OLDS — The Olds College of Agriculture & Technology named Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) its 2023 Partner of the Year.
The award was presented Aug. 1 during the first day of AgSmart, the college's two-day, outdoor exhibition showcasing the latest in agriculture innovations and practices.
“This recognition celebrates AFSC's exceptional collaboration and significant contributions to the agriculture and agri-food industry in Alberta,” a news release issued by the college said.
“Collaboration between Olds College and AFSC has been instrumental in driving innovation, providing technical solutions, and creating valuable training opportunities for the agriculture industry,” the release added.
“Remarkable progress has been made together in advancing knowledge, improving data collection and analysis, and integrating cutting-edge technologies to address real-world agricultural challenges.”
Some of those partnerships include drone-based classification of hail damage, analysis of soil moisture probe measurements to address moisture deficiency, and exploration of the relationships between soil moisture, weather patterns, and forage biomass.
“These initiatives aim to revolutionize the agriculture industry through innovative technologies and methodologies,” the release said.
AFSC has also helped Olds College students by delivering presentations and guest lectures on topics such as data collection, risk management, financial analysis, and technology integration.
In return, the college has provided specialized training for AFSC staff, focusing on crop identification and strategies to reduce loss.
"We take great pride in acknowledging AFSC as our esteemed partner of the year for their unwavering dedication to supporting Alberta's vibrant agriculture sector," Olds College vice-president of development Todd Ormann said in the news release.
"Their collaboration has played a pivotal role in advancing applied research and addressing the industry's day-to-day challenges.
“Together, we have achieved remarkable progress in harnessing technology and implementing best practices, benefiting producers and nurturing the next generation of industry leaders."
"This award is a testament to the extraordinary collaborations that we have fostered within the agricultural community where partnerships play a critical role in our college’s success and they have a profound impact on the lives of our students and the quality of their education.," Olds College president Ben Cecil said during the AgSmart ceremony.
AFSC CEO Darryl Kay said the company is proud to receive the award.
“With Olds College, we share a common desire to work together to grow and sustain the agriculture industry,” he said in the release.
“Our partnership fosters opportunity to help drive innovation that benefits producers, our clients and the agri-food industry in Alberta.”
“Our collaboration on joint applied research initiatives with the Smart Farm has provided AFSC with boots-on-the-ground testing and learnings for technologies and practices that aim to help producers in real agriculture settings.
“This focus continues to inspire the work we do, further strengthening our commitment to developing solutions to the common challenges faced by our industry.”
During the announcement at AgSmart, Kay said, "we’ve continued to grow and prosper for the better part of two decades and both our institutions have a long-standing foundational history in agriculture. It’s at the core of our organizations. It’s really who we are. So it’s just great to find a partner to work with."
"Looking ahead, I’m excited to see the partnership between AFSC and Olds College continue to grow and evolve. At the end of the day, it’s producers in this province that will benefit from this work and that’s what’s really exciting to me," he added.
Olds College vice-president of development Todd Ormann also said the agriculture industry faces big challenges in the years ahead, not only with a growing population worldwide, but with the that society is more and more urbanized and there are fewer people on the farm.
"The challenge that we see in agriculture going forward is not just about producing food, it’s now how we produce food and this is also where you see partners like AFSC come in to play, because we do have to do things differently, Ormann said.
After announcement at AgSmart, Cecil was asked why the award was announced twice -- before and during AgSmart.
"The advance notice, that just let everybody know in the industry that this is a great opportunity to come down here to AgSmart, see what there is to see and see just how AFSC has connected their business operations into the entire sector and its integration with the college." he said.
"AFSC has been an outstanding partner. Recognizing them formally at probably the biggest technology integration research show in Western Canada is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate their relationship with the college in such a formal setting."
