The two-day event featured some key informational sessions and tours touching on every aspect of crop production from seeding to harvest, new advancements in technology, and livestock-related research.
The farm-focused and data-driven educational expo is celebrating five years of innovation.
Todd Ormann, vice president of development says AgSmart’s evolution is a testament to their commitment to agricultural innovation and education at Olds College.
“As we celebrate the event’s fifth anniversary, we wanted to rebrand to align seamlessly with the College’s evolving identity. The new brand not only reaffirms our unwavering dedication to agricultural technology but also underscores AgSmart as an integral part of Olds College, where cutting-edge ideas and sustainable solutions are cultivated.”
The expo focused on innovation, demonstration and education showcasing the benefits of investing in equipment and technology to capture data, and how to implement that data to increase productivity and profitability for farming operations.
The event included interactive exhibits, live demos, expert-led educational sessions, and a variety of special events on-site.
Joy Agnew, the vice president of research at Old's College talked about "Technology Readiness vs Readiness for Technology".
She says the Olds College Smart Farm is a key player in field testing new ideas and technology, with it being a commercial-scale operation for both livestock and crop production.
She says with the funding they receive they are able to make management decisions far easier that a producer could and in a more flexible way to test, validate and demonstrate the technology and its impact.
"It essentially is helping provide producers with access to information to help them de-risk adoption of technology. We take on the risk because it's very difficult for farmers to take on the risk of trying something new and possibly unproven on their farm."
The Ag Smart Educational Expo at Old's College gave participants the opportunity to hear from a variety of speakers over the two days