Producers, entrepreneurs and companies in agribusiness and primary agriculture have long been early adopters who embrace innovation and digital transformation. As the world prepares to produce 60 per cent more food by 2050 to feed a growing population, local organizations are thinking decades ahead to meet this demand.
On March 6, Calgary’s agribusiness community gathered at the Calgary Central Library for Uplook LIVE: Navigating Global Trends for Agribusiness in the Calgary Region. The event highlighted the sector’s resilience in the face of trade uncertainties, economic pressures and the increasing demand for sustainable food solutions.
With recent U.S. tariffs fluctuations creating uncertainty, the discussion came at a critical moment for Calgary's agribusiness economy.
“Tariffs threaten jobs, increase prices and pose significant challenges to our economy on both sides of the border. But that’s why it’s so important we talk about this reality and what we can do to diversify our markets,” Geraldine Anderson, Vice President of External Affairs at Calgary Economic Development (CED), told attendees.
“Agribusiness is a key sector of focus for our team here... and we see endless opportunities to blend innovation with tradition to support a future-proofed sector in the Calgary region.”
Calgary’s agribusiness economy is supported by a diverse value chain, including primary agriculture, food manufacturing, wholesalers, distributors, rail and food and beverage services.
Adapting to uncertainty in an evolving economic landscape
Despite challenges like the 2021 droughts that impacted crop production, Canada's primary agriculture industry has rebounded to pre-COVID Gross Domestic Product (GDP) levels. Alberta’s agribusiness industry employs half a million people and contributed $21 billion to provincial GDP in 2023, driven by the highest farm operating revenue in Canada.
“Alberta has a resilient economy, prepared to weather turbulent times,” said Koplovich. 
While agriculture exports represent six per cent of Alberta’s non-energy exports to the United States, diversification remains key, with China, Japan and Turkey holding significant market shares of Alberta beef, canola and other exports.
Between market diversification and continued adoption of technology and innovation, Koplovich noted the Calgary region has two critical opportunities to increase productivity, and retain and expand global demand for Alberta-grown exports.
Harvesting solutions for the future in Calgary
Calgary isn’t just adapting to these global shifts—it’s analyzing them to cultivate the future in the region. Uplook, the city’s economic action plan and the driving force behind our Uplook LIVE series, is guiding the city’s economy toward a vibrant and diversified future.
To build a prosperous future for Calgary, CED scans global trends and images the possibilities in the sector 10, 20, 50 and 100 years from now. Rachelle Bugeaud, CED’s Foresight Manager, shared how the organization leverages foresight to anticipate and plan for the possibilities we want to create in for the region.
“CED uses strategic foresight to develop insights for the future so we can develop sector strategies that take various possibilities into account. We look at what futures are possible to create in the region, and then identify what types of skills, education and even future jobs might exist – so we can make this a reality in Calgary,” said Bugeaud.
She noted five global shifts are shaping the future of the industry not just for agriculture in the Calgary region, but worldwide. These shifts include growing agriculture in more unconventional spaces, the development of autonomous agriculture, the emergence of more designed organisms and products, a future with fewer animals and an industrial bio-revolution.
“These are all things that are becoming possible, and already happening,” Bugeaud shared.
A growing industry globally
A panel featuring industry leaders explored how partnerships between producers, researchers, and investors can drive innovation in agriculture.
Panelists agreed that partnerships between producers, researchers and investments is key to the Calgary region embracing innovation in agriculture.
“The number one thing standing in the way of entrepreneurship and innovation is red tape,” said Ben Graham, President of AdFarm. “Which is a challenge when there are very few industries in the world that can adapt and implement new technology faster than agriculture."
While perceived by some as a traditional sector, producers and leaders in agriculture have embraced digital transformation and new technologies for decades. 
Dawn Trautman, Senior Venture and Innovation Manager at SVG Ventures | THRIVE, a local agribusiness accelerator, pointed to Calgary’s global connectivity of in markets and strengths of Calgary’s innovation ecosystem.
“Unique to the Calgary region – and across Alberta – is the integration of producers directly in agribusiness. These leaders are also sitting on industry boards, participating directly at the forefront of adoption,” said Trautman.
Building capacity in the ecosystem is key to building companies and startups in Calgary, noted Trautman.
“We need continued investment to generate continued growth – we have many young companies with promise to scale, but we need to see continued partnership between the private and public sectors.”
Cross-industry partnerships paired with access to capital is key for businesses to scale, agreed Todd Ormann, Vice President of Development at Olds College of Agriculture and Technology.
“We need to continue thinking about how we create solutions locally here – which means we need long term patient capital,” said Ormann. “And patient capital not only means long term capital, but long term support all the way from ideation, to creating the product, to creating the company, and to getting it to market.”
It takes over $200 million and over eight years to develop an active ingredient and bring it to market, Ormann shared as an example.
“Calgary is a hub national and global hub, but we must invest locally to drive growth.”
Opportunities for talent in agribusiness in Calgary
As the sector continues to adopt technology, there’s an opportunity to re-position the opportunities in agriculture to a variety of talent. Speaking of the talent Olds College is trying to attract, Ormann noted that the future agricultural workforce will come from urban environments.
“Our challenge isn’t finding jobs for these kids; it’s finding the kids. Agriculture is a broad spectrum, from commodity production to controlled environmental agriculture – which means the future of the industry requires a variety of skillsets,” said Ormann.
As the saying goes, three times a day – you can thank a farmer.
“There are opportunities for everyone in agribusiness,” Graham agreed. “You can bring almost everything back to agriculture."
Researchers, producers, tech-savvy individuals could all find an opportunity to build a career – or a company – in agribusiness, the panel agreed.
“The Calgary region is underpinned by innovation,” said Chris Brown, Vice President of Business Development at Calgary Economic Development and panel moderator. “With the industry embracing and adopting artificial intelligence, machine learning and new technologies, there are many opportunities for the future of the industry here.”
Learn more about the vision for Calgary’s economic future, Uplook, here, and explore the possibilities of the Calgary region’s agribusiness sector here.