2019 ASHS Annual Conference

The Columbia Basin region in Oregon has over 500,000 acres of high yielding irrigated cropland. The Oregon State University (OSU) Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center (HAREC) is strategically located within the Columbia Basin to provide irrigated agricultural research and extension support regionally and beyond. While potato is the central rotational crop, over 200 cultivated plant species are produced. The horticulture program at HAREC has been vacant for five years until September 2016, when it was filled at the assistant professor level with an academic appointment of 75% research and 25% extension. The five-year fallow duration enabled the unique opportunity to restructure and design a research program from the ground up. The newly formed HAREC horticulture program has diverse crop responsibilities within specialty irrigated crops, ranging from annual row crops such as onion, to perennial small fruits such as blueberry. With the wide range of crop responsibilities that fall under the horticultural management umbrella, I have been able to find direction by utilizing the extension component of my appointment to meet with growers to develop a needs assessment to formulate research projects and subsequent funding avenues over the last 2.5 years.

The overall theme of my program is to enhance irrigated horticultural production systems while promoting environmentally centered approaches. The program is oriented to provide applied scientific research-based solutions to current grower challenges. From the needs assessment, I identified priority challenges that stakeholders and I consider to be fundamental bottlenecks in the long-term viability of regional production systems. These assessed bottlenecks’ are large-scale challenges, which have shaped the theme of my research program. Currently, there are the three main project groups that compliment my program theme focused on 1) reducing groundwater contamination from fertilizer leaching; 2) improving efficiency and method of crop protection chemical applications; and 3) effective land management strategies to foster beneficial insects and cropping pollinators.

One of the main projects, which I believe to be the single greatest concern for regional agricultural viability addresses groundwater nitrate contamination. Over the last three decades in the Lower Umatilla Basin, both water quantity and quality have declined, prompting declarations of Critical Groundwater Areas (CGA), and a Groundwater Management Area (GWMA). Concentrations of groundwater nitrate continue to rise and few research efforts are focusing on strategies to help identify and manage irrigated cropping system nitrate sources. I have approached the challenge on two fronts: 1) by initiating and leading a comprehensive interdisciplinary collaborative group (USDA NIFA Hatch) to work together on funding acquisition, brainstorming, and ongoing research efforts; and 2) by implementing short-term (3 year) research projects to provide best stewardship practices to reduce fertilizer losses, such as the evaluation of sub-surface drip irrigation. The collaborative project is within the first year of initiation, and has already worked together with two local action committees, two OSU research stations, OSU extension, state agencies (Oregon Dept. of Agriculture, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Health Authority), local agencies (Umatilla and Morrow Counties, City of Boardman, Hermiston, Irrigon and Umatilla), Umatilla and Morrow Soil & Water Conservation Districts, Confederated Tribal entities, private organizations (4 companies), irrigation districts and associated stakeholders. This level of cooperation between multi-disciplinary scientists, stakeholders, and tribal representatives is unprecedented in the region and is being leveraged to create a center of excellence to reverse groundwater contamination.

All of my research projects are oriented to be inclusive of local stakeholders driving research priorities, which then expand to state and nationally based colleague cooperation to leverage research expertise, experience, successful funding acquisition, and long-lasting professional relationships.

My extension program is centered on providing educational opportunities through research-based information. To help disseminate information to stakeholders, I have published three extension publications. I have started research projects that have been disseminated to stakeholders that resulted in newly created opportunities for on-farm grower cooperative projects. I strive to include local producers in my program development and on-going projects. One particular area which has provided significant traction for my program and built strong extension relationships has been through organizing grower based conference sessions to promulgate locally relevant vegetable research and training classes. I am the session organizer and chair for the vegetable (2017 -present) and the organic sessions (2017) of the Hermiston Farm Fair (HFF, 2000 participants) the Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association (PNVA, 2200 participants) vegetable session (2017 -present). Aside from crop production, a key educational need for regional producers is proper chemical usage and safety. Thus, I organize the CORE Pesticide (OR, WA, ID) session at the HFF that offers two sessions of training, providing 16 core pesticide re-certification credits to 320 participants (2017 -present). To accompany the conference program organization, I also deliver seminars at the sessions.

Scholarship outcomes from my research and extension program over the past 2.5 years with OSU have demonstrated the traction of my program in a local, regional, and national capacity. I am actively writing grants to support research activities, with a total of 21 proposals submitted. Eight of the proposals have been funded resulting in a total of $885,881 awarded, with $268,481 to my program. I anticipate greater funding success in upcoming years as 8 of the 13 not-funded proposals (totaling $14,430,031) were submitted to federal sources, are currently undergoing revisions to be resubmitted. I have published five peer-reviewed publications, have two in preparation and have data for an additional two manuscripts to be started in mid-2019. Three extension publications have been published with one more currently in preparation. To help facilitate my program goals of research and extension I have delivered 26 regional and national conference presentations and have reached over 4500 peers and stakeholders.

Significant potential exists for the OSU HAREC horticulture program to directly impact Columbia Basin specialty irrigated crop productivity and diversity, as well as the general agricultural knowledge base. Looking toward the future, the new generation of agricultural scientists will be responsible for continuing the industries progress in an environmentally conscious and economically viable direction, which personally provides me inspiration and dedication.