The People Behind the Technology

OLDS COLLEGE CENTRE FOR INNOVATION — FOCUSED ON PRACTICAL, INDUSTRY-DRIVEN APPLIED RESEARCH

Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) is the applied research division of Olds College with a focus on agriculture and smart ag technology.

Industry partners connect with OCCI for support in the development and testing of innovative products in core areas: crop production, livestock production, environmental stewardship, cereal breeding and technology integration. These focus areas align with infrastructure at the College, available expertise and gaps identified by the agriculture sector. The Smart Farm was built to support start-up development, validation, scaling and demonstration of agriculture technologies and practices. Olds College is connected with Alberta Innovates, the Central Alberta Regional Innovation Network (CARIN), SVG Thrive and UCeed with the goals of: • Encouraging innovation, creating and sustaining a healthy economy, and solving problems within the agriculture industry. • Supporting businesses by guiding them to the right partners through Olds College networks of businesses and organizations throughout Alberta and Canada. • Providing training and resources to developers to help them market their products effectively. Since 2018, OCCI has had discussions with 185 organizations looking to engage with the College — resulting in very high success rates. To date, over 100 organizations have engaged on a project with OCCI, and a large percentage of those include small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Many of these projects are Alberta-based and have significant relevance and value to local and regional producers. OCCI incorporates its applied research activities into work-integrated learning opportunities for students, and focuses on practical, industry-driven research that can be easily implemented by the agriculture industry.

OVER 100 ORGANIZATIONS HAVE ENGAGED ON A PROJECT WITH OCCI.

185

COMPANIES & ORGANIZATIONS 148

(80%) SMEs

104

(56%) engaged on a project

89

(48%) Alberta-based

100

SMEs (68%) engaged on a project

79

SMEs (53%) Alberta-based

71 of the 185

are actively engaged on a project for 2022 (63 of which are SMEs)

OCCI incorporates its applied research activities into work-integrated learning opportunities for students, and focuses on practical, industry-driven research that can be easily implemented by the agriculture industry.

CROP RESEARCH — FROM THE GROUND UP

RESEARCH AREA

In 2021, the crop research team worked on 25 projects that strive to meet key research goals.

With 3,600 acres of farmland to work with, the crop research team at Olds College is able to perform in-field crop research with small plot trials and full-field commercial scale investigations.

The key research goals for this group are to: • Develop and test ways to improve agronomic practices. • Enhance yields, while consuming fewer resources. • Transition to a climate-resilient agriculture economy. In 2021, the crop research team worked on 25 projects that strive to meet these goals. For the first time in Canada, optical spray technology was tested at farm level — in replicated field trials — and achieved strong results with significant reductions and efficiencies in the chemical amount application. Funding partners for this project include Western Grains Research Foundation and Alberta Innovates.

An ongoing project with Ducks Unlimited Canada on enhanced yields in winter wheat looks at improving profitability and suitability for growing conditions in central Alberta. The results were promising — the crop seemed to benefit from the head start over the comparison spring wheat crop and it didn’t require spraying herbicide during the first year of testing. Even early grazing by deer didn’t seem to impact the health of the crop. Over the last three years, the team has been testing fall-seeded rye with great success. The main objective was looking at winter survivability, winter kill, disease resistance and yield. The findings are very encouraging and should provide a good option for cereal growers — especially during the drought prone years. Another ongoing survey funded by the Alberta Wheat Commission is looking into the prevalence of disease and pests in cereal fields. For the coming year, the focus will be on root lesion nematodes and a possible spatial correlation with wire worm infestations. In addition, projects are underway to test beneficial nematode species as biological control for canola insect pests and understand if they can be an important component of integrated pest management. An Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada project with funding from the Canadian Canola Council looked at nitrogen use and efficiency, application rates, and other factors that impact the environmental footprint of this crucial crop. Contract research is also part of the work being undertaken each year. Companies like Nufarm, FMC, Brett Young and Adama put their products and hybrid seed to the test using the extensive resources available at Olds College and the Smart Farm. As with all the work being done on the Smart Farm, the crop research team delivers results that can be applied to real farms to meet the goals of efficiency, profitability and sustainability.