Evaluation of the Potential for Agricultural Development at the Hanford Site

Evans, Robert G. ; Hattendorf, Mary J. ; Kincaid, Charles T.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (U.S.)

关键词: Genetic Engineering;    Animals;    Fibers;    Breeding;    Economics;   

DOI  :  10.2172/965196
RP-ID  :  PNNL-13125
RP-ID  :  AC05-76RL01830
RP-ID  :  965196

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

By 2050, when cleanup of the Hanford Site is expected to be completed, large worldwide demands to increase the global production of animal and fish protein, food, and fiber are anticipated, despite advancements in crop breeding, genetic engineering, and other technologies. The most likely large areas for expanded irrigation in the Pacific Northwest are the undeveloped East High areas of the Columbia Basin Project and non-restricted areas within the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State. The area known as the Hanford Site has all the components that favor successful irrigated farming. Constraints to agricultural development of the Hanford Site are political and social, not economic or technical. Obtaining adequate water rights for any irrigated development will be a major issue. Numerous anticipated future advances in irrigation and resource conservation techniques such as precision agriculture techniques, improved irrigation systems, and irrigation system controls will greatly minimize the negative environmental impacts of agricultural activities.