The 2022 Alberta Wheat Nuffield Scholar, Ken Coles

The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) is a proud investor in Nuffield Canada Scholarships. Each year, scholarships are awarded to anyone furthering their career in agriculture and involved in primary production, industry or governance. To qualify for the $15,000 AWC sponsored scholarship, candidates must be from Alberta, have a field of study that will benefit wheat growers in Alberta and be willing to share what they learn. Nuffield scholars travel for at least 10 weeks during their research to seek knowledge from various places, submit a report on their findings and present it to the Nuffield Board. Nuffield Canada recently announced the 2022 scholars including the AWC Scholarship recipient, Ken Coles from Lethbridge, Alberta.

Ken is the executive director of Farming Smarter, an applied research association and innovation hub in Lethbridge, Alberta and will be studying grassroots, on-farm innovation organizations. “I was on an international zoom call this summer and I realized that the struggle of governments losing interest in agriculture is happening around the world,” says Ken. With his children getting older and Farming Smarter going well, he thought it was the time both personally and professionally to take the opportunity to learn how similar groups work around the world.

Ken has two personal objectives going into the study, the first is to go out and learn something new, the second, and just as importantly, is to make the connections globally, as part of the Nuffield family for continued learning. One of the ways Nuffield sets itself apart from other scholarship programs is that scholars are part of a long-term family and these long-term connections can continue to bring new and innovative ideas to the Alberta agriculture industry. Ken’s specific line of study is to zero-in on organizations like Farming Smarter, non-profit groups that are grassroots, farmer-led organizations that are engaged in doing the work and getting their hands dirty.

While Ken does not yet have the list of organizations he will be studying, he mentions it could involve fledgling and long-serving organizations, both nationally and internationally, depending on the current scope of travel.

Regardless of where his study might take him, you can almost guarantee it will lead to some new efficiencies for the industry.

“I want to gain a few tricks on navigating the challenging environment that we are all in because the more effective organizations like ours are, the better farmers do,” Ken says.

Ken’s study officially started in November 2021 and is expected to be completed in the winter of 2023. Check back in future editions of The Grain Exchange for updates on Ken’s study.