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6 - TUESDAY, MAY 16, 1995 FARM & COUNTRY LIFE THE PORT PERRY STAR By Stephen Leahy SPECIAL TO FARM & COUNTRY LIFE URHAM FARMERS were happy when Greenwood Mushroom Farms decided to relocate their main farm to Ashburn last December. Greenwood had con- [® sidered shuffling off to [8 Buffalo when they | moved from their J Pickering location. [ ¢ cr But thanks to a loan | oa" from the Farm Credit Ft = Corporation, I Ontario's sixth largest | mushroom grower [SN was able to renovate | an unused auto parts | factory on Heron Road. The good news for farmers is they'll buy about 5,000 acres | worth of hay and = straw to make their growing medium. Mac Snobelen, one of seven partners in the opera- tion, says this special compost also includes ground corn cobs, dried chicken litter and agricultural gyp- sum. The powdered L: Multi-million dollar mushroom farm decides to stay in Durham In fact all of Greenwood's inputs, along with their 140 employees, come from with- in 30 miles of the farm. That represents an annual $4.7 million boost to the local econ- omy, on top of $1.25 million Greenwood paid in federal, provincial and municipal taxes. Greenwood plans to grow about 6 mil- ---- lion pounds of white agari- cus mush- room in their 60,000 square foot ] facility, which includes a "tunnel build- { ing" that f® houses an | enormous 3| composting machine and computerized temperature and humidity controls for 16 "growing ni| cells." 'l Mr Snobelen said most people are surprised to learn that Ontario's mushroom NS Es ¥ AR ate Wo FS SNAN a AS LT 'and keeps the straw gend to market .}-moist and sticky. gypsum absorbs water Boxes of mushrooms stacked ready to industry has the second highest sales revenue of any vegetable in Ontario. Some 2,000 people are directly employed in the industry, which is located almost exclusively in southern Ontario. Mushroom consumption doubled from 1975 to 1990, and while growth has flattened out, 1.7 kilograms (3.75 lbs.) is the current per capital annual consumption rate. With a fresh product, proximity to large markets such as Toronto is cru- cial. Although Buffalo would have been close enough, said Mr. Snobelen, he and his partners are happy to be able to stay in Ontario. It takes from 14 to 24 days for the compost's micro-organisms to become the high protein bio-mass that mushrooms need. The white agaricus represents 98 per cent of the mushroom market and does not require nitrogen or sunlight to grow. And, unlike some other mushrooms, it does not break down hay or straw. When ready, the bio-mass is heat pas- teurized for several days to kill any fungi or insects. The bio-mass is then seeded with "spawn" -- cell cultures from a laboratory. The seeded bio-mass is then moved into one of 16 growing cells and cased in buf- fered limestone, then covered with peat moss. There is an eight-week growing cycle, and mushrooms are picked every day of the year except Christmas. But not everyone is happy. Local resi- dents are complaining that Greenwood's large-scale composting operation on an One of Greenwood Mushroom Farm's 140 employees shows off a basket of freshly picked mushrooms. open two-acre concrete pad is producing some very unpleasant odors. Mr. Snobelen admits there is a problem, and has brought in Dan Rinker, an Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs research scientist specializ- ing in mushroom growing. Gas samples and analysis are being done with sophisti- cated equipment provided by the University of Guelph. Mr. Rinker hopes to be able to make some recommendations to Greenwood regarding the compost formula, but cau- tions it will not be a "quick-fix." "If this was easy to solve, it would have' been by now," he said. WE OFFER PROTECTION FOR TWO MORE VITAL PIECES OF EQUIPMENT. 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