OLDS — AgSmart, the Olds College of Agriculture & Technology’s fifth annual outdoor agricultural display and innovation expo, held on July 30 and 31, attracted more than 3,600 attendees, up 500 from last year’s attendance, a news release issued by the college says.
The event featured a wide variety of educational sessions, live demonstrations, interactive exhibits, and special events, offering participants a look at the future of farming and the many innovations occurring in the agricultural industry.
More than 50 educational sessions from industry experts were offered, covering everything from artificial intelligence in agriculture and controlled environment agriculture to on-farm data management.
A total of 126 exhibitors were there as well, offering hands-on agriculture technology demos for people to experience, including Landview’s drone precision spraying, the Mojow autonomous tractor and Smart Paddock’s cattle tracking technology.
Alberta Crop Diagnostics Day (ACDD) was held at AgSmart on July 31. It featured information sessions and demonstration plots regarding pulse, grains and canola. The ACDD crop plots were part of 100 crop plots included in AgSmart this year.
The expo also provided an opportunity for producers to check out projects undertaken by the college’s Smart Farm & Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production. Examples of those projects include precision spraying and predictive mapping.
"After five years of growth, AgSmart seems to have hit its stride,” Olds College vice-president of development Todd Ormann said in the news release.
“This year's show built on that foundation of being an educational exhibition, an event to help industry learn and disseminate information about our important industry of agriculture. It was great to see the increased exhibitors and the new seed and technology displays,” he added.
