Olds College of Agriculture & Technology

Olds College was thrilled to host a delegation of Brazilian agronomists, farmers and agribusiness leaders who were visiting Canada to better understand Canadian agriculture, management practices and emerging technologies.

During their full day at Olds College, Dr. Felippe Karp, Instructor and Researcher in Werklund School of Agriculture Technology, gave them an inside look at our academic programs, research and our Smart Farm operations here on campus.

🌱 Smart Farm & Field Operations: Toured our fields and trial plots to showcase how we manage regional crop challenges, using real-world data to evaluate and address operational hurdles. We also emphasized the College's vital role in testing and validating commercial agtech for the broader industry.
🚜 Applied Research & Tech Evolution: The group explored our current research trials focused on improving on-farm practices, alongside past milestones in autonomous equipment testing.
📚 Academic Alignment: We highlighted our Bachelor of Digital Agriculture and Precision Agriculture programming. The delegation was particularly impressed by how directly these programs address critical talent and tech gaps in today's ag industry.

During their time in Canada, the group also visited with Steve Larocque at Beyond Agronomy and continued their tour in Saskatchewan to visit local producers, Hutterite colonies and research institutions such as Western Applied Research Corporation.

This summer, Olds College Industry Training & Continuing Education launched a new large-animal vet program for teens (ages 13–17). Over four days, students explored equine and bovine health, herd management, first-aid essentials and the path from vet school to clinical practice.

Highlights:
- Safe handling and restraint in the sheep barn, plus physical exams (mastered quickly — and with smiles!)
- Lab time practicing suturing and injection techniques on fruit.
- Field Trips to VandenBroek Dairy (Torrington), Coulee Equine Facility (near Olds) and Pioneer Veterinary Services (Sundre).

Built on the success of the Intro to Veterinary Medicine for Teens (small-animal focus), this Level 2 large-animal experience ran nearly full this summer.

Read the full story: https://www.oldscollege.ca/news-events/news/2026/hooves-herds-and-hands-on-fun.html

Thanks to everyone who came to check out our campus for Open Farm Days! We had over 80 people join us for bus and walking tours, learning about the research and technologies on our Smart Farm.

Our Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production (TACLP) is the first Canadian research centre to test Halter's virtual fencing collars. This cutting edge technology allows ranchers to precisely manage cattle movement without physical fences.

Read more: https://ow.ly/oCvl50Zz52C

The Olds College Smart Farm is excited to participate in Alberta Open Farm Days this Saturday, Aug. 15!

Join us for an engaging tour and discover innovation in agriculture. Learn more and register today: albertaopenfarmdays.ca

Dr. Nasima Junejo, Research Grant Facilitator at Olds College, recently taught an intensive course on global ag decision-making at Southwest University in Chongqing, China — and was recognized as one of the top instructors of the session!

Learn more: https://ow.ly/qUV650Zz2lG