The Farm
76 Acres of Real Agricultural Land — Your Classroom.
The YSA farm isn’t a simulation. It’s not a model farm or a demonstration space. It’s a real working agricultural operation — 76 acres of land near Medicine Hat donated by the Yuill Family Foundation — where students show up every day and do real work, alongside real consequences and real rewards.
The Living Classroom
The classroom isn’t a room.
At most schools, the classroom is a room with chairs and a whiteboard. At YSA, the classroom is 76 acres. Every lesson happens in context — because context is what makes knowledge stick.
When you study soil science, you’re standing in a field. When you learn about livestock nutrition, you’re weighing feed in the barn. When you analyze financial data, it’s your enterprise’s data you’re analyzing.
Campus Map
Eight working facilities.
The Crop Fields.
YSA operates active crop production fields for multiple species, including canola, wheat, barley, and specialty crops. Fields are managed by students in the Crop Production and Precision Ag programs, with industry-standard equipment and precision technology. They double as research plots for SAE student projects and controlled variety trials.
Explore Crop Production →
The Greenhouse Complex.
YSA’s greenhouse facility supports year-round plant production across multiple growing environments: hydroponic bays, germination chambers, and soil-based growing beds. It’s the primary production site for the Horticulture & Greenhouse program and provides fresh produce inputs to the Food Science culinary kitchen.
Explore Horticulture & Greenhouse →
The Livestock Facilities.
YSA’s livestock area includes cattle handling facilities, a working corral system, and species-specific housing for cattle, small ruminants, and poultry. Facility design reflects modern animal welfare standards, with low-stress handling systems throughout. The livestock barn is the hub for Livestock Management and Animal Science students.
Explore Livestock Management →
The Poultry Operation.
A dedicated laying hen facility houses YSA’s egg production operation. Designed to industry supply-management standards, the facility gives Egg-Laying Hen Production students full experience with commercial poultry systems — from housing management and egg collection to grading, packaging, and food safety protocols.
Explore Egg-Laying Hen Production →
The Apiary.
The YSA apiary is one of the most distinctive facilities on campus — a working bee yard where Beekeeping students manage hives across the full Alberta season. It’s sited on the farm to serve both honey production and crop pollination goals, and includes a honey extraction and processing room for turning raw comb into finished product.
Explore Beekeeping & Apiary →
The Equipment Yard & Shop.
YSA’s equipment yard holds the working fleet of agricultural machinery — tractors, implements, loaders, and specialty equipment — used by Heavy Equipment and Precision Ag students. The shop facility provides space for mechanical maintenance training and equipment inspection. Industry partners Western Tractor and Industrial Backhoes contribute equipment and expertise.
Explore Heavy Equipment →
The Precision Ag Lab.
The Precision Ag Lab is where technology meets the land. Drone flight operations, GPS data analysis, soil sensor monitoring, and farm data management software are all housed here. Students process real field data from YSA’s own operations alongside commercial-grade precision agriculture platforms.
Explore Precision Ag →
The Culinary Teaching Kitchen.
YSA’s commercial-grade teaching kitchen is the production hub for the Food Science & Value-Added Agriculture program. Equipped for small-batch food processing, students work with ingredients sourced from YSA’s own farm enterprises to develop, test, and market food products. The kitchen also serves as the prep facility for YSA’s annual Farm-to-Table dinner.
Explore Food Science →Farm Operations Philosophy
Not a stage set. A working enterprise.
The YSA farm operates as a genuine agricultural enterprise — not a stage set. Every enterprise on the farm is designed to run at real production levels, generate real revenue, and teach real accountability.
When animals need care at 6:00 AM, they get it. When a crop enterprise loses money, students analyze why. When a product sells well at market, students understand what they did right.
Visit the Campus
See 76 acres for yourself.
YSA welcomes prospective students and their families for campus tours. Tours are led by staff and, when available, student ambassadors — the people who know the land best.
Looking for more? Explore the Programs or find a way to Get Involved.