Olds College is partnering with a Toronto technology company to develop drone-based drought detection for Alberta farmland, with field work running through the 2026 and 2027 growing seasons. The project teams the Olds College Centre for Innovation with A.U.G. Signals Ltd. to gather data that could help farmers catch dry conditions earlier.
Under the partnership, college staff and student interns are doing field-level monitoring, flying high-precision drones, and tracking environmental conditions to build high-quality datasets for drought-detection algorithms. The goal is to give producers better timing for irrigation and crop management decisions, potentially cutting losses during dry spells.
The work is backed by a $1.65 million federal investment announced in July 2026 through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriScience Program. Alberta farmers have faced tough drought years recently, with insurance payouts hitting a record $326.5 million in 2023. As of June 2026, about 12 per cent of the province was under active drought conditions.
The Olds College Smart Farm spans 3,600 acres and serves as a living lab for applied agriculture research. The college is a nationally recognized research institution and leads the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network, which connects smart farms across the country.
