The Hermiston Agricultural Research & Extension Center
serves nearly 500,000 acres of irrigated agriculture in Oregon
and Washington's Columbia Basin. The center concentrates on discovery
and implementation of agricultural and horticultural opportunities
and provides solutions to production restraints. Remodeled laboratories,
new and refurbished equipment provide station and campus scientists
with a modern research facility. In 1991 growers, processors,
and businesses of the region, through the efforts of the Blue
Mountain Potato Growers Association, contributed four center pivot
irrigation systems worth more than $150,000 making the center
one of the few experiment stations in the U.S. with extensive
modern irrigation capabilities. An additional center pivot system
was added in 2005 through support of local agricultural interests. This center boasts the greatest research acreage under center pivot irrigation than any Experiment Station in the Pacific Norhtwest, possibly the west.
Currently HAREC has
four research sub-units: potato varietal development, horticultural
production and quality, integrated pest management, and riparian and stream ecology; and two
extension units: plant pathology/diagnostics and commodity-crops
production and groundwater quality. Faculty cooperate with scientists
in the Departments of Crop & Soil Science, Horticulture, Entomology,
Botany & Plant Pathology, Food Science & Technology, BioResource
Engineering, and the Integrated Plant Protection Center from OSU's
main campus in Corvallis, OR. Cooperative research is conducted
with other state experiment stations, the Oregon Department of
Agriculture, University of Idaho, Washington State University,
USDA, Oregon Deptarment of Fish and Wildlife, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Ag Canada. Funding to support research efforts originates from a large number of granting agencies, including private, state, and federal sources.
Research at HAREC emphasizes
identification of new crops and production practices, plant breeding
and varietal evaluation, integrated pest management of insects
and insect transmitted diseases, plant disease control and environmental
issues.
The Hermiston center
has worked to identify adapted crops and develop production practices
for the region. Research and extension strive to alleviate restraints
to existing crop production. In recent years the center provided
leadership, research, and knowledge essential to allow growers
to diversify production and convert 30,000 acres of commodity
crops to high-value crops. The leadership role of the station
led to selection of value-added agriculture as the Morrow-Umatilla
Regional Strategy. The strategy and associated activity have brought
over $30,000,000 in processing plant construction to the area
and over $50,000,000 in annual economic return.
The newest addition to the research effort has been the project directed toward understanding the ecology of riparian and stream issues, particularly how agriculture impacts stream health and the subsequent impact on salmon. A better understanding of these issues will provide important opportunities in the future to improve stream conditions, where needed, not only for the benefit of salmon but for all wildlife.
See the Projects link on this website or see those listed in
Oregon Invests http://128.193.121.223/ORIN/
for more information related to current research and extension
projects at HAREC.
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