About Farming Smarter

We Chance the Way People Farm

Based in Lethbridge County, Alberta, we bring farmers, researchers, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers together to solve real-world agricultural challenges. Through practical, science-based research and collaborative innovation, we help producers make informed decision, adopt new technologies, and build resilient farming operations.

Farming Smarter is Western Canada's largest farm-focused crop innovation and research hub.

As a registered Canadian charity and non-profit organization, our work is driven by impact, not profit. We exist to support the people advancing irrigated and dryland crop production across southern Alberta and the Canadian Prairies.

By the Numbers

35

years of agricultural innovation and extension

14

full-time staff

14

summer students

4

part-time team members

30

crop species evaluated annually

1000

of research plots managed each year

100

of trials and demonstrations conducted annually

50

of our Board are primary producers

Founded in Southern Alberta

Farming Smarter is a grassroots, farmer-focused agricultural innovation organization rooted in Southern Alberta. Formed in 2012 through the amalgamation of the Southern Applied Research Association (SARA) and the Southern Alberta Conservation Association (SACA), our organization builds on more than 35 years of farmer-led research, stewardship, and innovation.

Our organization helped advance many of the practices that transformed Prairie agriculture, including zero tillage, continuous cropping, pulse crop integration, improved crop rotations, and soil conservation practices. As agriculture evolved, we expanded our focus to emerging crops, precision agriculture, sustainability, resource stewardship, and innovative production systems.

Today, Farming Smarter bridges the gap between research and adoption through applied research, on-farm testing, education, and collaboration. We help farmers turn new ideas into practical solutions that improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability.

Whether it's a new crop, a new technology, or a new way of thinking, Farming Smarter is here to help farmers learn, adapt, and change the way they farm.

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Innovation Starts with People

Innovation is never just about technology. It's about people working together to test ideas, challenge assumptions, and create solutions that improve farms, businesses, and communities.

Our strength comes from the relationships we build between producers, agronomists, scientists, students, industry partners, and innovators. We believe meaningful progress happens when diverse perspectives come together around a shared goal: creating a stronger future for agriculture.

Read our Strategic Plan

We bridge the gap between research and adoption

Our work combines applied research, on-farm testing, knowledge sharing, and commercialization support to ensure promising ideas become practical solutions.

Through our programs, we:

Conduct unbiased, science-based agronomic research
Evaluate emerging technologies under real-world farm conditions
Support product and technology commercialization
Connect producers with trusted information and professional development opportunities
Foster collaboration across agriculture, academia, government, and industry

Each year, our team manages thousands of research plots and hundreds of trials, generating locally relevant konwledge that helps farmers reduce risk and improve profitability, productivity, and sustainability.

Learn more about our research

Why Farmers Trust Us

Farmer-Focused

Our priorities are shaped by the needs and realities of producers.

Science-Based

Every recommendation is grounded in rigorous research and evidence.

Locally Relevant

Our work reflects the opportunities and challenges of Western Canadian agriculture.

Independent and Unbiased

As a non-profit charity, we're committed to objective research and trusted results.

Collaborative

We bring together the people, knowledge, and resources needed to accelerate innovation.

Long-term and dedicated staff

At Farming Smarter, our greatest strength is our people.

Our team of researchers, agronomists, communicators, field specialists, and innovators combines scientific expertise with practical agricultural experience. Together, they are committed to helping producers succeed.

What truly sets Farming Smarter apart is the longevity of our team. Many staff members have spent years, and in some cases decades, working alongside farmers in Southern Alberta. Their experience provides continuity, trusted relationships, and a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing modern agriculture.

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Board of Directors

Created by farmers for farmers

Farming Smarter is governed under the Alberta Societies Act and is a registered Canadian charity.

Our Board of Directors operates under the Carver model of policy governance, providing strategic direction and fiscal oversight while ensuring the organization remains focused on delivering value to agriculture.

The Board is competency-based and guided by our bylaws, which require that at least half of our directors be primary producers. Today, more than 50% of our Board are farmers, ensuring producer perspectives remain at the heart of our organization.

Learn About Our Board

How We Are Supported

Farming Smarter is a registered Canadian charity and non-profit organization. We fund our work through a diverse mix of research grants, industry partnerships, charitable donations, sponsorships, event revenue, subscriptions, and private contracts.

This diversified funding model allows us to remain focused on delivering practical, science-based research and extension that benefits agriculture across Western Canada.

We also work hard to leverage support from farmers, industry, and donors into larger research investments. Every dollar invested in Farming Smarter helps attract additional funding that expands our research capacity, creates new learning opportunities, and delivers more value back to producers and the agricultural community.

As an independent organization, our goal is simple: generate trustworthy information that helps farmers make better decisions and build stronger, more resilient operations.

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