, better and more accurately we will receive data for creating these profit-loss and prescription maps.
Problems do occur when transferring data from one precision agriculture software to another. There is no universal solution to this issue, but we will teach you how to properly build an algorithm of actions when such problems do arise. We will sort through several practical examples that will help you to solve real world problems.
Dates: TBD
Length of Program: 5 Days
Delivery: Olds Campus
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Smart Agriculture Certificate - Agronomy Stream

This certificate delves into the exciting world of technological applications of crop production. The Olds College Smart Ag certificate provides students and graduates with the base knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in the evolving ag industry. This certificate will increase competencies in global navigation satellite systems, geographic information systems, precision ag software programs precision ag equipment and autonomous systems.
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