Olds College researchers are working alongside TELUS Agriculture to improve cellular service in rural Alberta in order to utilize smart ag technologies.
Olds College is evaluating the TeleSense Spider product, a technology for the remote monitoring of commodity storage in bins, and its user interface to provide unbiased information on the functionality and general experience working with the product.
Olds College is evaluating the functionality, effectiveness and experience of ChrysaLabs soil nutrient probe in numerous field types and environmental conditions (soil moisture, soil temperature, ambient temperature, frozen soil).
The Crop Scan 3300H Grain Analyzer is an agricultural digital technology that is installed on the college’s combine, and is capable of measuring protein and moisture content of harvested grain, oil seeds, and pulse crops in near-real time.
element 4 produces self-powered, wireless modular sensor technology that is adaptable to most environments. Olds College of Agriculture & Technology is working alongside element 4 to further improve and develop their IoT devices and autonomous sensors — featuring unique energy harvesting and storage technologies — for use in commercial settings.
Olds College is collecting a data package of weather information and crop measurements for Metos Canada to validate their yield calculator, and provide additional measurements to further develop the algorithm into a crop growth model.
Olds College of Agriculture & Technology, TELUS Business and TELUS Agriculture are researching solutions to improve cellular service in rural Alberta to better utilize smart ag technology in the future. Currently researchers are assessing the effectiveness of the Zetifi ZetiCell and ZetiRover technologies in improving connectivity by LTE to WiFi technology in a typical rural prairie setting.
Olds College is assessing the second version of the Snow Acres Canada soil moisture sensor system “The Well” as it’s in the final stages of product development.
Olds College is comparing the accuracy and functionality of soil sensors and their capabilities to measure soil properties, such as moisture and salinity, to allow for faster and informed decision making.
Olds College is evaluating how the Spornado Sampler contributes to the canola fungicide application decision process. The College will evaluate how Spornado lab results influence the timing, speed, ease, confidence, and final recommendation of the fungicide application decision making process in canola.
Olds College is working with METOS Canada on their platform utility for sclerotinia disease prediction modelling in canola by collecting data with multiple Pessl Metos in-field weather stations.
Olds College is gathering independent data on the functionality and accuracy of soil nutrient sensors over a two-year period.
Olds College is assessing the WeatherFlow Tempest Weather station on the Smart Farm in partnership with TELUS Agriculture. Researchers will provide an evaluation of Tempest data accuracy (rainfall, wind speed and direction, and temperature).
Olds College is conducting in-field trials for fungicide/desiccant variable rate technology (VRT) applications to determine how they affect production costs, profitability, and operational requirements.
Olds College is reviewing existing precision Ag and GIS software systems to determine the percent overlap reduction based on as-applied or task data from equipment typically used for sectional control applications in Western Canada.
Uploading and utilizing prescription files for variable rate (VR) fertilizing, seeding and spraying is challenging due to different file formats and various models of displays being used in the field.
Olds College Smart Farm deploys numerous weather stations for farm management decisions, research, and demonstration purposes.
In partnership with TELUS Agriculture, researchers are evaluating variable rate technology (VRT) for fertilizer applications on the Smart Farm with a focus on nitrogen.