Growers visit polish farms.

Pennsylvania mushroom growers went on a June tour of mushroom growing and composting facilities in Poland arranged by Sylvan Poland. Representatives from C.J. Mushroom Co., Laurel Valley Farms, John C. Leo & Son, Pietro Industries, as well as three South African farmers from Denny Mushrooms went on the trip. Participants were surprised at the sophistication of the facilities and the amount of high quality mushrooms produced.

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Growers toured Fungis, Mieskowitz, Mykogen Kompost, and Stec farms to learn about Poland's growing capacity, the newest composting equipment and to see first hand the finished product.

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Labor, energy and supplies are far less expensive in Poland. "While the cost to grow mushrooms is low, the Polish companies put a lot of money into capital investment for finished Phase III compost. They use the newest equipment and have farms that are technologically advanced in many ways," said Chris Alonzo, Pietro Industries. "On the harvesting side, we saw farms with Quonset hut growing rooms--simple but effective structures. Many of these companies built their own rooms with existing farm equipment and local skilled labor."

The farms on the tour are rapidly expanding from delivering Phase II compost in blocks to delivering Phase III compost in bulk to growers. "Everywhere we went tunnel facilities were under construction. In some cases, new tunnels were being built within a year of the previous expansion," said Glenn Cote, Laurel Valley Farms.

In a few short years, the Polish growers have become the dominant supplier of fresh mushroom throughout the European Union. The group was told the Polish mushroom industry produces more than 500 million pounds of mushrooms per year. Mushrooms produced at these farms traveled as far as Holland, England, Sweden and Russia. "The quality of mushroom on the beds was unbelievable," said Clint Blackwell, C.J. Mushroom Co. "That quality in combination with lower picking costs than the Dutch mushroom growers has allowed the Polish companies to expand their markets."

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Poland in general has experienced a burst of development after the years spent under Soviet rule. Farms have seen very rapid growth. Companies on the tour were told there are more than 2,000 mushroom farms in Poland. Many of these are mom and pop farms growing in finished Phase III blocks but some are very large. Overall, what impressed the visitors was the attention to marketing programs as well as environmental and quality controls at the farms.

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