Role of Technology in Sustainable Agriculture

Wednesday November 10, 2021

5:30 - 7pm

Virtual via Zoom Event

Interview/Panel and Q&A

Agriculture has a significant impact on the environment and climate change and we discuss how technology and innovation are helping the agricultural sector become more sustainable. The discussion will include perspectives from the private sector, research and development, and local producers in the Calgary area. Three speakers will be joining our panel, Remi Schmaltz - CEO of Decisive Farming, Joy Agnew - Associate VP, Applied Research, Olds College, and Ryan Wright - President of NuLeaf Farms.

Joy Agnew 

Our first speaker at our event is Joy Agnew from Olds College. Joy grew up on a grain farm near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and earned her M.Sc. in Bioresource and Food Engineering at the University of Alberta and a Ph.D. in Ag/Bio Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. Her graduate work and early career at the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute was focused on answering questions related to on-farm waste management, converting waste to energy, understanding the carbon footprint of agriculture, and helping producers understand how to better manage in-bin grain drying and storage systems.  In 2019, Joy moved to Alberta to join the team at Olds College. As Associate VP Applied Research, Joy oversees the applied research activities in crop production, livestock production, turfgrass production, environmental stewardship, and technology integration while supporting the College's innovation and entrepreneurship activities, smart farm operations, and the barley and triticale breeding program at Lacombe. Joy also holds a leadership role in the development of the College's Smart Ag Ecosystem, bringing together the academic programming, applied research, strategic partnerships, smart farm operations, and extension & communication activities to help the College meet its goal to be a leader in Smart Agriculture. In 2021, Joy was named one of Canada’s top 50 most influential people in Canadian Ag by Canadian Western Agribition.

Ryan Wright

Our second speaker at our event is Ryan Wright from NuLeaf Farms located here in Calgary. Ryan has over 19 years of experience in engineering, construction, commissioning, project management, and product development/ certification of industrial power and automation projects for the automotive and energy sectors. Ryan is one of the founders and CEO of NuLeaf Farms, where he has spent the last six years developing hardware, software, and automation solutions for growing a range of highly perishable crops indoors. Creating a sustainable and secure food future by bringing agricultural production into communities providing a year-round source of locally grown food and employment opportunities.

Remi Schmaltz

Our third speaker is Remi Schmaltz CEO of Decisive Farming. He is also an active angel investor, A100 member, CDL Ag Associate, an advisor and director on several private company boards. He is a proven ag-business leader with a true entrepreneurial passion; experienced in driving meaningful revenue and value in agriculture including raising capital, structuring strategic partnerships, and building businesses.  Notable recognition includes Most significant startup tech transaction of 2020, 40 under 40, and the Astech award.

A Family Dedicated to Advancing Agriculture

The Schmaltz Family has been involved in Ag Business for over 100 years and 4 generations; always leading agriculture to the next level of efficiency and profitability. It all started with the Schmaltz's farming in the late 1800's in the Beiseker, Alberta area. The farm soon evolved into selling short line farm equipment and then Remi's great grandfather expanded into a Ford and Massey Harrison farm equipment dealership called Beiseker Motors. Remi's grandfather Felix joined Beiseker Motors and soon found the next innovation on the farm; fertilizer. That side business grew quickly and Felix soon opened DynAgra Corp, an Ag-Retail selling fertilizer, chemical and seed. In the 70's, Remi's father Bruce took over the business and expanded it to 4 locations, Remi and Tash Schmaltz took over management in 2006 and subsequently sold it in 2012 to CHS Inc after growing revenue to over $30MM. Prior to the sale of the DynAgra Corp, Decisive Farming Corp was launched in 2011 to develop and commercialize agricultural technologies. After successfully building the team and technology, raising venture capital and generating significant revenue TELUS acquired the business in 2019. Today, Remi continues to lead the charge in digital agriculture as an active angel investor, startup advisor and the Director of North American Business Development at TELUS Agriculture.

Beavers in our Landscape

November 16th

7 - 9pm, via Zoom

by Cows and Fish and Fish and Highway 2 Conservation 

Join Cows and Fish in partnership with Highway 2 Conservation to discuss our favorite national animal and its behavior and ecology, as well as the challenges and management implications of this species. This webinar will also include representatives from the Ag Service Boards of County of Barrhead and Athabasca County who will be speaking about the alternative beaver mitigation strategies deployed in the last two years.  

Managing Invasive Species in Fish Creek and throughout Alberta

November 18th

7 - 8pm via Zoom

by Friend of Fish Creek

Join Friends of Fish Creek for an online webinar, outlining the invasive species found in Fish Creek and throughout Alberta. They will also be speaking about how the Friends have been managing them in the park, and how you can help control invasive species.