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Ageducationcontinues tobridge the divide
betweenoldandnewschool
When you picture life on the
farm, what do you see? You might think
of hayfields or cattle grazing in a pasture.
Perhaps images of combines and tractors
with seeding implements come to mind.
But what about digital field maps, robots
milking cattle or farmers using tablets in
the field?
Prairie farms have come a long way
from the acres of land once hand-tilled
and planted by settlers—agriculture
today is a high-tech, multi-billion-dollar
global industry. Agricultural education
has changed exponentially since the
early days of farming, and it’s not just
the latest innovations in farm machinery
that farmers need to know about. To be
successful, today’s farmer must be an en-
trepreneur with the savvy to understand
commodity markets, manage employees
and negotiate relationships with financial
institutions. In short, farming education
needs to cover a lot more than the tradi-
tional basics.
That may sound daunting, but for a
student considering a career in agricul-
ture, these are exciting times.
A few years ago, courses in crop
scouting were teaching crop and pest
identification by having students record
their observations with paper and pen.
Today’s students have traded clunky
clipboards for sleek tablets with handy
apps that make recording observations a
breeze. Meanwhile, tech-savvy farmers
are taking crop scouting to a whole new
level with the use of Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles (UAVs). Originally developed for
military reconnaissance, these electric
aircraft use digital cameras to provide
instant aerial photography of crops for
By Jack payne
HEADof
THE CLASS
As technology advances, so does the
demand for farmers who know how
to use it. Industry is increasingly
asking educators to produce a more
highly specialized labour force, and
graduating students are finding
themselves a hot commodity in the
job market.
Field LearningGoes Digital
a surprisingly reasonable cost. This isn’t
a far-off dream, either—this technology
is already here and is taught in both the
classroom and the field.
Farmers can also keep tabs on their op-
erations from afar, using a mobile device
to monitor the condition of their grain
bins or control their irrigation systems,
all while receiving market and weather
updates to the palm of their hand. With
a growing number of farm-specific apps
available, a smartphone or tablet is now an
indispensible tool on the farm.
Perhaps the only thing that hasn’t
changed in agriculture is the importance
of keeping informed—after all, it’s the
latest industry innovations that allow
Prairie producers to maintain a strong
foothold in the world market. In
High-
lights of the Alberta Economy 2012
, the
provincial government acknowledges
agricultural and agri-food production
as key to the provincial economy. And
initiatives such as Campus Alberta span
the province, promoting lifelong learning,
research and innovation opportunities,
as well as a strong emphasis on entrepre-
neurial skills.
As a result, education has become a
blend of old and new: students still learn
the basic principles of agronomy, but they
also learn how new technology plays a
leading role in the application of these
principles. And as technology advances,
so does the demand for farmers who know
how to use it. Industry is increasingly
asking educators to produce a more highly
specialized labour force, and graduating
students are finding themselves a hot com-
modity in the job market.
That’s not to say that modern agricul-
tural education is only relevant to ambi-
tious young graduates seeking a career
in big-business farming. The family farm
may be a century-old business model, but
it is still a risky venture, requiring not
only capital, but also business manage-
ment skills and tech savvy. With technol-
ogy advancing so rapidly, partnerships
between industry and educational insti-
tutions that provide the knowledge and
skills development will become more
common.
Jack Payne is an agronomy instructor in the
School of Agriculture at Olds College.
Spring
2014
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