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USA HLP goes California (1)


An annual tradition is the Hessische Landesfachgruppe Pilzanbau (HLP) study trip that visits mushroom farms abroad. Distance is no object, and this September the destination was California in the USA. By Bert Rademakers, CNC Exotics


U


nder the inspired guidance of Ulrich Groos and assisted by Amycel adviser Shelly Cotta, many interesting companies


featured on this year’s programme. The group numbered participants from a va- riety of European countries with inter- ests in the white mushroom industry, but also often active in cultivating exot- ics.


Premier Mushrooms in Colusa This mushroom farm in Colusa, to the north of San Francisco, is a company styled along Dutch lines. It was built by Dalsem Mushroom Projects in 2004. In the past seven years it has expanded to 64 growing rooms, with a surface area of 550 m2 per room. The farm has its own phase 1 operation with bunkers and four pasteurisation tunnels for the produc- tion of phase 2 compost. The growing rooms are filled with phase 2 (incubated compost) in an eight-week cycle that produces three flushes.


The farm is run by the Dutch farm man- ager Erik de Groot, together with the owner John Ashbaugh . After previous travels in countries including Spain and Australia, Erik has worked here for six months. The farm is of course not as straightforward as it sounds in the sum- mary above. Acquiring a Dutch turnkey project does not mean simply turning the key and magically achieving the de- sired production levels, and operational efficiency. Full mastery of the craft of mushroom growing is essential from start to finish! During our visit, the farm looked in fine shape, and good yields were being achieved – something that was not always the case in the past. Erik’s input, due to his familiarity with


28 MUSHROOM BUSINESS


the ‘Dutch system’, has been indispen- sable here.


The phase 1 used on the farm is pro- duced in a process lasting 15 days in aer- ated bunkers. The raw material is locally sourced straw, which is mixed with broiler manure, gypsum and cottonseed hulls. The broiler manure used by the majority of farms in America is ferment- ed until it has a dry, fine structure which is easy to mix through the straw. This year’s straw harvest has been excep- tionally poor in California, caused by the recent severe drought. This situation is expected to send the price of straw spi- ralling, and straw may have to be sourced from other states. Each week sees production of 200 tons of phase 1, which after pasteurisation in tunnels re- sults in 140 tons of phase 2. Eight grow- ing rooms are filled each week with spawned compost and the compost is colonised in the growing rooms. The


John Ashbaugh, owner of Premier Mushrooms with farm manager Erik de Groot (r).


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