34 INNOVATIVE approach keeps mushroom business fresh
Clausen and relocated to Clausen’s four-acre property in Summerland. Clausen manages Bartlett Tree Experts and supplies WTF with hardwood chips. The chips are hammered into sawdust, mixed with soy hulls and steam-sterilized to become the substrate for the mushroom spawn, mimicking nature’s process. The boiler-to- steam vessel is just one of his pieces of self-made equipment. His greenhouse design and misting system has also evolved over the years to create the perfect environment for mushrooms. An in-house research and
development lab propagates exotic and local species. Pearl Oyster, for example, was developed from a wild strain found in Oliver. His continuous innovation philosophy means he’s continuously testing strains that can grow seasonally. He is also investigating the use of wood from invasive tree species like Siberian Elm and Tree of Heaven for use in substrates, an initiative that’s showing signs of success.
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • MARCH 2019 nfrom page 33
Spawn for What The Fungus mushrooms is created on site and then inoculated into six-pound blocks of sawdust and soy hulls. Colonized blocks are used for about two fruiting cycles. WTF PHOTO
While more start-up financing would have been
great, WTF paid $6,000 to local consultant Jane Campardo to write a business plan. The plan helped secure Callow a $100,000 venture capital loan from Summerland & District Credit Union in 2014, and two years later, King and Sonya Campbell saw an opportunity to invest and help grow What the Fungus to what it is today. Callow has since turned the plan into a book which he sells online for $500 a
copy. Sales of the book totalled $12,000 last year. The farm is also growing by teaching international
mushroom entrepreneurs, bringing in $70,000 a year that’s reinvested into the farm. “You get one-on-one mentoring and real farm experience, hopefully saving a lot of time and money for those who want to get into the business,” says Callow, who for the first three years offered a no-cost, one-month mentorship for seven students annually before he realized the value of teaching.
“When we decided to offer the paid one-week, intensive course and farm experience, it was announced on Curtis Stone’s YouTube channel ‘The Urban Farmer,’ and it sold out.” The demand surprised him, but the timing was good. Callow says 2014 was the beginning of the mushroom boom where people started understanding there was a market for specialty mushrooms. Commercial cultivation of specialty varieties like the ones he grows is less than 20 years old. The one-week course costs $2,000 and has been attended by students from throughout North America, as well as Mauritius, Brazil and Australia. Focusing on the international market avoids local competition. Social media is a wonderful tool for marketing and teaching so WTF is active on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram as well as its own website. The Internet has also been a place to market WTF merchandise, like t-shirts. Whether received online or in person, feedback from others
continues to offer Callow fresh perspectives and motivation. “We’re crowd-sourcing new ideas. I don’t have to
search anymore … I’m learning every day,” he says. “This is a way to grow your business – show it to the community by letting people into my farm without taking a bunch of time away from farming.” “The funny thing is,” he adds, “I didn’t value spending money on mushrooms before, but now I do.”
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