EAST LANSING, Mich. — Spinach may become another of Michigan’s niche crops in coming years, according to researchers.

Michigan State University Agricultural Experiment Station researcher Darryl Warncke and Mason County extension office Director Jim Breinling conducted the research between 2004-06. They found that spinach doesn’t grow well in the southwestern part of the state, namely Oceana and Mason counties.

The problem? Dry, sandy soil. During the first year of the experiment, in which six farmers from these counties planted and harvested a small amount of spinach, things went well. In the second year the crop did poorly.

In the third year, the researchers persuaded a southeastern Michigan farmer to try growing more spinach. According to Warncke the farmer, located in Manchester, had already been growing a small amount of the crop for the Campbell company. The farmer would drive the harvested crop to Ohio for processing.

Things went well there and in Newaygo County, some 40 miles north of Grand Rapids, where spinach was also planted.

Warncke’s role was to conduct soil management studies, while Breinling worked with Oceana County growers who needed to gain some familiarity with spinach as a crop. As it turns out, the soils in Washtenaw and Newaygo counties have a high organic content, Warncke said, and sufficient moisture.

“If we can develop about 1,000 acres of spinach, that would be good,” Warncke said. “Maybe it could go more than that. It could be very beneficial for the farmers that would be growing the spinach.” The reason is increased demand for spinach in the Midwest.

Chase Farms, located in western Michigan, initiated the study based on its own market data that showed there is increased demand. Spinach filled a niche in Chase Farms’ “processing sequence,” Warncke said.

Spinach is a short-season crop and is only in the field 45-60 days, which means producers would have time to plant a second crop. “We’ll continue to work with the growers and Chase Farms to see if we can keep this going and expand,” Warncke said.

For more information about the spinach research as well as other research funded by Project GREEEN, go online to www.greeen.msu.edu