Focused Efforts

Our state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratory in Beaverlodge, Alberta, is equipped for advanced microbiology and genetics research. Home to NWP’s National Bee Diagnostic Centre (NBDC), the only facility in Canada dedicated to improving pollinator health through pest and pathogen management, this lab is central to our work with ag and forestry partners.

Beyond the lab, our Fairview campus also hosts research plots and animal handling facilities where we explore areas such as animal health and nutrition, feed and forage quality, bioremediation strategies, and more.

Advanced Microbial Diagnostics & Animal Health

Many farmers in Alberta’s north rely on regenerative farming, a practice that promotes soil health while maintaining profitable production. Regenerative farming focuses largely on enhancing soil fertility, biodiversity, water use efficiency, and increasing resilience to climate change through practices such as reduced tillage, rotational grazing, and cover cropping.

The goal of this research is to develop a regenerative agriculture research and education program to enhance ecosystem health and production on northern farms. Regenerative farms are complex, adaptive, and span a diversity of environments, cultures, and values. As such, we have partnered with regenerative agricultural practitioners through the Peace Country Beef and Forage Association, Parkland College and their collaborators in Saskatchewan’s First Nations to guide our research process across local, Indigenous and western knowledge systems. The research program is developed around the most pressing needs of producers, investigating the influence of common regenerative practices on biodiversity, profitability, and animal and pollinator health. This research will provide growers with the tools needed to optimize farming practices and become leaders in the production of sustainably farmed goods while conserving our unique natural resource base in northern Canada.

Honey bees, as all living organisms, are exposed to different kinds of pathogens that affect their survival. Since 2006, honeybee mortality has been increasing worldwide. In an alarming trend, Canadian beekeepers reported overwinter losses that averaged 45% in the last year (2021); doubling previous years. Initial research points toward a surge of biotic (pathogens) and abiotic (weather change, pollution, pesticides) factors that affect stressed and immunosuppressed bees. In addition to diagnostic services, the NBDC supports and conducts research that aims to improve bee health and build sustainability in Canada’s apiculture industry.

Explore NBDC Research

Precision Agriculture Technology

NWP is looking for ways to make northern agriculture more time and energy efficient. The institution has received funding from NSERC via the Applied Research and Technology Partnership (ARTP) grant to explore innovative applications of data-driven precision agriculture (PA) technology.

The research uses automation, alternative energy, and remote monitoring to make PA technology more tenable in northern locations. This kind of technology is widely used on south and central Alberta farms but has less uptake in the north, where cost and access barriers can delay technology adoption. A main objective of this research is to make it easier for northern producers to access and implement PA solutions, which improve farm efficiency and productivity while reducing environmental impact. This research is supported by project collaborators including Range Ward, Xcel Automation, Simark Controls, and the Peace Country Beef and Forage Association.

Research Goals

  • Engage with regional innovators to encourage the uptake of emerging technologies
  • Create opportunities for northern producers to access technical training in down-scalable PA technology
  • Engage in technology improvement studies for non-grid clean electricity generation for grazing, watering, and other livestock systems
  • Adapt PA technologies for use in northern farming by identifying solutions that are useful and user-friendly

Research Team

  • Riley Buker, Project Director
  • Nathan Parlee, Project Director
  • Brett Dillman, Research Associate, plumbing
  • Charles Sanderson, Research Associate, electrical
  • Mark Rochon, Research Associate, electrical
  • Kevin Young, Research Associate, technical support
  • Ghen Tourangeau, Traditional Knowledge Consultant

Get in Touch

Connect with us about how we can help launch your research project.

Office: E401E

Campus: Grande Prairie Campus

Phone: 780-539-2078

Email: research@nwpolytech.ca