Second Annual ‘Celebration of Alberta Ag’

Alberta Ag Collaborations

Second Annual ‘Celebration of Alberta Ag’

Olds College hosted its second annual ‘Celebration of Alberta Ag’ on Friday, April 8, 2022 with livestream viewers from all over Alberta, Canada and around the world.

Hosted in the McLellan Arena on Olds College campus, the free two-hour live streamed event was emceed by Jeff Dyck, host of “The Big JD Morning Show” on 96.5 CKFM All Hitt Country, and featured live interviews, produced videos and performances by Alberta-bred, Nashville-based country music star Aaron Goodvin. The event also hosted approximately one hundred staff, faculty and students in person.

Notable highlights from the evening included a feature on the Olds College Producer Panel, updates on the construction of the new Ag Tech Learning Hub and Animal Health Education Centre, as well as recognizing Highfield Investment Group as Olds College’s 2022 Partner of the Year.

Other notable moments included a panel discussion around the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within a research team in providing valuable perspectives to projects.

“The diversity of the perspectives and the backgrounds that we have really makes the Olds College Centre for Innovation team a powerhouse within the research world,” comments Dr. Joy Agnew, Associate Vice President, Applied Research. “As EDI concepts become more important, we are incredibly proud to say that more than 60 per cent of our research team is female.”

Conversation around diversity continued later on during the Associate Deans panel discussion where they spoke about the increase of both urban and international students within the student population.

“Agriculture is a valuable industry in Alberta,” comments Mary Dallas, Associate Dean, School of Life Science & Business. “It doesn’t matter if you weren’t born and raised on a family farm — there are many lucrative and exciting opportunities for you to work in Alberta ag.”

The College would like to send a huge thank you to all the viewers, volunteers, vendors and sponsors who helped to make the event a success.