“The mushroom farming industry could use a few more good growers. Less than 300 growers produced last year’s U.S. crop. Amazingly, half of those mushroom farmers are located in Chester County, Pa.
So few growers might indicate an opportunity for new farmers who are looking for a major year-round crop. After all, mushroom prices stay fairly steady, and customers are loyal. But any would-be mushroom farmer better know what he’s doing.
Today’s big fungi farmers operate expensive, labor-intensive businesses. Those less-than-300 growers produced over 800 million pounds of mushrooms last year. They’re well capitalized, and have large established sales and distribution systems that certainly intimidate new entrants to the market.
On the other hand, while a farmer who grows only a hundred logs of mushrooms may not be counted as a full-time mushroom grower, he can still enjoy profit from his crop. A rustic farmer who sterilizes his compost in a barbecue pit and raises only 12 beds in his basement won’t qualify as an official mushroom grower either, but he’ll likely enjoy a ready local market for his crop…”
