Talking Smart Agriculture with Joy Agnew and Lorna Baird from Olds College

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Food production is essential. Full stop.

As demand for food and the urgency for sustainable crop and animal production increases, our need for better tools increases: artificially intelligent, mechanized, data-driven tools.

With this, however, come challenges:  how do we help get these, so called, "smart" tools into the hands of those who will be using them on the frontlines? And opportunities: how do we start to understand each farm is different and localized data will help to increase sustainable production?

In this episode, we talk with Joy Agnew and Lorna Baird from Olds College of Agriculture and Technology about smart farming, how the College uses its Smart Farm to support famers to use the tools, and how it teaches the next generation of food producers and entrepreneurs to use, develop and test these tools in the field.

We also talk about the Pan Canadian Smart Farm Network that's spreading across the country, with the various locations sharing data and learnings to increase overall knowledge, and the support the College provides entrepreneurs through its Centre for Innovation, as well as partnerships with Alberta's Regional Innovation Networks and the Technology Access Centres.

This is an inspiring episode.
Welcome to Shift.

Bios 

Joy Agnew

Joy grew up on a grain farm near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and earned her Ph.D. in Ag/Bio Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. At Olds College of Agriculture and Technology, Joy oversees the applied research portfolio and smart farm operations. 

Applied research at Olds College is focused on crop and livestock production with a specialty in environmental stewardship, technology integration and data utilization to improve productivity and sustainability of food production.  Joy also has a leadership role in the development of the College's Smart Ag Ecosystem, bringing together the academic programming, applied research, strategic partnerships, smart farm operations, and extension & communication activities to help the College meet its goal to be a leader in Smart Agriculture. In 2021, Joy was named one of Canada’s top 50 most influential people in Canadian Ag by Canadian Western Agribition.

Lorna Baird

Lorna is the Manager of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Olds College Centre for Innovation where she helps people with new business ideas and small to medium-sized businesses access networks of people, organizations and programs that can help them develop their entrepreneurship journey. Lorna also supports Business Development for the Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production at the College where she continues to help those same individuals and businesses develop, validate and demonstrate new technologies or innovative techniques. 

Lorna also co-chairs the Central Alberta Regional Innovation Network, one of eight Regional Innovation Networks across the province that are supported by Alberta Innovates. The networks work collaboratively and share ideas and noteworthy practices. 

Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.