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

Smart farm competition encourages farmers to adopt technology

Competition will serve as opportunity to create and develop smart farm networks

The Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN) is seeking applications for a competition geared toward creating or developing new smart farm networks. Funding under this initiative will support collaborative on-farm tech innovations in hopes encouraging farmers to adopt emergent agriculture technology. CAAIN receives funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to address challenges […] Read more

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


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

The DOT autonomous platform during a demonstration at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in September 2019.

Olds College acquires self-driving DOT platform

Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College has acquired a DOT Power Platform for its Smart Farm. The self-driving platform can be equipped with a variety of implements. In addition to the platform, the college has acquired a DOT Seeder-SeedMaster Ultra DSR, DOT Sprayer-Pattison Connect, and the DOT-ready New Leader NL5000 nutrient applicator. “Our goal is to demonstrate how this […] Read more


Olds College Smart Farm expanding thanks to gift of land

Olds College Smart Farm expanding thanks to gift of land

Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College Smart Farm is expanding thanks to a gift of 320 acres of farmland from George and Marge Steckler. The Smart Farm was launched in 2018 with 110 acres and has since expanded to more than 2,000 acres. It features soil monitors, digital weather stations, wireless grain bin sensors, multispectral imaging, precision ag tools, […] Read more

Sure, drones draw a crowd, but like other farm tools today, they need to earn their keep by generating usable data that actually increases profits.

The farm data overload needs a fix

Ag tech event shows future of farming is data driven — but 'we're not there yet'

Reading Time: 5 minutes Jay Bruggencate has a bit of a bone to pick with the ag-tech industry. “We’ve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into smart equipment that knows what it’s doing but can’t talk to each other,” said the Lacombe-area farmer at the recent AgSmart event at Olds College. “There’s so much data now available to us […] Read more


Olds College gets funding boost for ag tech

Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College is getting a boost for its Smart Ag Innovation Centre thanks to $500,000 in funding from UFA. The contribution, to be made over the next five years, will allow the college to create an ‘innovation lab’ in the centre. The lab will be “a dedicated technological hub on campus where students and faculty […] Read more

Olds College president Stuart Cullum and former student Catalina Oitzl plant a soil and crop evaluation sensor 
to mark the official launch of the Olds College Smart Farm.

Students will find tomorrow’s technology today at ‘smart farm’

Operation will use tech ranging from drones 
and data analytics to multispectral imaging and AI

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s not often you find yourself in the middle of a field with full Wi-Fi bars on your phone. But what else would you expect from a ‘smart farm?’ “This is the classroom coming alive,” said Jason Bradley, director of smart ag for Olds College. “The smart farm is a place where students can get […] Read more