AUSTRALIA Quality above quantity


The first thing you notice when looking around SA Mushrooms, in the south of Australia, slightly north of Adelaide, is that everything is aimed at quality. Of course, every growers wants the best possible quality mushrooms, but farms that truly place quality above quantity are few and far between. The combination has to be right, and with the good prices paid for quality in the Australian market, that’s the bullseye in the sights


of SA Mushrooms. By Erik de Groot (glags.spain@gmail.com)


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Father Sam with his sons Nick (left) and Nat.


A Mushrooms is a genuine family company, run by father Sam Femia together with sons Nick and Nat. There is a clear division of tasks. Father Sam is still actively involved in maintenance activi- ties on the farm, Nick is CEO and director in charge of general operations and cultivation, while Nat is the more public face of the company and based in Pooraka, 15 minutes from the farm, where sales of SA Mushrooms are coordinated.


The history of the company, which was founded in 1998, began in the fruit and vegetable trade. When the demand for fresh mushrooms started to increase, brothers Nick and Nat decided to seize this market opportunity and the idea of the farm was born. The farm started with six growing rooms of 200 square metres each, and yields of 2.5 tonnes per week, and in a span of 17 years has grown to 26 growing rooms producing more than 20 tonnes a week. In 2014, the


8 MUSHROOM BUSINESS


Photos: Simple


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