The tunnel facility of ScatoPlus. The fi rst 12 growing rooms at Parwan Valley Mushrooms.
variation in which is limited to wheat straw, chicken manure and gypsum. ScatoPlus is located in a vast wheat growing belt so straw is always widely available. In years of intense drought, straw is supplied to the company from great distances to safeguard good straw quality. The large stocks of straw at ScatoPlus are placed sufficiently far apart to prevent the entire stock going up in flames in the event of a fire. Water supplies are not a problem either as the Sca- toPlus premises sit above a huge artesian water reservoir. They have built a few water tanks just in case, and for fire safety.
ScatoPlus has already modified its processes and introduced improvements that are starting to yield results. As from recently, the straw bales are immersed in water so the raw material enters the phase 1 process as homogenously as possible. A crucial, imminent improvement is an investment that will adapt the mixing line so the blend quality can be enhanced. There are also advanced plans to construct new bunkers aimed at giving even better process control. The current, 1000 tonne bunker has been renovated and the bunker filler (filling hopper with swivelling spray belt) has also been overhauled. This has greatly improved the filling quality of the compost. Aerated floors have also been installed so that after the chicken manure has been blended in, the compost can be aerated both in the bunker and after the bunker process. The existing tunnels are also being modified to meet current modern standards so the production of top quality compost can be secured. Inoculation takes place outdoors at present, but this process is also set to change in the near future. A big plus point for the company is its remote location in a very dry climate, which greatly reduces the infection pressure of moulds. An added advan- tage is the lack of neighbours in the immediate vicinity to complain about any odour nuisance. Outdoor composting is therefore not a problem
for ScatoPlus, but they do protect the compost from drying out caused by exposure to the strong sunlight. For this purpose, a sprinkler system has been integrated into the roof above the ricks. A timer activates sprinklers at set intervals to lightly spray the surface of the ricks of compost.
Some compost is dispatched over long distances, even to New
Caledonia in the Pacific.
Consistent product quality ScatoPlus operates 11 tunnels of 175 tonnes per tunnel. These tunnels are filled by a filling belt system that removes a belt each time as the tun- nel starts to fill up. As well as phase III compost in bulk, the company also produces phase III compost in blocks. The blocking line produces 530 tonnes of phase II compost in blocks each week. 50% is sold as phase II blocks, while the remaining 50% is supplied after incubation in dedicated incubation rooms. The majority of the compost in blocks is destined for growers in Victoria, but some is also dispatched over long distances in cooled transport to growers in New South Wales and Queensland. Compost is also sent to a grower with a farm named after its island location of New Caledonia in the Pacific ocean. There is little competition on the Austra- lian compost market; production is in balance and supplies are in line with demand. Mr Zlatko Vidmar was recently appointed as technical manager of phase I. Vidmar is originally from Croatia, but spent the greatest part of his life in Canada a manager of phase I at employers including the current Monaghan tray facility in Ontario. His experience and the modernisation programmes mentioned here are expected to result in the company supplying an even more consistent compost.
All these developments are very positive, a fact that is reflected in production. The strategic route these two companies have embarked on holds great promise for achieving leading positions on the Australian market.
MUSHROOM BUSINESS 15
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