Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) hosted its fourth annual Research Showcase in Edmonton on January 21st. Nearly 400 individuals involved with Alberta’s diverse agriculture industry attended, showing how much interest there is in hearing the latest developments in agriculture research and innovation. The event featured presenters and a selection of specially chosen research projects, all highlighting the impact RDAR is having on agriculture research and development, not just in Alberta, but across Canada.
RDAR’s Research Showcase is being consistently viewed as an important industry event, which has been reflected by the year-over-year growth in attendance, with an approximate 25% increase over 2025.
Another indicator in the event’s popularity is interest in researchers wanting to showcase their work. Twenty-two projects were showcased this year, highlighting a variety of projects, including:
• defining optimum seeding rate for new feed barley varieties
• Field border delineation using imagery deep learning for advancing digital-first ambitions in crop insurance
• Genome wide association study to identify markers for stripe rust virulence and resistance in diverse Canadian wheat panels
• Assessment of the population structure of E. coli O157 from cattle and associated food safety risks
• Developing an antimicrobial resistance surveillance program for bulk tank milk
• Expanding opportunities for Western Canadian faba bean (Vicia faba) as a feedstuff for broiler chickens and laying hens and mineral composition of Alberta pasture grass over the grazing period
• Engineering Next-Generation Phages to Protect Dairy Calves from Johne’s Disease
The full list of projects and the presenting researchers may be viewed here.
A short program, hosted by Real Agriculture’s Shaun Haney, complemented the poster presentations. Greetings from the Government of Alberta – from both the governing United Conservative Party and the opposition New Democratic Party – illustrated non-partisan support for agriculture in Alberta. A fireside chat with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation’s Deputy Minister Jason Hale also showed the support the Department has for RDAR and its initiatives. Two significant projects were highlighted, and a producer panel discussing the benefits of on-farm research rounded out the program.
The first highlighted project presentation was from the CEO and co-founder of Cellar Insights, Terry Sydoryk. He has over 25 years of senior leadership experience building and scaling companies in Canada’s innovation ecosystem. Cellar Insights is an ag tech company that uses advanced sensing and cloud analytics to help potato growers protect crop quality and maximize marketable yield in long-term storage. Cellar Insight’s potato storage solution helps potato growers reduce post-harvest losses through evidence-based storage management. By translating real-time data into practical decision making, this project supports more efficient use of inputs, protects producer revenues, and advances broader policy objectives related to food security, waste reduction, and climate-smart agriculture.
The second featured project presentation was delivered by Kim Sturgess, founder and Vice President of WaterSMART Solutions Ltd., a services organization committed to improving water management through better technologies and practices across western Canada and beyond. Kim has led the development of collaborative watershed management models and systems over the last 20 years and has supported water management planning in industry and government.
WaterSMART’s work on creating operating models for irrigation districts provides a roadmap for water use efficiency by advancing data-driven decision tools, scalable best practices, and adaptive management strategies. The roadmap supports sustainable irrigation policy objectives by helping producers optimize water allocation, enhance drought preparedness, and safeguard ecosystems. It is also used to advocate for policy changes with both municipal and provincial governments.
The final segment of the program was the RDAR Producer Panel. Three Alberta based producers were invited to speak to the audience about their experiences with adopting new innovations on farm, as well as exploring their past interactions with the research community. Doug Wray, Angela Kumlin, and Tasha Alexander participated in the conversation with Shaun Haney. All three stressed that researchers need to listen to producers about the challenges they are facing and identify proposals and solutions that will rise to meet these. Moreover, all stressed that solutions need to be practical and feasible, and trial and error is the general “research” done on farm.
RDAR now looks forward to delivering its summer event – Round-Up on June 17th, when the organization will take a more practical and producer focused look at the benefits of early adoption and on-farm innovation in Alberta.
If you would like to view the RDAR Research Showcase, in part, or as a whole, please follow these links:
• The 2026 RDAR Research Showcase can be viewed in full here.
• The Cellar Insights presentation can be viewed here.
• The WaterSmart presentation can be viewed here.
• The RDAR Producer Panel can be viewed here.
• To see the selected poster projects for this year’s Research Showcase and to learn more about the researchers involved, click here .