Olds College and Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) have created a formal partnership in which AFSC will support applied research on the Olds College Smart Farm.
In 2021 the Olds College research team worked on a proof of concept with AFSC to see if drone imagery in hail-damaged fields could assist assessment, with promising initial results.
Now the two entities are collaborating on three projects in 2022: hail damage classification using drones; analyzing soil moisture probe measurements for moisture deficiency; and exploring soil moisture, weather and forage biomass relationships.
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Olds College and AFSC are also collaborating on ways to provide producers with training and educational programming on new production methods and technologies.
Their agreement is for five years and will be governed by a partnership committee of representatives from both.
“AFSC has a distinguished history in supporting and building Alberta’s agriculture sector, and Olds College is delighted to formally partner with AFSC as we work together on industry-driven applied research,” Olds College vice-president Patrick Machaeck said in a release.
“Our growing partnership with Olds College continues to benefit producers, our clients and the agri-food industry in Alberta,” said AFSC CEO Darryl Kay.
“The joint applied research initiatives we’ll be undertaking over the next five years will advance knowledge and work to improve data collection and analysis, sensor testing and validation, automation technologies, field trials and risk management. We look forward to the road ahead and discovering ways we can use digital technologies, automation and ag tech equipment to benefit the agriculture industry in Alberta.”
