The targets for a mushroom farm are amongst others:

• Meet market requirements
• Good quality at the lowest possible harvesting costs

To meet the market requirements the farm needs about the same amount of mushrooms every day, seven days per week. Maybe a bit more on one day than the other depending on sales. This means generally picking seven days per week.

In most of the countries picking in the weekend is expensive so the target is often to avoid that when possible, or have mushrooms which are easy to pick. To have a relatively low cost price for picking it also helps to have more or less the same amount of mushrooms per day. So the planning of the picking and the calculation of the number is pickers needed is easier. To achieve all this a good stagger of the mushrooms is an absolute must. This starts with the choice of casing soil and the way the casing is treated.

A fine structured and perfectly finished layer of casing results often in too many mushrooms and a picking period of only 3 to 4 days in the first flush. So choosing a rough casing with an open finish of the surface helps in staggering the first flush.

Then the next important tool is the fructification or pinning. Take time to cool down the room. Take CO2 and room temperature down gradually over a period of at least 11 days. In the beginning the room temperature can be kept around 20° C for about 2 to 3 days. The compost will follow after a few days anyway.

Build in steps that are the same every day and keep humidity at the setpoint required. 95% for the first 4 days of fructification and from there a drop of 1% per day. Make sure that the band is set narrow on the RH because a deviation of just 2% can cost you the staggering you need so badly. So by taking time in this period, time and money can be saved during the picking again.

Just remember, the more un-even it looks the better. And do not look for too many mushrooms.

Avondale, PA — Mushroom growers are entering 2020 with record sales volumes, increasing retail prices and solid demand for fresh mushrooms, according to the American Mushroom Institute.

The September shipment report from the Mushroom Council™ shows domestic mushroom production set a new all-time high. This was the fourth consecutive new monthly high and reflects steady sales growth throughout the summer months. Both June and August volume exceeded 80 million pounds for the first time ever, indicating that mushroom sales are strong year-round. Combined shipments (domestic plus imports) also hit new record highs.

Mark Lang, MBA, Ph.D., University of Tampa, analyzed the recent data trends for the Council. “As mushrooms become a staple item for many Americans and more people start consuming them, demand has risen steadily for the past decade,” said Lang.

Retail prices are also seeing a steady increase. The most recent tracking data from IRI showed that as of Nov. 3, 2019, the average selling price for fresh mushrooms increased from $4.06/lb in October 2018 to $4.17/lb in October 2019, with an average increase of 1% per month.

“Retailers and their shoppers are demonstrating that the demand for fresh mushrooms is no fad—it’s a long-term trend. We see expanding displays and more real estate in the produce department, combined with record high retail prices—all the result of consumers demanding more healthy, flavorful plant-forward foods. Fresh mushrooms are well positioned for even greater growth in the near future,” said Steven Muro, President, Fusion Marketing.

Click here to read the full article

Source: American Mushroom Institute

Instead of habitats made of metal and glass, NASA is exploring technologies that could grow structures out of fungi to become our future homes in the stars, and perhaps lead to more sustainable ways of living on Earth as well.

Creating a livable home for future astronauts means doing more than growing a roof to go over their heads.

Astronauts will need to have all their basic needs met, just like on Earth, and face the additional challenges of living in a harsh environment on a distant world, the US space agency said in a statement.

Keeping that in mind, the myco-architecture project out of NASA’s Ames Research Center in California is prototyping technologies that could “grow” habitats on the Moon, Mars and beyond out of life – specifically, fungi and the unseen underground threads that make up the main part of the fungus, known as mycelia.

“Right now, traditional habitat designs for Mars are like a turtle – carrying our homes with us on our backs – a reliable plan, but with huge energy costs,” said Lynn Rothschild, the principal investigator on the early-stage project.

“Instead, we can harness mycelia (vegetative part of a fungus) to grow these habitats ourselves when we get there”.

Click here for the full article

The future of meat substitutes may not involve plants. While food manufacturers race to bring new soy, wheat and pea-based products to market, a handful of start-ups have been hard at work developing a new kind of meat alternative from fungi.

Two companies in the emerging space are gearing up to launch their first products this year. Emergy Foods, Boulder, Colo., is working with culinary experts to perfect its steak alternative, which will debut in restaurants in Colorado under the newly unveiled Meati brand.

Berkeley Calif.-based Prime Roots, formerly Terramino Foods, also plans to launch its first products in 2020. The company uses Koji, a Japanese fungus traditionally used to make soy sauce and sake, to create several kinds of seafood, including salmon burgers, shrimp, lobster and tuna as well as chicken, sausage and beef.

According to mushroom quotation provided by Shandong Kuangshan Agricultural Products Transaction Market, on January 15, White beech mushroom, Brown Shimeji mushroom and Cordyceps militaris are 3 varieties that show price fall.

1. Price of White beech mushroom has dropped from 16.7 to 15.8 CNY per kg, indicating 5% of decline range.

2. Price of Brown Shimeji mushroom has dropped from 18.3 to 17.5 CNY per kg, indicating 4% of decline range.

3. Price of Cordyceps militaris has dropped from 24 to 20 CNY per kg, indicating 17% of decline range.

On the contrary, on January 15, Enoki mushroom, Seafood mushroom, Superior Shiitake mushroom and Button mushroom are 4 varieties that show price rise.

1. Price of Enoki mushroom has risen from 8 to 8.5 CNY per kg, indicating 6% of increase range.

2. Price of Seafood mushroom has risen from 9.8 to 10.7 CNY per kg, indicating 9% of increase range.

3. Price of Superior Shiitake mushroom has risen from 13 to 13.6 CNY per kg, indicating 5% of increase range.

4. Price of Button mushroom has risen from 12 to 13 CNY per kg, indicating 8% of increase range.

“Price of King oyster mushroom, Agrocybe cylindracea, Shiitake mushroom, Oyster mushroom and Pleurotus geesteranus is respectively at 7.5 CNY, 14 CNY, 9 CNY, 5 CNY and 9 CNY per kg. As Chinese New Year approaches, price of mushroom is possible to rise at a small range in our market,” introduces manager of Shandong Kuangshan Agricultural Products Transaction Market passionately.

Researchers from Tohoku University suggest that consuming mushrooms on a regular basis reduces the risk of prostate cancer in men - especially those aged 50 or older.

It’s a love or hate ingredient, but a new study has revealed a link between eating mushrooms and lower risk of prostate cancer. Researchers from Tohoku University suggest that consuming mushrooms on a regular basis reduces the risk of prostate cancer in men - especially those aged 50 or older. Dr Shu Zhang, who led the study, said: "Test-tube studies and studies conducted on living organisms have shown that mushrooms have the potential to prevent prostate cancer. "However, the relationship between mushroom consumption and incident prostate cancer in humans has never been investigated before. "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first cohort study indicating the prostate cancer-preventive potential of mushrooms at a population level.”

In the study, the researchers surveyed 36,499 men about their lifestyle choices including food consumption, psychical activity and smoking and drinking habits, and analysed their medical records. The results revealed that overall, 3.3% of the participants developed prostate cancer during a follow-up period. However, participants who ate mushrooms once or twice a week had an 8% lower risk of developing the disease, compared to those who ate mushrooms less than once a week. Meanwhile, men who ate mushrooms more than three times a week had a 17% lower risk.

Source: Shivali Best, Mirror online

Miami, OK — J-M Farms, LLC is pleased to announce a new affiliation with Giorgi Mushroom Company and Grupo Monteblanco. They have purchased a minority interest in J-M Farms, LLC, and will be a partner in J-M Farms’ previously-announced modernization of its Miami, OK facilities. The modernization project recently broke ground on December 18, 2019.

“We could not be happier to have both Giorgi Mushroom and Grupo Monteblanco as partners in this project” stated Curtis Jurgensmeyer, President, J-M Farms. “Demand for fresh mushrooms continues to grow and this project will allow us to continue to serve our customers’ increasing need for quality fresh mushrooms.”

“We are very honored to partner with J-M on it’s modernization project. Like our companies, J-M is family-owned with values that are closely aligned with our own,” said Joe Caldwell, President, Giorgi Mushrooms Co, and Alfonso Cano, President, Grupo Monteblanco. “We look forward to working with the J-M team, which has a long, successful history and we look forward to supporting the Miami, Oklahoma community with this expansion.”

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About J-M Farms, Inc.
J-M Farms, Inc. is a family-owned business that packs under the J-M Fresh label. It’s fleet of trucks deliver product to Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa.

About Giorgi Mushroom Company
Giorgi Mushroom Company is a family owned and operated agribusiness in Berks County, PA, and is one of the largest, single-location mushroom producers in the world.

Source: Perishable News / American Mushroom Institute

The world of fungi is wonderful, weird and wild thanks to its rich palette of colors, strange shapes and infinite textures. Contrary to what you've been told, not all colorful mushrooms are deadly, like the red fly agaric. Below are two violet mushrooms that are edible and one beautiful blue mushroom that nobody dares to consume.

Photo above is of an Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethystina)

The amethyst deceiver has a bright lilac color. Its cap and stem become paler and almost white in dry environments or as the mushroom grows older, making it hard to recognize. Thus, the name "deceiver". The violet mushroom can be found in leaf litter of coniferous and deciduous woodland during late summer and autumn. Though people often think that colorful mushrooms are toxic, the amethyst deceiver is edible.

Read the full article and about more edible mushrooms on the webiste of GGTN.