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uLethbridge Agri-Food Summer Series bringing research and industry together

trevor.kenney — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 19:52:15 +0000

Big ideas are growing in southern Alberta, and it’s one of the reasons the area is one of the world’s most important agricultural zones. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and area producers are looking to ensure ideas continue to germinate with the launch of the uLethbridge Agri-Food Summer Series conversations.

Each month, the uLethbridge Agri-Food Summer Series will bring producers and researchers together to discuss topics related to southern Alberta’s agriculture industry. It’s an opportunity to hear from the people who know this industry inside and out as they generate ideas and push the boundaries of agricultural potential in southern Alberta.

“We’re really excited to launch this series of conversations and showcase some of the active partnerships that are driving innovation in the agriculture industry and helping to solve some of the most pressing issues facing our producers,” says Dr. Danny LeRoy, associate professor of economics in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Faculty of Arts & Science. “It’s also an opportunity to spur new conversations and relationships between the U of L and the agriculture industry.”

The five-part series will kick off virtually on the Zoom platform on Tuesday, June 29 at 5:30 p.m. with Can we save the planet by directing cattle feed to people? The conversation features U of L researcher Dr. Kim Stanford, who grew up on a family farm in the Spring Coulee area before embarking on a career in the research industry that led her to work with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry and eventually the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. She will be joined by Leighton Kolk, who, along with his wife and three adult children, own and operate Kolk Farms Ltd., which is focused on finishing cattle, raising irrigated crops, selling cereal seeds and striving for efficiencies and sustainability in these areas of agriculture.

Climate experts are calling for less meat in our diet to ensure the future viability of the planet, claiming cattle are taking valuable resources away from people and increasing greenhouse gas emissions in the process. But is that the full story? The conversation will focus on how southern Alberta producers are balancing the health of the planet with the important role animal agriculture plays in feeding the growing population.

Le Roy will moderate the discussion and, following the talk, the panel will take questions from listeners, highlighting industry developments, advances in research, and how we as a community can come together to tackle issues faced by southern Alberta cattle producers.

Bev Thornton, executive director for Alberta SouthWest Regional Alliance, which is supporting the series in partnership with SouthGrow, says the talks will highlight the value of industry and research collaborations.

“This Summer Speaker Series enhances the Alberta SouthWest Energizing Agricultural Transformation (EAT) project and the work of SouthGrow, Canada’s Premier Food Corridor (CPFC), and all the partners in the Regional Innovation Network of Southern Alberta (RINSA). Exciting innovations can be sparked by connecting outstanding research programs with the real-world agricultural industry in our regions.”

LeRoy adds the goal of organizers is to eventually bring people together to further solidify working relationships.

“While this first talk will be virtual, we are hoping as COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease, we will be able to present some in-person events as well,” says LeRoy. “We just want to make these conversations available to as many people as possible and hopefully it will spur further collaborations.”

To learn more about the uLethbridge Agri-Food Summer Series, visit the website and attend the first event.

Further scheduled events are as follows:

July — Crops & Irrigation
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Dr. Tom Jensen
Autumn Barnes (BSc ’09) | Canola Council

August — Pollinators
Tuesday, Aiugust 31, 2021
Dr. Shelley Hoover
Alberta Beekeeper Commission Board representative

September — GIS/Smart Farming
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Dr. Craig Coburn
Remi Schmaltz (BMgt ’06) | Decisive Farming

October — Agriculture Economics
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Dr. Mehdi Jourabchi
Producer Panelist TBD

Lethbridge students take business, tech skills to international competition

trevor.kenney — Wed, 29 May 2019 21:14:55 +0000

A team of seven women from Lethbridge will take their business savvy, computer coding and blockchain knowledge to an international competition in Toronto this week. They will compete at the CryptoChicks Hackathon, May 31 to June 2, an event that will feature world leaders in blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, and competitors from around the world, in person and online.

Lethbridge College students Cassandra Olfert and Katherine Campos, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students Kathleen Gonzales, Kairvee Bhatt, Leila Karimi and Mahshid Aghania, and Victoria Park High School student Brooklyn Carlson have been meeting weekly since mid-April to prepare for competition. Jefferson Gardner, certified blockchain expert and CEO and co-founder of InBridge Inc., and Dr. Muhammad Khan, an assistant professor in the U of L Department of Mathematics and Computer Science are leading the students. The Lethbridge team will make two separate, but related, pitches at the competition — one a business solution; the other a code and tech solution — that once combined will solve a real-world problem.

U of L professor Dr. Muhammad Khan, Brooklyn Carlson, Mahshid Aghania, Cassandra Olfert, Katherine Campos, Kathleen Gonzales and Jefferson Gardner have been meeting at Tecconnect weekly in preparation for this weekend’s CryptoChicks Hackathon competition in Toronto. Missing from the photo are team members Kairvee Bhatt and Leila Karimi.

The problem they’ve chosen is ripped from the headlines: “The teams will be creating an end-to-end solution to address the Canadian canola industry’s need for traceability in answer to a trade partner closing its borders because the crop was tainted with an unnamed contaminant,” says Gardner.

Canada is the world’s No. 1 producer and exporter of canola. China, the country’s biggest customer, embargoed Canada’s canola this spring. “We could have brought any problem or solution to the hackathon, but we think our pitches will be particularly relevant and urgent, and the agricultural and blockchain focus will stand out,” Gardner says.

Olfert and Campos, who recently completed their first year of Lethbridge College’s Computer Information Technology program, are working on creating “smart contracts,” pieces of self-executing code that make the product traceable from a seed through processing, and every truck, train and factory in between.

Olfert, who grew up on a farm east of Vauxhall, says she can appreciate the importance of the canola trade dispute and it’s “super exciting” to be learning how blockchain could help protect Alberta’s farmers and their market share. “I think it’s really important to have opportunities like this for women,” Olfert says. “Computer programming is really a male-dominated field. I appreciate the support we’ve been given to attend.”

U of L student Kathleen Gonzales is a neuroscience major, bringing a unique perspective to the team. “Joining CryptoChicks has given me the opportunity to branch out past my field of studies and see how intermingled science, business, technology and agriculture really are,” she says. “By focusing on agriculture, our group aims to connect innovation, science and passion, through ensuring farmers, traders and all who are involved with the business are able to access data and communicate thoroughly across borders and work together towards a better and efficient future.”

If the team sounds diverse in its composition, it’s backed by an equally diverse network led by the Regional Innovation Network of Southern Alberta (RINSA), anAlberta Innovates-supported collaborative partnership of Lethbridge College, the U of L, Economic Development Lethbridge and others. The inclusion of a high school student came about thanks to Career Transitions, a not-for-profit organization with a mandate to support student career explorations, which arranged for students in a high school coding class to visit the Tecconnect innovation centre. Career Transitions is itself a partnership venture by eight K-12 school jurisdictions across southwestern Alberta, the college and university. Corporate sponsors are also supporting the team.

Lethbridge was encouraged to submit a team after someone from CryptoChicks served as a judge at a hackathon held at the U of L. Leveraging the collaborative network already in place in Lethbridge to support technology, entrepreneurship and innovation, the student team was quickly assembled and got to work.

Dr. Samantha Lenci, Lethbridge College Provost and Vice President Academic, says the college’s connections to the community, guest speakers, mentorship and networking opportunities create even more unique ways for students to learn and grow.

“As a college, we encourage our students to extend their learning beyond the walls of their classroom,” she says. “These young women will represent us in a STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and we are so proud. These kinds of ‘Yes, I will’ moments build to more and more moments for the women who have yet to come to college. They are opening doors to success.”

Dr. Khan says he’s proud not only that the team is tackling “an issue of great contemporary importance for the Albertan and Canadian economy,” but that the opportunity showcases aspiring and inspiring women.

“The gender gap in STEM is a bitter reality being challenged by these aspiring developers and entrepreneurs,” Khan says. “I am excited that our team will showcase their talent at the CryptoChicks' AI and Blockchain Hackathon — the grandest stage there is.”

The team’s work dovetails with a larger community effort to bring blockchain to the southern Alberta economy, says Trevor Lewington, CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge.

“Economic Development Lethbridge through Tecconnect is exploring many ways of using blockchain technology to solve real world business problems and provide local industry with a competitive advantage,” Lewington says. “We’re thrilled to support the team heading to the CryptoChicks Hackathon as they do exactly that.”

The team leaves for the competition on Friday.

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uLethbridge Agri-Food Summer Series bringing research and industry together

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Lethbridge students take business, tech skills to international competition

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