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Research Projects

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 106+ projects happening throughout 2022 to 2023. 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.

Ongoing Projects

    • AAFC - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
    • AFSC - Agriculture Financial Services Corporation
    • AREF - Alberta Real Estate Foundation
    • CAAIN - Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network
    • CCIP - College and Community Innovation Program 
    • CFI/RCP - Canada Foundation for Innovation/Research Capacity Program
    • ECO Canada - Environmental Careers Organization Canada
    • EOS - EOS Weather Instruments
    • FCC - Farm Credit Canada
    • IRAP CTO - Industrial Research Assistance Program Contribution to Organization
    • NSERC - Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
    • PrairiesCan - Prairies Economic Development Canada
    • RCP - Government of Alberta Research Capacity Program
    • RDAR - Results Driven Agriculture Research
    • Sask Wheat - Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission
    • TAC - Technology Access Centre (NSERC)
    • UFA - United Farmers of Alberta
    • WCFA - West-Central Forage Association
    • WGRF - Western Grains Research Foundation
    • xarvio/BASF - xarvio® Digital Farming Solutions & BASF Agricultural Solutions

Test Site: University of Guelph (CANN20NET)

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.

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EarthDaily/Scale AI

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.

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SimpleHedge Evaluation

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.

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Yield Prediction Curves

Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI), in partnership with TELUS, is researching the return on investment of variable rate fertilizer applications for producers.

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Reducing Seed Loss

Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) is working on a project to help reduce seed loss in straight-cut canola operations.

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Agtron Remote Monitoring

Seed monitoring systems can be a useful tool for producers, helping mitigate problems like planting too much seed or not having enough seed.

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AgExpert Field

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. 

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Bin Inventory Level Monitoring

North Star Systems is developing a cost-effective solution for measuring inventory levels in grain bins by leveraging their hardware and user platform.

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Axa Remote Sensing

Precision agriculture throughout Western Canada is rapidly growing, but adopting precision agriculture technologies — like variable rate application — is low, according to experts. 

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On-Farm Precision Experimentation

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.

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Fendt & Precision Planting Canola Trials

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.

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Best Management Practices for Converting Marginal Farmland

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.

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BioScout - Identify & Quantify Disease Spores

Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network members are conducting a multi-year project with BioScout to sample this revolutionary technology and help improve Bioscout for use in Western Canadian agriculture. 

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LI-COR Chambers - N2O Emissions Small-Plot Trials

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.

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Bio-Agtive Emissions Farming Small Plot Trials

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.

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Bushel Plus Harvest Loss Monitoring

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.

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Evaluation of the MINS Process for Carbon Credits

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.

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Exploring Soil Moisture, Weather & Forage Biomass Relationships

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.

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Hail Imagery Research

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.

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In-Bin Drying: Top Grade Ag

The In-Bin Drying Monitor is a technology developed by Top Grade Ag that uses a proprietary algorithm with pressure, temperature and humidity sensors to optimize grain drying procedures.

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Saskatchewan Smart Farm Field Data Collection

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.

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Variable Rate Technology Economic Modelling

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.

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Weather Station Array

The Weather Station Array provides a comparison of functionality, platform navigation, installation/uninstallation, reliability of data, user experience, and connectivity of commercially available weather stations.

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HyperLayer Data Concept

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.

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Shelterbelt Project

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.

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Residual Feed Intake (RFI) Testing for Producers/Industry

Each year, the Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production evaluates non-college animals during the feeding trial season through a variety of performance evaluations and research projects.

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Sheep Parasite & Feed Efficiency with Metabolomics

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.

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Floating Island Technology for Livestock Water Remediation

This project evaluates the economic and environmental benefits of using native wetland plants and floating island technology to treat feedlot runoff water.

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Validation of Rapid In-Field Testing to Measure Forage Nitrate Concentration

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.

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Enhancing Climate Change Resiliency & Environmental Sustainability of the Livestock Industry

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.

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Virtual Fence Collars

The Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production (TACLP) team at Olds College is evaluating the effectiveness of virtual fence collars for cattle.

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Herd Management using Artificial Intelligence

Using artificial intelligence for individual animal identification and monitoring is a novel concept that Olds College is exploring with an industrial client.

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Sire Progeny

This project evaluates sire-progeny links, breeding plans and information management/record keeping in multi-sire breeding scenarios on commercial herds.

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Weaning Methods & Tactile Stimulation on Calf Performance, Health & Welfare

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.

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Intercropping Corn for Livestock Grazing Strategies

The TACLP at Olds College is partnering with the University of Manitoba to identify the potential for intercropping corn with high protein forages.

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Pasture/Range Health Assessments

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.

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Teff Grain Cultivation

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.

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Pea Yield & Seed Quality

As food producers explore a broader range of plant-based protein options, there is growing demand for pea protein and flour.

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Small Plot Crop Research

Crop research, small plot trials or full field investigations, is key to Olds College crop research portfolio.

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Interactive Project Map - ArcGIS