In April, Olds College unveiled a new precision agriculture diploma, a program the dean of program development in agriculture technology says aligns with industry needs, and offers the opportunity for students to think in different ways. Olds College’s James Benkie was on hand at AgSmart in August, where he shared some of the details of… Read More
The Smart Farm at Olds College is already beginning to take shape, and now the post-secondary institution has received a new donation to help it grow even further. ATB Financial has announced a donation of $250,000 over a span of five years. The money will be used to grow the college’s high-tech smart farm, and… Read More
A gift of 316 acres of agricultural land located near Carstairs, Alta. was donated to Olds College. Valued at $1.2 million, the donation was made on behalf of the estate of Willem Pistra. “Both my parents would be thrilled to know that the farmland will be contributing to research that will improve farming practices in… Read More
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… Read More
A brand new program with a focus on precision agriculture will be available this fall at Olds College. Being dubbed Techgronomy, graduates will be prepared for careers that require a “deep understanding of the connectedness between agronomy, agriculture machinery/purpose built network management, and data sciences,” the school says. “This diploma program will help students discover… Read More
With a passion for agriculture, research, and teaching, Dr. Joy Agnew will be taking on the position of director, applied research, Centre of Innovation at Olds College. “I’m looking forward to being a part of the growth and collaboration between the Smart Farm and the Olds College Centre for Innovation,” Agnew says. Agnew will be… Read More
A well-known name in Canadian agriculture, Olds College recently named Art Froehlich as thought leader in smart agriculture for the school. This new position, made possible as a result of the donation by David Werklund and Susan Norman, will act as an advisor and industry connector within the Werklund Agriculture Institute, the college says. As thought… Read More
It’s easy to overlook the resources post-secondary institutions provide outside of formal education, but facilities like Olds College’s Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production offer much more than a typical education track. “The Technology Access Centre is a new initiative made possible by NSERC [the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada],” says manager… Read More
As canola moves into flower, farmers are doing a great job scouting, scouting and doing more scouting. If you’re like most farmers, though, seeing insects immediately raises a red flag. While, yes, there are several pest species of note in the canola crop, not everything that moves or crawls on the crop is a pest…. Read More