East Lansing, Michigan
October 12, 2007
Spinach may be good for you, but
Michigan State University (MSU)
researchers have determined that it may not be the healthiest
crop for some Michigan farmers.
Daryl Warncke, MSU professor of crop and soil sciences, and MSU
Extension regional vegetable educator Jim Breinling initiated a
research project in 2005 aimed at increasing spinach production
in Michigan. A local food processor approached Breinling in 2003
with a problem -- increasingly high demands for frozen spinach
but not enough Michigan growers producing the crop.
Warncke and Breinling received funding from Project GREEEN
(Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and
Environmental Needs), Michigan’s plant agriculture initiative,
to investigate the possibility of growing more spinach in
Michigan.
In 2003, fewer than 100 acres of spinach were grown in Michigan.
Chase Farms, an Oceana County frozen food processor, estimated a
market potential of up to 10 million pounds per year. Filling
this demand would mean boosting Michigan spinach production up
to 1,000 acres and would put more than $500,000 into growers’
pockets annually.
“We collaborated to find growers and answer some important
questions about the crop’s fertility and viability,” Breinling
said.
Warncke and Breinling capitalized on their individual expertise
-- Warncke conducted soil management studies, and Breinling
assisted Oceana County growers who were willing to plant a
spinach crop but needed technical expertise to become familiar
with the new crop.
Initially, spinach appeared to be ideal for Michigan because
it’s a short-season crop that would be in the field just 45 to
50 days. In most cases, growers could plant a second crop in the
same field for increased profits, Breinling said.
Breinling said six growers agreed to try spinach in their
fields. The first growing season went well, but the second year
the crop did not thrive. The main problem was water. Mason and
Oceana counties’ sandy soils were not the right environment for
water-needy spinach.
“Economically, growers were not getting the yields and quality
they needed,” Breinling said.
The project was not over, Breinling said. Now more familiar with
spinach’s need for a continuous water supply, the research team
decided to plant a crop in the muck soils of Newaygo and
Washtenaw counties.
“We introduced Chase Farms to two muck farmers in the Grant area
and one in southeastern Michigan; they have had much more
success,” Breinling said. “Combined, the three farmers grew more
than 250 acres of spinach this year. It’s not thousands of
acres, but there is a market and demand for the product, and it
works for these individuals and the processor.”
Breinling said this is a common result of Extension fieldwork.
“We knew that we could do it -- it was just a matter of matching
the right resources with the crop,” he said. “That’s what
Extension is about -- bringing resources together to make a
project work.”
Though 1,000 acres of spinach may not be in Michigan’s immediate
future, Warncke and Breinling agreed that the industry is better
off because of the Project GREEEN-funded research.
“One crop doesn’t make Michigan’s agriculture industry,”
Breinling said. “That is what makes us the No. 2 state in crop
diversity -- it is the little pieces that make up the whole
picture.”
Founded in 1997, Project GREEEN is a cooperative effort between
plant-based commodities and businesses together with the
Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, MSU Extension and the
Michigan Department of Agriculture to advance Michigan’s economy
through its plant-based agriculture. Its mission is to develop
research and educational programs in response to industry needs,
ensure and improve food safety, and protect and preserve the
quality of the environment.
To learn more about the state’s plant agriculture initiative at
MSU, visit
www.greeen.msu.edu.
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