Careers Grow at Farming Smarter

Since February 2024, Ashley Wagenaar joined Farming Smarter as its Conservation Agronomist to help farmers innovate through on-farm research.

This week, the organization waves farewell as she embarks on the next step of her journey as the Agriculture Relations Director at Potato Growers of Alberta (PGA).

Farming Smarter established a new position to aid farmers with on-farm research projects. Ashley’s passion for food production drives her to help farmers throughout southern Alberta.

Her career led her to jump at the new position.

“I graduated from university and immediately found myself in a position working with vegetable production. I didn’t expect to end up in agriculture, but I loved the lifestyle and tangible, independent work outside,” Ashley reflects.

Her passion for food production ignited, she recognized the impact it has on her community and became determined to ensure it remained positive.

“It’s very important to do food production well, so we can keep doing it in the future,” she states.

She sought an opportunity to expand and round out her skills beyond what she had developed after a decade in the production side of the industry.

“We have great agricultural practices here and we’re doing a great job being sustainable in the way we farm. I think we can always do better and Farming Smarter has a realistic approach,” Ashley adds.

This drew her to Farming Smarter, and its new Conservation Agronomist role was a perfect opportunity for her.

“I thought it would be cool to see the research side of the industry. I’d get to work with farmers I already knew, as well as meet new people on the other side of the industry.” she comments. “I was excited for a chance to see something new, use the knowledge I already have, but in all of these new crops I haven’t worked with.”

As a Conservation Agronomist, Ashley works alongside farmers to help them execute research projects on farms. This let her start to develop the agronomy science skills required to be a critical part of advancing sustainable agriculture in Alberta.

It was the perfect opportunity to transition from production to research.

“It was a crazy opportunity to see how much work actually goes into research projects. Furthering public knowledge requires so much work; I knew that research was a big entity on its own, but I didn’t appreciate the amount of writing and collaborating with farmers, and finding partners,” Ashley laughs as she reflects on the past year.

“It was eye-opening – there’s a lot more here than just designing a research trial and hoping to see some results. It was so cool to see, along with the follow-through.”

For her, it was an invaluable experience to have the curtain pulled back and see the work that goes into research projects. Everything that’s required to plan a project, put it in the ground, harvest it, and extrapolate the data in a way that anyone can understand what we’re seeing from the results.

“It made me appreciate the hard work and dedication that’s poured into each project,” Ashley says. “I was happy to be part of such a passionate team at Farming Smarter.”

The Ides of Passion

Ultimately, the same passion that led her to explore other crops at Farming Smarter would lead to a new opportunity.

Reflecting on her time here helped to clear the tumultuous storm surrounding her decision. “The more I got to learn about other crops, the more passionate about improving our food system I started to feel. I kept being inspired with new ideas to try on potatoes – it just woke me up to my passion for them.”

“I felt torn when I first considered this position, but it blended my experience at Farming Smarter, my experience with farmers, and my experience with potatoes into one package that looked like the perfect role for me,” she remarks.

“I was excited, but I already enjoyed what I was doing. I thought about it for a long time – I didn’t want to leave but I knew I regret it if I saw someone else in that role,” Ashley remarks.

This recognition of a refocused passion drives Ashley to elevate the prestige of potato growers in Alberta through her new position.

As the Agriculture Relations Director, Ashley will represent the ideals and research goals of Alberta’s potato growers across the country and over borders. Her job will take her to other regions like Prince Edward Island, Idaho, and Washington to share valuable research from Alberta and bring back the information she finds valuable for growers here.

“I want to make a potato the most sustainable it can be. But not only in southern Alberta – I think southern Alberta potato growers do an incredible job and have a lot of cutting-edge practices,” she states.

“They adjust practices based on soil types, don’t need to fumigate, and even with the short season, some work to establish cover crops before and after the growing season,” she adds.

By the end of her career, Ashley hopes to leave Alberta in the list of premier potato research zones.

“I want to contribute to other regions adopting the practices we use here in southern Alberta. It would be fantastic to see a potato research conference hosted in Alberta that’s likened to ones found in Idaho and Washington – we have the best practices and research, I think people could learn a lot if they had an opportunity to come to Alberta and learn about these practices they can adopt,” Ashley asserts.

“This sounds like a position that could set me up to see that.”

As Ashley takes her leave as Farming Smarter’s Conservation Agronomist, she has a final farewell and statement to southern Alberta farmers – those she met and those she hopes to meet.

“Take advantage of the resources available to you for on-farm research!”

“On-farm research is insanely hard and working at Farming Smarter opened my eyes to just how hard it is for farms to do it. Yet there are so many opportunities to get funding and extra support on your farm.”

“Anyone who has a question, idea, or problem – don’t be afraid to reach out and get some help. There are lots of people who will happily assist you regardless of the research project you want to do. There is no problem you must go through alone.”

“The hardest part is writing the application but help for it is only an ask away. This support can ensure your time & land earn while you learn.”