The Olds College Smart Farm is one of 14 projects which will receive funding through a recent investment by PrairiesCan.
The announcement was made last week on the campus of the local post-secondary institution.
Todd Ormann, Vice President, Development at Olds College of Agriculture & Technology, says a lot of the $3 million dollars in support they are receiving will go towards applied research.
Ormann was able to tour more visitors around the Olds College Smart Farm last week including Dan Vandal, Minister for PrairiesCan.
Ormann says PrairiesCan and Alberta’s Ministry of Agriculture have been very supportive of the Olds College Smart Farm. He adds, without this type of funding there wouldn’t be this type of research. According to Ormann, the last 4 to 5 years there have been roughly 380 plus companies that have come through the Smart Farm and about 80 to 90 projects per year – sometimes up to 100.
According to Ormann, roughly 2,200 people have come through the Olds College Smart Farm as part of 150 different tours over the past two years. He adds, it has ranged everything from farmers groups to the Federal Ag Senate Committee and the idea for them is to showcase the research that is being done, as well as to talk about agriculture.