When Courtney Wallace first started looking into post-secondary opportunities, she wasn't sure where she wanted to end up - all she knew was that her background in and passion for agriculture would lead her where she wanted to go.

The fourth generation beef cattle farmer and 4-H member was researching post-secondary options when a Lakeland College alumnus suggested she look into Lakeland for their amazing hands-on learning.

“I started doing some digging into Lakeland,” Wallace says. “The more I looked into it, the more I reached out to people and asked them about their Lakeland experience, the more I just started to feel like I was home. When I left home and came to Lakeland, there wasn't a difference. It was a very friendly environment.”

That's what sold her on Lakeland - a farm tour, an overview of what her first year would be like, and the hands-on opportunities she'd find here.

She enrolled in the animal science technology program, in the beef major, and learned a lot in this diploma program.

“All of the instructors and my classmates made my Lakeland experience enjoyable and something I will remember for the rest of my life,” Wallace explains. “Right off the bat, we started halter breaking our heifers. It was a huge team bonding moment for us. We taught each other, too. We had people who'd handled animals before and people who'd never held a rope before. It was a huge experience for me.”

In her second year, Wallace joined the Student-Managed Farm - Powered by New Holland purebred beef unit as the public relations coordinator, which she cites as one of the highlights of her experience.

“Being part of a team of that scale really gave me industry connections and developed my skills to be able to go home and run my family's own purebred operation that we had just started.”

Perhaps the most important thing she realized during her first two years at Lakeland was that she wasn't going to be finished her education after two years.

A future in ag tech

Wallace began looking into “double dipping” - staying a third year to earn another diploma to go along with the one she was finishing up. It was perfect timing when Lakeland announced their new agriculture technology degree - the first of its kind in Canada.

“I had always wanted to go for my degree. It was always on my bucket list.”

She attended information sessions on the new program and was sold on it when she learned the program had been created in consultation with industry members with the aim of students being ready to take on industry challenges right after graduation.

“I'm not tech savvy,” Wallace explains. “I wanted to challenge myself. So far, it has definitely been a challenge but it's so good and I don't regret my decision to take it.”

As part of the inaugural bachelor of agriculture technology class, Wallace has been busy learning about emerging ag tech, advanced animal handling, leadership, business and more. She has been connecting with and working with tech developers and researchers, growing more familiar with how to use various pieces of technology as well as how to incorporate them into an ag operation.

Wallace and her classmates have toured various facilities and offered recommendations of how those operations could be improved. She has been piloting drones and learning about the numerous adapters that can be used with them, mapping and surveying fields.

“A huge thing that we're working on now is One Cup A.I.,” Wallace says. “It's an image recognition system to help detect animal lameness and identification on the farm. It has actually led me to take a job with One Cup A.I., working on algorithms to be able to process some of the video they've taken here on campus and help them integrate technology into the system so they can move from the developmental stage and go commercial.”

Wallace and her classmates have also undertaken community projects - her group's project took them to Kitscoty to teach school children about composting and worms. They've drafted quick start manuals for GPS technology in New Holland tractors and then received feedback on their projects from the second year crop tech students who used them in their own classes.

A world of opportunity

As Wallace moves towards finishing up her first year in the agriculture technology degree program, her thoughts have turned to her first-year practicum and opportunities this program has opened up for her. She is currently working with faculty on the feasibility of an international practicum and has a clear vision for her future.

“Up north, where I'm from, technology isn't really a focus. I want to be able to take what I learn here and integrate it - not just in my hometown, but throughout Canada to help meet challenges in the ag industry, like increasing sustainability,” Wallace explains. “I'm really focused on the research field, which leads to a lot of opportunity abroad.”

With the hands-on learning offered to her in the ag tech degree program, Wallace plans to be equipped to help the ag industry meet those challenges.

Photos: Courtney Wallace presents some of the technology she and her classmates are working with at the grand opening of the Agriculture Technology Centre in September. She also chatted with guests at the grand opening.