When Walker Balan and Wylee Squair began their practicum working with Lakeland College's research team, they learned that bison and cattle are entirely different animals.

The two practicum students both graduated with agribusiness diplomas before deciding to enrol in the bachelor of agriculture technology in 2021, the first year the program was offered. Both from cow-calf backgrounds, they jumped at the opportunity to complete their practicums working with Dr. Yuri Montanholi at Lakeland College on a project on remote sensing applied to bison farming, which is being funded by Alberta Innovates and highly endorsed by the Canadian Bison Association.

“Taking the bachelor program was an intriguing opportunity, especially with it being the first one in Canada,” Balan says. “There's a lot to learn. I don't come from a bison background at all, it was just taking a lean to learn new things.”

The projects the two students are working on are funded by Alberta Innovates and are designed to find hands-off ways to monitor and work with bison.

“With bison, you need a hands-off approach,” Squair explains. “These projects allow you to track what's going on with them without getting too close."

Balan adds, “Every time you physically work with bison, it sets them back in production. They lose efficiency. We are trying to take away the stresses and setbacks that come with physically handling bison in the production system using technologies like infrared cameras, drones, and a remote walk-over weigh scale.”

They are also working on a project watching videos of bison in captivity in Spain and another where they analyze bison behaviour on a day-to-day basis in partnership with a master's student from Brazil.

Award-winning work

An important part of the agriculture technology degree's practicum experience is making industry connections. In July, Balan and Squair attended the International Bison Convention in Saskatoon, where they met producers, scientists and students from all over North America and Europe. The conference is only held every 5 years.

“They were really keen on what we were doing and intrigued to learn about it,” Balan says. “It's rewarding to see that what we're doing might make a difference to the bison industry.”

Squair agrees, saying, “It's validating to know that there is interest in what we're doing and a demand for it. It's a good feeling knowing that we put all this work into it and there is a professional interest in it.”

At the conference, Balan and Squair participated in a poster contest about their projects, competing against master's and PhD students. Squair won first place for his poster on the drone monitoring project on cow-calf pairing and Balan won third for his poster on the “self-serving unit” for monitoring bison performance.

It was a highlight for Balan and Squair, who are now considering pursuing a master's degree after finishing their bachelor of agriculture technology degree at Lakeland College.