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PREPUBLICATION ‘MUSHROOM SIGNALS’


Harvest management and the end of growing


Harvesting mushrooms is dependent on many factors, but will only be successful with skilled management with very good, clear communication. A prepublication of this chapter from the upcoming


handbook ‘Mushroom Signals’. By Mark den Ouden, Mushroom Offi ce


M


ushroom harvesting is connected to market dynamics, but also closely linked to the cultivation process. Making


the best possible estimate of the market and cultivation conditions in advance means you can minimise any changes that have to made during harvesting. This avoids stress for the pickers and contributes to pleasant working conditions on the farm, as well as benefiting productivity.


Estimate two/ three days before the fi rst fl ush


Two to three days before harvesting starts, you can predict quite well how many mushrooms you can pick, their size and the time of harvest. This increases the accuracy of your estimated weekly production.


Long-term planning


Planning starts by examining the market demand. A farm with a long track record can look at the sales figures of previous years. Good registration of shortages or surpluses, which don’t appear in the sales figures, indicate where improvements can be made. This is a foundation on which to make a good estimate. It is impossible to be completely prepared for every possibility in advance, but if you have a 60 to 80% idea of what has to be produced, you can respond adequately. The aim is to gear produc- tion to match market demands as far as possible in order to limit losses.


Altering the planning A good spread of mushrooms. Many uniform pinheads.


Creating a long-term plan starts by making a basic plan. This gives you a guideline to work with. But you can alter the planning by moving a filling day forward or backwards, or using more or less CAC so you can start cool down earlier or later. You can also create various cropping plans, so you can plan your production to match the market demand. This will lead in the end to an annual cropping plan. The advantage of this is that you can inform the compost and casing soil suppliers about your plans. Sometimes market dynamics, or diseases such as bubble or green mould, can disrupt your plans. Filling a little earlier, or leaving a room empty, has a huge impact on compost production. The latest time you can alter your planning is six weeks before a room is filled, as


32 MUSHROOM BUSINESS


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