Olds College president Stuart Cullum announces a new partnership with Saskatchewan Polytechnic. (Liam O’Connor photo)

Partnership gives Prairie ag students new 800-acre opportunity

Saskatchewan farmland bequest expanded Smart Farm eastward

Students from Saskatchewan Polytechnic and Olds College will be getting more opportunities to collaborate with each other on a large scale. The two institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which entails both schools working together for five years on various programs, notably Olds College’s Smart Farm operation. The partnership comes as a result […] Read more

Environmental measures to be studied

Environmental measures to be studied

Reading Time: < 1 minute Old College’s Smart Farm has been given a $440,000 federal grant for research on livestock production — specifically to “test products and technologies for improving environmental sustainability and climate change resiliency in Western Canada.” The money will be used by the college’s Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production, specifically a 308-acre site at Pitstra Farm […] Read more


Tech savvy urban kids wanted

Reading Time: < 1 minute A $100,000 donation from “serial ag entrepreneur” Robert Saik will be used to create two new scholarships at Olds College.  Beginning in 2023, two students from urban locations enrolled in the college’s Agriculture Technology programs will receive $2,500 scholarships.  Saik, CEO of AGvisorPRO, said he strongly supports the college’s efforts to train students in advanced […] Read more

Olds College, USask working together on ag-tech research

Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College is partnering up with the University of Saskatchewan on agricultural technology research. The two schools recently signed a five-year memorandum of understanding “to collaborate in joint activities related to automation and increased incorporation of digital data in agriculture.” That will include a working relationship between Olds College’s Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production […] Read more


Layering on digital data

Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College Smart Farm has received a $300,000 donation from BASF Digital Farming for HyperLayer data concept.  This process collects and analyzes several layers of data from across the Smart Farm’s 2,800 acres.  “It centres around compiling topographical data, detailed soil nutrient and moisture mapping, multi-spectral and hyper-spectral imagery, yield data, and other layers of […] Read more

A series of floating islands in large tanks grow a variety of common wetland species to see which is most effective at removing water contaminants such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

Putting Mother Nature’s water filter to the test

It’s called phytoremediation and using native species as filters could be big for the feedlot sector

Reading Time: 3 minutes Walking through the wetlands at Olds College is an education unto itself: Native plants and trees line every path that loops around 20 constructed ponds where waterfowl swim and songbirds flit from cattail to cattail. But the wetlands are also home to something equally important — wetland research. “Managing resources like water is critical,” said […] Read more


A DOT (now OmniPower) autonomous unit at work on the Olds College Smart Farm. (Olds College video screengrab via YouTube)

College farms, GFM Discovery Farm to get smarter together

Two Alberta colleges sign on for new CAAIN-backed network

A pair of Alberta college farms and Glacier FarmMedia’s Saskatchewan farm are the first to plug into a national network of “smart farms” to improve the ag sector’s smart technology experience. The Olds College Smart Farm will lead the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network, which will also include Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm at Langham, Sask. and […] Read more

Alberta colleges strike an alliance

Reading Time: < 1 minute Lethbridge College and Olds College have signed an agreement to work co-operatively on applied research. The memorandum of understanding will sometimes see the two colleges conduct joint projects but will also have them “refer companies to each other based on the best fit with infrastructure and research expertise, and share relevant data and data networks.” […] Read more



Olds College’s Smart Farm has been working with Telus and other tech providers to create networks for its extensive array of technologies. The school is now partnering with the telco’s newly created ag unit.

Smart Farm partners with Telus Agriculture

Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College has struck a $1-million partnership with Telus Agriculture that will see the school’s Smart Farm serve as a “living lab to conduct applied research and test the real-world application of new technology in a commercial-scale agriculture setting.” This includes evaluating technology such as internet-connected weather stations and field sensors in live conditions. Telus […] Read more