CONSULTANTS 4
things I developed myself: spore pressure and hygiene measurements on tunnel companies; ammonia as a biological agent to control bubble; my own calculation programs for screening reci- pes and analysis on compost companies; phase II ½ compost from my own laboratory tests, rolled out to broad application to tunnel companies and farms; research into smokey mould which ulti- mately resulted in the name Penicillium Her- mansii; the double dipping method for straw bales.”
Con (left) as a gaucho at a wedding in South America.
‘E-consulting is just a weak version of
practical advice in situ’
compost is often made completely differently, using diverse raw materials such as rice straw, bagasse or maize. Sometimes there are no bun- kers, or other types of tunnels, cycles or recipes. Other times there is a lack of certain raw materi- als, the installer is not just around the corner or the climate is extreme. And that is where you learn why something is necessary, but also why things sometimes go wrong.” Just like his colle- ague, Hermans advises a regular group of com- panies, which has remained stable. In fact, he has been advising some of them for 30 years.
Troubleshooter & researcher “Troubleshooting is one important aspect of my work. These problems can be highly diverse, compost that is not free of ammonia, compost where spawn run is difficult, too low yield on certain compost, and so on. What they all have in common is that they cost a lot of money in a short time and they all need solving sooner rather than later. I’ve seen companies that had to dispose of all the compost for six weeks because of weed moulds, others where produc- tion was slashed by 70% without an apparent cause, but also companies that had lost the plot completely. Solving these problems is not always easy. The companies have usually already res- ponded to the problem by adapting their methods. And when this fails, your services are often called on - far - too late when money has already been wasted in buckets. At this stage, the actual cause of the problem is often no longer identifiable. To trace the real cause and find a solution, you need to dive deep and often inves- tigate the entire company to come up with a definitive solution and prevent a recurrence in the future.
When the trial station stopped, Hermans took over the equipment, and set up his own simple lab. “I can do some basic research and conduct small-scale trials. I am very proud of some of the
44 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
Hermans also has a fair share of publications to his name. He has been writing tips for almost 40 years, starting in De Champignoncultuur maga- zine, and for 20 years now for Paddestoelen and Mushroom Business. He also contributed to the ‘green bible’ edited by Leo van Griensven ‘The Cultivation of Mushrooms’.
Travelling is learning Hermans swears by travelling, seeing a lot and ‘getting your hands dirty’. “I have often been asked to work full time on a compost company and usually for a generous wage. But it’s some- thing I have always turned down, as much of my knowledge is based on visiting companies. As soon as you settle down at company, you end up experiencing the same problem as the manager, you can’t free up enough time to expand your knowledge and operational blindness soon starts to take root. You make compost using your sen- ses of touch and smell. Sometimes I meet a new manager at a composting company, with a degree and a title, who thinks the best compost can be produced from behind a computer screen. This is a recipe for failure. I’d rather work along- side someone with more basic training but who is keen to learn and isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty.” The current Covid-19 pandemic is a massive impediment for the consultant(s). “In normal circumstances, you fly all over the world for your work. That’s almost impossible now. You try to help your regular customers through e-consul- ting, but that’s just a weak version of practical advice in situ. You can log in to the company’s computer, access the analyses, graphs and pho- tos, talk through the problem, but you miss the gut feeling and using your senses.” And also the positive aspects of travel of course. “Thanks to all the international contacts you make on these trips you also get to know more about other cul- tures. Like the time in South America, where I was invited to the traditional wedding ceremony of the manager. What no one told me was that we had to ride on horseback like gauchos for three hours. First to collect the bride, from there to the church and then a lap of honour through the village! In the evening we danced the cueca and the pisco-sour flowed freely.”
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