Olds College has announced the creation of a new agriculture-related diploma.
The precision agriculture-techgronomy diploma will focus on agronomy and technology. Techgronomy is the use of technology in agricultural production.
Diploma recipients will be “prepared for careers that require a deep understanding of the connectedness between agronomy, agriculture machinery-purpose built network management, and data sciences,” college president Stuart Cullum said in a press release.
“We know that through the use and integration of technology the agriculture sector is better able to use data to make informed decisions on the farm for enhanced production and profitability.
“Our new program will provide students with an understanding of the value proposition of new technologies and solutions as farming practices continue to change and evolve in today’s high-tech environment.”
James Benkie, dean program development, agriculture technology, added: “At Olds College we see the natural convergence of both agronomy and technology as a key to supporting farmers with on-farm decisions.
“One of the greatest hurdles in precision agriculture is the support required to move forward, it is not always about adopting a whole new farming system, many times it is about using tools such as technology in a different way to find information from different sources to enhance decision-making on the farm.”
The new diploma program will help students “discover ways to integrate technology into current and future farming systems to support not only family farms but ag service providers as well,” he said.
