TELUS Agriculture Continues to Invest in Agtech Innovation on the Smart Farm

Collaborations with TELUS Agriculture

TELUS Agriculture Continues to Invest in Agtech Innovation on the Smart Farm

Olds College and TELUS Agriculture continue their million dollar partnership this growing season in support of the development, acceleration and integration of technology into the global agri-food value chain. This collaboration on an array of innovative projects will help farmers and producers optimize operations and profits to access more accurate, timely data to make informed farm management decisions.

Here are a few of the projects the Olds College Smart Farm and TELUS Agriculture are working on together this growing season.

Variable Rate Technology Economic Modelling

Assessing the return on investment of variable rate technology (VRT) is a precision-ag approach allowing producers to manage defined areas of their fields differently. Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) is working with TELUS Agriculture on an economic model to determine what level of variability is required to make investing in VRT worthwhile. Early results indicate if producers can capitalize on the reduction in environmental footprint by accessing carbon credit programs, VRT should be included as part of the normal operations on the farm.

Variable Rate Application of Nitrogen & Impact on Emissions

OCCI is also evaluating VRT for fertilizer applications, which contain nitrogen, while maintaining or improving yield. Applying fertilizer only in areas and with amounts where it will be utilized by the crop reduces the amount of residual nitrogen in the soil at the end of the cropping season — which could reduce nitrous oxide emissions. This research with TELUS Agriculture could help producers save money, improve yields and reduce their environmental footprint by using VRT.

WeatherFlow Tempest Validation

Researchers are assessing the WeatherFlow Tempest weather station to provide an evaluation of data accuracy (rainfall, wind speed and direction, and temperature), forecast model accuracy, and a literary study of proper station placement and on-farm economic decisions based on localized weather data. This will help TELUS Agriculture expand agriculture package offerings to producers to enable more informed farm management decisions.

WeatherFlow Tempest weather station set up on Field 11 on the Olds College Smart Farm.