To help Olds College create its AgExpert Data Lab, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has committed $200,000 to the College’s Smart Farm. The funding commitment will be over a span of four years.
“The Smart Ag Innovation Centre will be the hub for digital ag in Canada and FCC is thrilled to be a partner through the AgExpert Data Lab,” says Fred Wall, FCC’s vice-president of marketing. “The lab will teach the next generation of farmers how to collect and properly manage farm data. That knowledge helps producers make informed decisions, driving both individual and industry success.”
The lab, located on campus inside the Smart Ag Innovation Centre, is a technologically advanced workspace, available for students, instructors, industry partners and the Smart Farm Integration Team to meet, collaborate and learn.
“Thanks to this investment from FCC, we continue to develop our Olds College Smart Farm,” says Olds College president, Stuart Cullum. “The AgExpert Data Lab brings together data from our agriculture operation, allowing us to analyze and demonstrate innovative technology and practices for entrepreneurs, companies and producers and for student learning.”
According to the news release, in addition to the creation of the AgExpert Data Lab, the donation will help fund the Olds College Smart Farm. Its cutting edge technology to provide a hands-on learning environment for students of the College and an opportunity for industry to develop, integrate and test new agriculture technology and practices.
Current Bachelor of Applied Science, Agribusiness Degree student, Martina Holtkamp says she’s excited about the investment as she’s able to see how technology is evolving in the agriculture industry.
“Having access to the AgExpert Data Lab on campus will be an amazing opportunity for students. It’s a very exciting time to be studying agriculture here at Olds College,” she says.
