Mushroom farming, which started many years ago, today is one of the most rapidly growing farming businesses. As a business, the predicted growth rate is 10% over the next 5 years. And the US is the world’s second-largest producer.

Mushrooms are fungi, that grow and live in organic material. Growing mushrooms is also called fungi culture. The business of growing them is a mushroom farm.

Do you want to start a large-scale mushroom farm because you’re a fun-gi?

There’s are other good reasons:

In 2020, the mushroom farm industry was valued at about $46 billion. The compound annual growth rate is projected at 9.5% from 2021-2028.

Harvested mushrooms have a short shelf life, from 1-3 days. That may be why the highest growth rate is predicted to be in mushroom processed forms, such as dried, frozen, canned, pickled and powdered.

The US is the world’s second-largest producer and Europe is the world’s biggest consumer. Europe relies almost entirely on imports to supply that food.

The cost to start mushroom growing of course can vary widely, depending on how big the operation is at the outset. The cost can range from $3,000 to $100,000. In the farm industry, that’s low amongst starter crops.

The main cost is acquiring the right space – You need a building with a concrete floor where you can supply adequate ventilation and temperature control. You’ll also need plenty of outdoor space, preferably with a concrete floor.

Here’s an example: With a 500-square-foot growing space, you should produce 12,000 pounds of mushrooms a year. A pound of mushrooms is currently sold at $6-8 per pound.

How long before you’re flush? Business income in the first year of mushroom growing can be $120,000. By the third year, the profits should double your business income.

Post-crop mushroom compost – Can’t be reused by the mushroom grower, but is valuable as a soil amendment or potting dirt.

Ready-to-fruit blocks – These blocks are kits usually containing sawdust and grain, compressed into a block. The grain is inoculated with mushroom spawn. The blocks are each put in a plastic bag and put in a box. The blocks are sold to consumers as kits, for $20 and more depending on the variety on the block.

Mushrooms – Shiitake is the most profitable type, currently at $12 per pound. Oyster mushrooms are gourmet, and also widely popular. Up and coming is Maitake, also known as Hen of the Woods. It’s so named because it has a slight chicken taste, and is popular with cooks and chefs.

You’ve already learned that you need space, air/light and temperature control. The size and proper maintenance of the compost pile are of utmost importance for success.

This can involve work that is extremely labor-intensive. For example, the pile can be turned by a piece of equipment, such as a tractor with a bucket. The compost pile needs aeration. Large-scale growers use forced air – delivered by nozzles or spigots – or specialized compost turning machines.

In other words, step 1 in the business is very careful planning.

Start with a list of basic needs for the business of growing mushrooms:

A typical compost pile is six feet wide, six feet high, and as long as necessary. If moisture is added to the pile – such as with rain or snow – that can compact the content, and that’s bad.

Compaction can cause all sorts of problems. Growth becomes anaerobic and provides perfect conditions for viral, bacterial and fungal diseases.

In short, Step 2 is the most important step. Here’s the perfect property:

There are some basic terms to know about growing mushrooms:

Many colleges and universities provide a guide for starting a mushroom business.

Step 4 is design. There are three main growing systems for mushrooms, and each has two phases.

In phase one, the compost is prepped. this takes place in the open air but under a roof. In phase two, the compost is kept in the right condition for growing.

Here are the main production designs:

Step 5 is material and equipment. The basic materials for compost content are horse manure and wheat straw.

And P.S. the horse farm probably isn’t going to deliver. You’ll need a dump truck.

Due to the seasonal nature of straw availability, you need to buy when available and store on your property.

Gypsum is added to the compost mix. Gypsum helps air permeate the compost. Usually, you’ll need 40 pounds of gypsum per ton of manure mix.

Mycelium – The starter spores for the mushrooms.

Peat Moss – This is added as a top layer to the compost once it’s set in place in the incubation room.

Supplements – Years ago, mushroom growers added nitrogen supplements such as peanuts, cotton and corn distillers grain to the compost. That’s still done as it was years ago. But today there are commercially-made supplements that are time-released.

The are three main varieties: smooth white, off-white, and brown. There are eight strains in each variety.

How do you choose? What’s your market?

Shiitake has many benefits for growers. The biggest benefit is that it’s the species most commonly used in its dry form.

Oyster mushrooms are considered a delicacy and much-sought by restaurants.

Crimini and Portobello are prized for their unique flavors. Also in demand by restaurants.

Prepping the compost is hugely important and more technical than you’d think.

The mix – Typically the compost mix is about 85% manure and straw, plus the other ingredients such as gypsum.

The equipment – As a basic, you’ll need a loader (with a bucket). The compost should be turned over, 3 or 4 turns for a section, every 2 or 3 days. The main thing to avoid is compaction. A large-scale business uses a compost turner, that mixes and aerates. That doesn’t replace the loader. You’ll need a loader to move the material to the compost turner.

Aeration technique – A compost turner can do the aerating. Or the compost can be aerated by a forced-air system that is piped into the compost area.

Temperature control: Prepping the compost takes 2 or 3 weeks. Then it is ready to be pasteurized in a temperature-controlled room. The temperature of the compost is lowered in stages in the room to kill bacteria and weed seeds, and remove ammonia. This process takes about a week.

Even when many of the steps are automated, such as temperature and moisture control, your farm manager is important. Temperature and moisture control must be constantly monitored, and quick adjustments made as needed.

At harvest time, you’ll need access to hard-working temporary workers.

Let’s review. Here’s a checklist of steps in the mushroom business:

The spores come from gills that are under the mushroom cap. Getting the spores to germinate is called spawn making. The prepared spores are called mycelium. Spawn is a grain or seed that holds mushroom mycelium.

The majority of large-scale farmers buy mushroom spawn. They choose that method because the mushroom spores germination can be unreliable.

You’ll need to plan a way to have a steady acquisition of the main ingredients. Each ingredient is crucial to the proper preparation of the substrate, or compost base.

There are two steps, casing, and pinning, that take place in the fruiting room:

Casing – The compost is moved to the fruiting room. In that room, a layer of mixed peat moss and limestone is spread over it.

Pinning – The spawn is spread in the casing. When the first mushrooms appear, they look like very slender white pins. That’s why it’s called pinning.

The pins grow into buttons and then larger mushrooms in the fruiting room. They will be ready for harvest in 18-21 days.

Harvesting mushrooms is labor-intensive. The harvest time can stretch over 16 to 35 days. As workers pick and choose mature mushrooms, more are maturing.

Once the harvest has ended, the rooms must be emptied and sterilized by steam.

Now you need to shed the light on your “underground” business. Mushrooms are in high demand as food products. What’s the best way to connect with that food demand for mushrooms?

Your first crop is in the books. Now what?

Keep close tabs on conditions in the grow room, using preventative maintenance to make sure proper humidity and temperature levels continue.

Constantly monitor your supply of raw materials. Lose one, and you’ll need a new way to make compost.

One sure way to create negative publicity for your fledgling mushroom business is to have odor/nuisance complaints. Every guide for growing mushrooms lists odor control as highly important. You can be proactive about odor control by finding the right space.

For your site, choose a lot that is not close to residential areas. Choose a lot that has a concrete base, or a lob where you can add a concrete base. Make sure there are roofs over the compost.

Here are more considerations that are recommended as a guide:

Mushrooms have a limited shelf life of 3 to 5 days. You’ll need a ready market once harvest starts.

You’ll need up to $100,000.

You’ll know by how it responds as it is developed during Phase 1 outside. If you’re seeing a lot of compaction during turning, for example, you need more dry material.

There are 3 main types of mushrooms and 8 varieties within those types. If there’s a competitor already flooding the market with a certain type, you’ll want to find your niche with something different, such as marketing a mushroom block.

Contamination can happen at every stage, and it’s one of the biggest concerns. For example, one common way contamination happens is by infiltration of spores from nearby wild mushrooms.

Here are steps to take for prevention:

The used compost can be added to dirt to make a good growing medium. It can be recycled back into fields as part of bioremediation.

Since the business involves lots of outdoor work, certain year-round climates are best.

Due to the constant need for raw materials, the proximity of rural farming communities is advised.

But! Take a look at Mycopolitan. In 2014 a group of friends began to grow mushrooms as a business in an empty auto parts factory in north Philadelphia. Their mushrooms are grown on blocks, blocks, and blocks of them, placed on shelving. It’s a mushroom farm in an untraditional space, that provides fresh mushrooms to a slew of area restaurants. This is just one agribusiness example with an innovative solution.

No. There are elements of it that seem simple, such as the shortlist of ingredients for the compost.

But at every step, the development and maintenance of the compost must be monitored and adjusted. You need the right setup to make that happen.

If you plan to go large scale, you need to start with a property big enough for expansion.

Remember the example: 500 square feet of growing space can produce 12,000 pounds of mushrooms annually. But, that “growing space” is indoors, a room that’s 25 x 25 feet. And the outdoor space needed to produce the compost base will be larger.

How big do you want to go, how much indoor growing space will you need, and how much outdoor space to support that?

Experts advise a site with a minimum of three acres. You can start with vacant land or find a vacant industrial building that lends itself to the process.

Mushroom farms make money by selling mushrooms. They also make money by selling used growing material.

Increasingly, selling a mushroom “starter kit” in block form is providing an additional profit. Cooks and families enjoy growing mushrooms using a block.

A 500-square foot growing space should produce 12,000 pounds of mushrooms annually. The cost per pound of mushrooms can vary by type.

A mushroom starter kit as a block can be sold for $20 and more. The cost of a block depends on the type of mushroom.

You need compost as a base, but you also need a top layer over that. Then you mix the spawn into that top layer.

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