Taking steps for improving the future of agronomy

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Sunny South News

• Farming Smarter’s executive director Ken Coles presents at the
organization’s annual conference in February

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

Several speakers took to the stage to speak on a variety of topics during the annual Farming Smarter Conference and Trade Show in Lethbridge Feb. 12-13. 

The two-day event featured information, products and ideas for the region’s farmers, including Farming Smarter’s executive director Ken Coles, who shared his insight and outlook on the future of agronomy in Alberta with his presentation entitled, “Back to the Futurists: Discovering the direction of agronomy and future research.” 

Coles shared some background on his passion for agronomy and began his presentation with a definition of agronomy.

“The word comes from the Greek roots of agros meaning field, and nomos meaning arranging or managing so it’s basically the management of fields,” said Coles, pointing out the Wikepedia definition states that agronomy is “the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation or land conservation.”

“I often like to describe agronomy as the study of energy efficiency in crop production,” he said, noting several historical points about agronomy over the last several centuries. He also pointed out some aspects of his own journey in the world of agronomy. 

He highlighted a recent study just released, from the Simpson Centre in Calgary that stated from 2013 to the present day, “we’ve seen a reduction from about 0.8 billion to 0.6 billion in ag innovation research.” 

“So we’re now the lowest of all G7 countries per ag GDP (gross domestic product) when it comes to investing in agriculture innovation and agronomy,” said Coles, adding it could be a major issue moving forward “that we’re not investing appropriately in our agriculture.” 

Cole also pointed out future career opportunities in the field for students who have chosen to focus on agriculture and agronomy and noted the positive impact Farming Smarter is having on future generations and Alberta’s future farmers. 

Coles concluded his presentation by summing up four key points that he thinks Albertans “need to use to build a good future in agronomy.” The first, is focusing on agronomy research. 

“I don’t think we can progress our agronomic knowledge without study and I think it needs to be regional and system specific,” said Cole. “It should be interdisciplinary but it should also include technology.” 

The second and third points include redesigning innovation funding models and building human capital, the latter which he noted is “Probably the most important.” Coles stressed using caution with metrics and how they should be applied. 

“Having metrics that are both long-term and meaningful at the farm level is going to be very important,” he said, noting the need to also consider time frames and the importance of integrating education with research. 

“We only learn by doing research … every time we’re faced with a new problem (and) we don’t have the answers, we go to research. That’s the only way we can continue to progress.” 

He said Canada needs to put a focus on building stronger relationships instead of trying to solve problems with better processes or technology. That includes incorporating a strategy that will “attract the brightest minds to agriculture,” said Coles, adding they need to create (a) voice for science based agriculture. 

“I think we need to communicate the complexities of agriculture …. I think agriculture’s too complex to have one voice and we can’t be afraid to voice every different aspect that’s important. It’s impacts are tremendous,” explained Coles.  

In conclusion, Coles noted the importance of raising the profile and prestige for agronomists and scientists, with a need to ensure that policy makers are well informed and encouraging everyone to engage in regional and global networks to help find solutions. 

“Together let’s make agronomy great again,” said Coles.