From autonomous farm equipment and livestock digital imagery demos to expert educational sessions, food trucks and beer gardens, AgSmart 2021 had something for everyone. With over 2,000 people attending the second edition of the two-day educational expo focused on agriculture technology and data across the sector – how to gather it, and how to use it to enhance productivity and profits, AgSmart 2021 was a success.
“We were delighted to welcome over 2,000 attendees to AgSmart 2021 and the Olds College Smart Farm,” comments Patrick Machacek, Vice President, Development & Strategy, Olds College. “With over 40 applied research projects currently underway throughout the Olds College Smart Farm, it was a great couple of days connecting with industry and producers exploring the exciting work that is being done in the agriculture sector.”
AgSmart kicked off with a Digital Plenary Event on the evening of August 9. This allowed for engagement from those who were unable to be onsite for the live event to access the future focused content from FCC’s AgExpert, TELUS Agriculture, THRIVE and Olds College plus numerous on-demand videos.
The expo featured 50 educational sessions from industry experts covering everything from technological advancements in beef production to precision harvest and using data and imagery on-farm. Content streams were focused on cropping and livestock-related content, and provided a unique opportunity for producers to engage with a wide-range of experts from across western Canada including the College’s Smart Farm, Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production, and the Field Crop Development Centre.
AgSmart hosted over 100 exhibitors at the outdoor expo, an increase of 30 per cent from the inaugural show, and had several hands-on agriculture technology demos for people to experience, including Flokk’s herd traceability technology, precision spraying from WEED-IT Quadro and Landview Drones, and autonomous demonstration of the OmniPower platform with Raven.
“We are very excited with being able to proceed with AgSmart 2021 after not being able to host a live event in 2020,” comments Stacy Felkar, Event Co-Manager, AgSmart. “We have been hearing a lot of positive feedback from both attendees and exhibitors. On behalf of AgSmart, we would like to thank all of our partners, sponsors and volunteers who helped make this event a success.”
The event had over 68 volunteers covering a variety of roles throughout the two days. Plans are already underway for AgSmart 2022 taking place next August.