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SuperNinja
Moon Juice Sippa

Registered: 05/09/11
Posts: 37
Last seen: 8 years, 6 months
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Considering starting a small commercial farm.
#21041253 - 12/29/14 08:30 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Maybe the wrong place to post this but I am looking for some feedback from those who have thought about, or even done this themselves. Up until now I have only been a hobbyist, but I am seriously considering taking the next step. I will be using 2 acres of sustainable Appalachian land. Water, logs/wood chips, manure, and straw will be free or next to nothing so the material costs will be very low after the initial setup and legal fees. Mostly I have been considering shiitake for wood, crimini for the manure, and a small nursery for sapling spawned with white truffle. Any feedback or advice would be really appreciated. Are these the best choices to grow? Anything else I need to consider researching?
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CyPike
Stranger Danger



Registered: 12/09/14
Posts: 597
Last seen: 9 years, 17 days
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Re: Considering starting a small commercial farm. [Re: SuperNinja]
#21042735 - 12/30/14 06:32 AM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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Consider your market, is there a demand for mushrooms in your area? Don't spend a lot of money up front without knowing your market. As for the legal stuff, check with your state and see what they allow you to sell to the public and also if you need to get any type of insurance. Usually they require you to get one million dollars of insurance (around $500 a year) in order to sell to restaurants, if that is what you are wanting to do.
You may want to consider asking restaurants around you what they would like you to grow or your customers what they would want you to grow. Oyster mushrooms are easy to grow and they expire quickly, which means that there is usually a market because the large suppliers cannot ship them easily.
If you are looking to get into farmers markets usually the only rule is that you cannot cut the mushrooms in any way, you can just pick them and package them. But again, contact your city or state and see what they say about that.
Are you trying to grow just outside, or are you going to grow inside as well? I think the main thing you need to worry about is marketability, is there a need in your area? What is your competition like? Grow something that no one else is growing in your area.
Good luck!
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SuperNinja
Moon Juice Sippa

Registered: 05/09/11
Posts: 37
Last seen: 8 years, 6 months
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Re: Considering starting a small commercial farm. [Re: CyPike]
#21045974 - 12/30/14 08:30 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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The market seems very promising. It is an agricultural town between cities, so the farmers market is largely wholesale and there are many local sourcing programs. I will also be able to attempt to market directly to restaurants in two major cities out of state. There are a number of mushroom farms in the state, but I haven't found anything very close. I also believe that most of the shiitake and oyster farmers use logs and produce them seasonally for the most part rather than sawdust and forced fruiting. I am also considering a processing license to dry them as mushrooms will not be the only product.
I was planning on starting with a hot house and a small building for the lab work and incubation. Maybe I could get a shipping container like RR if I work out the logistics. I think the climate would be pretty good, only needing temp control in the very middle of summer and a few months in the winter, maybe I could rotate strains for fruiting seasonally.
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Boletus Sequoia
Mushroom Eater

Registered: 09/30/14
Posts: 181
Loc: So. Oregon
Last seen: 6 years, 5 months
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Re: Considering starting a small commercial farm. [Re: SuperNinja]
#21046429 - 12/30/14 10:12 PM (9 years, 4 months ago) |
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