Drones and Vertical Farming – the Future of Alberta Agriculture?
Alberta’s agriculture and agri-food sector is taking off – and for good reason!
The province has seen substantial development and modernization across the board in recent months with the agriculture sector at the forefront – undergoing numerous changes through technological innovation and considerable investment and job growth in local production operations.
One recent major investment in Alberta from GoodLeaf Farms, Canada’s largest vertical farming company, targeted Calgary for building a 74,000-square-foot vertical farm in the city’s southeast quadrant. The farm will employ roughly 70 skilled workers in Calgary and will provide an opportunity for the company to partner with post-secondary programs in Alberta, such as Lakeland College’s Crop Technology Diploma or their Post-Bachelor Commercial Agriculture Production Certificate.
GoodLeaf Farms Calgary facility will be expandable, allowing for future development to double the size of their operation when needed. This facility will provide more than one million pounds of fresh, local greens each year, such as radishes, arugula, broccoli, pea shoots, baby spinach, kale, and more, and will hit the shelves of grocery stores across Western Canada in 2023.
GoodLeaf Farms received $2.73 million from the Alberta Government’s Investment and Growth Fund, and the company sets out to use advanced technology to “grow microgreens and baby greens in Canada year-round, no matter the season, climate or weather. The plants are grown in a complex hydroponics system with traditional ebb-and-flood irrigation to feed nutrient-rich water to the plants, and specialized LED lights that are engineered to emulate the red and blue wavelengths of the light spectrum to mimic the spring sun — ideal conditions for plants to maximize photosynthesis. Because the farm is indoors in an environment that is almost entirely controlled, there are no pests, bugs or birds — and thus no pesticides, herbicides or fungicides are used. It is also environmentally sustainable, using 95 per cent less water than a traditional outdoor farm would.”
Another company offering significant improvements to the agriculture and agri-food sector in Alberta is Pegasus Imagery. Based out of Villeneuve Airport, Pegasus Imagery designs, manufactures, and operates long range drones and sensors to deliver data solutions at scale for defense, agriculture surveillance, environmental and wildlife monitoring, emergency management, and public safety. In terms of agriculture, drones provide efficient solutions for detecting issues such as drought, disease, or pest damage. Drones, alternatively known as Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), allow farmers to map out their fields quickly and on a regular basis which provides a better chance of solving problems that may arise within the crop, and minimizes the possibility of heavy field vehicles reducing soil compaction and causing plant damage that can affect healthy growth.
As can be seen, the demand for highly skilled and technologically advanced workers in the agriculture sector in Alberta continues to rise at an exponential pace. Fortunately, post-secondary institutions in Alberta can, and will meet the employment demand of the future through innovative programs such as the first Bachelor of Agriculture Technology offered in Canada at Lakeland College in Vermilion, Alberta.
Lakeland College continues to be a pioneer in the agriculture and food production education space by providing sophisticated hands-on training in agriculture technology, commercial crop production, crop technology, and agribusiness marketing, finance, production, and tourism. These programs offer students the opportunity to work with over 25 Ag technologies such as drones, artificial intelligence, and software, and ultimately students graduate with expertise and technical skills involving precision data systems, machine learning, artificial intelligence, robotics, and bioengineering. Over the last 10 years, Lakeland College has experienced a 200% enrolment growth in agriculture programs, and demand continues to rise.
As such, it is vital for post-secondary institutions to continue working collaboratively with industry, government, and current and prospective students to ensure that Alberta’s agriculture industry of tomorrow is well-staffed with an experienced and highly skilled labour force. Thankfully, institutions in Alberta, such as Lakeland College, offer the most advanced, effective, and hands-on programs to train personnel for future success – with some students possibly starting their post-graduate careers at Calgary’s GoodLeaf Farms or Villeneuve’s Pegasus Imagery!
