Blair Bateman
Agricultural Technology Professional
My Story
Growing up in Saskatchewan, I was immersed in agriculture from day one. My childhood was spent on a family farm and as I grew up I started working for producers, learning firsthand how challenging modern farming can be. My tech journey began early, learning to use computers and later fixing broken phones, a skill that would prove invaluable in my future endeavours.
After spending multiple years working in agriculture and seeing firsthand the adoption of technology in agriculture, I realized there was a need to develop the skills for modern agriculture. This led me to enroll in Olds College's Precision Agriculture Techgronomy diploma program in 2021, in which I graduated with distinction. I gained valuable knowledge by working with equipment data, creating variable rate prescriptions, working with GNSS, satellite imagery, and understanding the science behind farming. But more importantly, I learnt firsthand about the massive gap between what technology could do and what farmers were using, as that included me.
Since graduating and starting work in precision agriculture research at Olds College Centre for Innovation, I slowly began learning coding on my own. A significant difference between my previous experiences learning to code and this time is having a mentor with expertise in geospatial coding and working with agricultural data. This mentor demonstrated his capabilities in working with yield data and overcoming yield monitor calibration issues. My research experience has shown me that there's a need for people with agricultural experience, as I've seen farmers struggle with technology that should make their lives easier but wasn't designed with their actual workflows in mind.
That's precisely why I'm committing to this intensive 28-week journey to develop geospatial Python coding skills. I want to become the bridge between these two worlds. This learning program is built around real agricultural data and practical applications. With AI advancing so rapidly, the need for people who can ensure these powerful tools are developed with farming realities in mind has never been more urgent. That's the challenge I'm taking on, combining my farm background, precision ag education from Olds College, and current research experience to create something unique and necessary.