|
Some of these posts are very old and might contain outdated information. You may wish to search for newer posts instead.
|
Metacanna
Stranger

Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
|
Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) 3
#24897364 - 01/07/18 08:10 PM (6 years, 21 days ago) |
|
|
Hey,
This will be a long post, so unless the business side of mushroom production is of your interest this might be a bit boring.
I'm posting this to help myself by writing down the working plan that has been stuck in my head. I would like to get your feedback, suggestions, critics, anything you believe it's worth to be written.
I live in Southern Europe, close to city center, around 3 million people live in the area. Based on simple observations in my daily life, it seems there's a lack of fresh gourmet mushrooms offer, I observe people are willing to try need things and discover need foods but these products simply don't show in front of their eyes. The offer is minimal, mainly concentrated in large or specialized shops, they sell expensive, past shelf life and their presentation is unappealing. Still mushrooms are seen as healthy and desirable food here. More and more gourmet restaurant offer mushrooms in their menu and there's even one well rated restaurant specialized only in mushroom dishes. I didn't a deep market research but I can see there's room for a new player. Instead of overthinking, getting paralyzed by fear of failure and let the enthusiasm vanish, I will run the operation one year with a 7000€ budget (1€ = 1.2$) and see where this will get me. By the end of the year, if there's no profit or the margin is minimal, the business has to shut down. During the whole operation I won't ever ask for a loan, I hate dealing with banks, deeply. I bought my car and house in cash. I prefer to plan in advance and save the money I will need.
Because I love plants, animals, fungi, feel amused with precise and meticulous type of work, don't like bosses and want to earn money, it would only make sense to go into business by myself doing what's enjoyable for me. In others words, to open a mushroom farm 
In fact the business can be split into three components:
- Production of medicinal and gourmet mushrooms - Production of spawn and production blocks - Production of orchid flasks to sell to orchid enthusiasts (uses the same equipment and similar methods as cultivating mushroom mycelium in agar). This part of the business will run much slower since it will take 1-3 years until I can make the first sale. Won't bore you describing this part of the operation.
I will be doing the whole operation indoors, this way seasonality is out of equation and planning production with some precision is possible. Plus, production is more stable/predictable. I have been looking for warehouses to sign a one year rental contract, maximum 15 minutes distance from the city center and where I live (life quality ), minimum area acceptable is 600 sq ft (55m2). Lucky me, there's plenty of offer for exactly the type of space I need, prices ranging 200€-350€ per month (1€ = 1.20$). These facilities have water and energy infrastructures, bathroom as well of course.
Once chosen, the warehouse will be converted in three separated areas. An area for preparing/mixing the substrate and fill the bags, a laboratory and a fruiting room. The walls will be made of wood framing covered with double layer poly film sheeting, white inside for reflecting light, black outside to keep lights out. By double layer poly I mean, two separated sheets nailed to opposite sides of the frame. Double layer poly outdoor greenhouses use a blower to keep positive pressure inside the gap between the two sheets. By double sheeting, the thermal isolation is much higher since the air trapped inside retard temperature fluctuations.
Somewhere in the corridors between the chambers I will need to fit a rack or two for equipment and one or two fridges. Probably the sterilizer will be placed here too, close to the lab door. I'm afraid the steam and heat can be prejudicial in a small lab, not only for the spawn bags but for the equipment as well, plus it takes a lot of space.
What I want from this business is to make 2000€ monthly after expenses on a 30h-40h workweek by the second year of operation. I need to sell 350lb of mushrooms per week.
This is how I plan to achieve this:
By the 3rd month:
- The lab will be operational with all the essential equipment. By this stage a 48x24 HEPA filter will be probably enough. There will be room left for further expansion, as a single HEPA isn't enough for the scale I'm planning. - For sterilization will use a 18 liters/quarts pressure cooker and a gas burner. In the US you are lucky to have the Presto 23, not only it is cheaper than in Europe but it also comes with a pressure gauge. 18 quarts is small but running two cycles a day, 3 hours each + 1 hour cool down (assuming 1 hour in front of the flow hood will cool it down enough to open the lid and remove the bags), I'm expecting to process a minimum 50 lbs of sawdust fruiting blocks weekly plus a few grain spawn bags. - The fruiting room will be operational but probably not optimized for the best humidity, ventilation and light levels as it takes time and some trial and error. By now the shelving will be done with what I already have around, won't worry trying to optimize the space since production will be minimal. This way I can save the money for later. - Assuming the fruiting block is healthy it must be able to yield a minimum of 50% mushrooms/dry substrate after 3 flushes, this is, 50% biological efficiency. - The substrate will be mixed and the bags filled by hand, no mechanical help yet. - Harvest a total of 20 lbs per week of oyster (King Oyster included) and shiitake. - Start attending farmers markets. Spread the word among my family and friends network. Accept small orders. - Learn the best way to harvest and prepare the mushrooms for sale.
(To get into the next stage, I need to assure there's enough demand and all production can be sold. I'm not increasing production to have mushrooms spoiling in the fridge.)
By 6th month:
- A defined working method for producing spawn and fill/sterilize/inoculate bags. - By this time I might need a second pressure cooker. - Refine sterilization processes inside the lab. Spend some time diminishing vectors of contamination. - Find good sawdust and grains supplier, who can supply me anytime with a substrate that I have tested, know it's stable and works. This is important to add some predictability into production. So far I have found some suppliers and quotes with little research, can have oak and beech pellets delivered. - First trials at packaging nicely to grab final customers attention. - Start approaching restaurants with a basket full of fat tasty mushrooms. If they are hesitant I will leave a pound or two as sample, if they are assholes I give nothing. The restaurants must be the closest possible to the "farm", so I can fill smaller orders. The priority is to be seen, to create a network and spread the word, so every small or big restaurant in my radius will know me and have my business card. They might use it to smoke a joint though. - Online presence on Facebook and other platforms that might worth the time spent promoting. Accept online orders. - Print business cards. - Harvest 40 lbs per week of oyster and shiitake.
By 9th month:
- Starting to schedule production according to demand requirements. - At this stage little pressure cookers won't be enough. Since big sterilizers are very expensive I will build a 3x 55 Gallon drum sterilizer, one drum for boiler, two drums for steam sterilization where the bags are placed. I like how this guys worked this out: https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=2&Number=24865881&fpart=&PHPSESSID= - Expanding my market range, going in the city center to where all the gourmet restaurants are. First trials selling to small grocery shops, I suspect small asian shops will be willing to take my product first. - Development of a new product: "mushrooms growing kit" for those who wish to grow their own mushrooms at home. Need to design the cardboard package and find a company that accepts small orders, maybe start with a 300-500 order. To start with, the growing kit will probably go with oysters in sawdust. I suspect the sales will happen mainly in farmers markets and online. I imagine advertising it on facebook would be appealing for some. - Get a second 48x24 HEPA filter for better working efficiency and get lower contamination rates. - Redesigning the fruiting chamber. By this time, I will probably have figured out what works best and what doesn't work at all inside the chamber, CO2 parameters, humidity and light. Since I expect demand to increase I will probably have to rethink space usage and workflow. Optimizing shelving close to maximum production capacity of the space, even if I can't fill all of that with fruiting blocks by this time. - First trials on producing and finding market for Lion's Mane. - By now I will have achieved 70%-100% biological efficiency, otherwise the toll on the expenses side (grid energy, bags, substrate and my own time) will be cutting my gains. - Harvest 60 lbs per week of oyster and shiitake. If I sell it all, I break even at this stage.
By 12th month:
- Register my business, so I can send invoices and reach more restaurants and grocery shops, as some of these won't buy anything without an invoice. - Small HEPA filter intake for positive pressure inside the lab. - Still working toward 125%-150% biological efficiency goal with minimal contamination rates. - Get a substrate mixer. A Hobart meat mixer with some customizations would work (google it, it's worth). There's a guy on youtube that modified the mixer so it can be operated with a footswitch. This piece of equipment won't break the bank and will save many hours of intensive labour, mixing and filling bags. - Harvest 80 lbs per week of oyster and shiitake. - First trials on Reishi and maitake. The goal here is have diversification on the products I offer, as the target market is not the same as gourmet mushrooms. Learn this different market segment and try to find buyers. - Brand development. Once I know my customers and have my public well targeted, I will know what the market needs. - Create a website and online shop.
By 13th-36th month:
- Get something similar to a FDA food certification, so I can reach a broader market, including the big groups. - Establish contact with small to medium mushroom producers to sell spawn and fruiting blocks. - Keep working towards production goal: 350 lbs per week. I'm not sure yet if I can reach this production working alone. If demand is higher and I can't fulfill it alone, I will have to get some help but won't be hiring. I suspect distribution of fresh mushrooms around town will consume a lot of time, it would be helpful to have other person taking care of that. Someone good at managing costumer relationships. - Evaluate the whole operation and profit margins. If there's enough profit and demand then I might think if it's worth resizing and move to a larger place. If the margins are small, I will have to increase efficiency and develop new products for niche markets. If the situation is really hopeless, then shut down and take some holidays, maybe a trip somewhere. . Then write a book about small scale mushroom business.  
Major initial expenses:
- Pressure cooker - 100€ (1€-1.2$) - HEPA 48x24 + blower + Wood box - 420€ (300€+100€+20€) - Wood framing for 20m2 (215 sq ft) laboratory and 20m2 (215 sq ft) fruiting chamber, - 150€ - Black & White 0,5mm Poly DOUBLE layer Sheeting - 400€ - Second hand fridge - 50€ - Petri dishes, agar, others lab supplies - 100€ - 1000 bags - 250€ (can't believe I'm paying this for plastic bags, any suggestions?) - 20lb of grain spawn bags from a local supplier - 50€ - Blowers, fans and ducting - 150€ - Humidifier - 100€
Total: 1780€ (2130$)
Monthly running expenses:
- Renting - 300€ - Energy (500kW + Gas) - 100€ - 1000lbs of sawdust - 30€ (in the beginning this quantity will be much smaller) - 200lbs of grains - 30€ - Fuel for deliveries (500km/300 miles)- 40€
Total: 500€ (600$)
Break even:
Where I live small mushroom farms sell oyster and shiitake for 7€-8€/kg (5$/lb) to the public. Big grocery shops sell for 9-11€. To formulate my raw business plan, I assume I will sell in average for 4€/kg (2$/lb). At farmers markets and orders from the general public I might charge 7€-8€ but for restaurants and small grocery shops I have to sell cheaper. Plus, if more people start selling mushrooms the price will drop further, I can't say there's a trend right now but mushrooms are more "popular" than never. It's better to be conservative here, so 4€/kg is the number I will be using.
If I can sell 125kg (250lbs) of mushrooms per month I will break even. From there, everything else is profit.
Bottlenecks:
- Transportation and storage of large quantities of sawdust into the warehouse. This will take a lot of time and labour as everything as to be done by hand. Instead of buying in bulk (1000L big bags) I might be able to buy sawdust in smaller bags to make this task easier. Pellet bags are also a possibility, more expensive though. - Disposal of wasted fruiting blocks. Still have no idea how to get rid of a cubic yard or more of old bags per month. - Distribution. I'm afraid it will take too much time. I will probably have to restrict deliveries twice a week. - Business won't be registered in the beginning. By not being able to send invoices some customers are out of my range.
I must say my practical experience is reduced but I'm convinced that by following practical successful examples and pumping new batches into the PC every day the learning curve will be exponential. To support my lack of experience I will keep around 5000€ in my pocket after setting up the lab and fruiting chamber. This gives me some financial resilience as I can cover expenses for a year while not making a single sale, which is very unlikely.
There are many way of running business, these are my general guide lines. I promise myself I will do my best to stick with the plan as the universe conspires against me.
Some input is welcome. Thanks for reading.
|
Quadman
Challenged


Registered: 04/23/16
Posts: 2,529
Loc: IL
Last seen: 1 year, 3 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Metacanna]
#24897562 - 01/07/18 10:11 PM (6 years, 21 days ago) |
|
|
Member Solarity did this short write up for those romancing the notion of a business which I think is fairly accurate. Oh you forgot bags as a monthly expense. A 23 qrt pressure cooker will not cut it for sterilization. First thing on my agenda would be a large steamer/ barrel automated. Here's his link: https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/14069753#14069753
--------------------
|
odawg


Registered: 10/31/17
Posts: 80
Loc: France
Last seen: 2 years, 10 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Quadman]
#24897882 - 01/08/18 04:18 AM (6 years, 21 days ago) |
|
|
You didn't mention building a incubation room... ?
I think this is a very good plan, well informed and structured strategy.
Good luck !
|
drake89
Mushroom Magnate



Registered: 06/26/11
Posts: 4,168
Loc: TN
Last seen: 4 years, 10 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: odawg]
#24898044 - 01/08/18 07:18 AM (6 years, 21 days ago) |
|
|
This is probably better than the business plan I started with 
Only thing I'd say is instead of running your pressure cooker every day, look into building a 55gallon drum steamer. For sawdust you only need to hit boiling temp for 6 or 8 hrs in the core to effectively sterilize. Most mold spores die above 140-160f, only 1 kind I know of dies at 180f
|
Metacanna
Stranger

Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: odawg]
#24898075 - 01/08/18 07:43 AM (6 years, 21 days ago) |
|
|
Thanks a lot for the link, really helpful.
At first I thought start building the 3x 55 gallon drum sterilizer from the very beginning but due it's complexity I decided postpone that. But yeah, 18 quart PC might bottleneck the whole operation, the idea is to keep new small batches coming out every day and run experiences on the different substrates and strains I can get locally before I can confidently pack a 55 gallon drum.
Now that you talk about it, as an intermediate step it would be good idea to build a single 55 gallon drum sterilizer (vertically) and raise the bags a few inches from the bottom, that would simplify the build and reduce the cost, a lot. By the 2th-3th month of operation I could be filling a 55G drum.
The bags will incubate in the laboratory, at 24C. The lab will have minimum 20m2 (215sq ft), so there's room for a few racks packed with bags and jars.
Thanks.
|
Metacanna
Stranger

Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: drake89]
#24898079 - 01/08/18 07:47 AM (6 years, 21 days ago) |
|
|
Quote:
drake89 said: This is probably better than the business plan I started with 
Only thing I'd say is instead of running your pressure cooker every day, look into building a 55gallon drum steamer. For sawdust you only need to hit boiling temp for 6 or 8 hrs in the core to effectively sterilize. Most mold spores die above 140-160f, only 1 kind I know of dies at 180f
I take that as compliment 
I just read your reply after my last post. You are right, Quadman made me think about starting with a 55G drum sterilizer and now I'm including that on my plan as well. Thanks a lot, truly.
|
frog48
Peasant



Registered: 03/08/13
Posts: 612
Loc: France
Last seen: 12 days, 2 hours
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Metacanna]
#24899617 - 01/08/18 10:16 PM (6 years, 20 days ago) |
|
|
250 euro for plastic bags is not very expensive, I`m paying 400 euro's for a box of thousand.
|
RolledUhhp
Amateur Cultivator

Registered: 08/10/16
Posts: 246
Last seen: 3 years, 6 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: frog48]
#24899629 - 01/08/18 10:26 PM (6 years, 20 days ago) |
|
|
|
catnip40
xฬ็



Registered: 03/09/12
Posts: 703
Last seen: 7 days, 15 hours
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: RolledUhhp]
#24900033 - 01/09/18 06:09 AM (6 years, 20 days ago) |
|
|
|
thunderfarm


Registered: 02/19/17
Posts: 397
Loc: Oklahoma, USA
Last seen: 8 months, 10 days
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: catnip40]
#24900164 - 01/09/18 08:20 AM (6 years, 20 days ago) |
|
|
Looks like you have a great start on your planning process. This past year I went through the same business plan process, very tedious. I may have misread it, but something does not appear to be clear.
Goal - Net €2000/month ($2400/month) at 350 lb/week
1. If the current market is $5/lb and there is demand for the product, why are you projecting selling your product for $2/lb?
2. At $2/lb, Solarity Shitload Calculator estimates a 190 kg/week (410 lb/week) production to clear €2000/month before taxes.
3. At $5/lb, Solarity Shitload Calculator estimates a 75 kg/week (170 lb/week) production to clear €2000/month before taxes.
Solarity Shitload Calculator https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/14069753#14069753
Oyster Mushrooms Target $2400/month (before taxes) Sell at $5/lb
a shitload = $2400/0.73/$5 = 660 lbs/month (300 kg/month, 75 kg/week) of oysters grown, sold, packed and delivered = 5x660 = 3300 lbs of substrate made/month = 3300*0.05 = 170 lbs grain spawn/month (5% spawn) = 12*660 = 7900 lbs of substrate in process - approx ratio of 2:1 incubation:fruiting
--------------------
Edited by thunderfarm (01/09/18 08:56 AM)
|
Metacanna
Stranger

Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: thunderfarm]
#24901357 - 01/09/18 05:52 PM (6 years, 19 days ago) |
|
|
Where are you buying your bags frog48?
thunderfarm,
1 - I can charge 4-5$/lb at farmers markets and orders placed by general public. However, I'm not expecting this side of the business to represent the majority of the sales. Neither will I invest the majority of resources into that, I suspect it is more time efficient to deal with retail businesses and restaurants who place larger and regular orders. I believe it's important to have some predictability, including in sales/demand. This said, I would love to find my predictions were wrong and have more demand from general public than I thought at first. Honestly, I have no idea how much I might be able to sell at farmers markets, I'm really curious to see how people will react to weird, never seen mushrooms (for them) and if they are willing to open their pockets. I'm my area restaurants are buying Oysters for 2.5$-3$/lb and shiitake 3$-3.5$/lb. So, to directly answer your question I'm projecting selling my product for 2$/lb because for this price I know in advance there are high chances of having my product easily sold.
2 - Solarity Shitload Calculator is really helpful and made me rethink a few things but the 0.73 coefficient is in my opinion not enough accurate to base my calculations. The costs of each component he describes varies a lot region to region and not everyone has to have insurance, loans to pay and a dedicated car to run business. These are my calculations:
2000€ / 4€/kg = 500Kg In dollars 2400$ / 2.16$/lb (accurate conversion) = 1111lbs (278lbs weakly)
If I sell 1111 lbs I won't have achieved my goal, I still have to count the expenses. So I need to produce a little more to cover that. By this time monthly running expenses will be higher, hard to tell how higher. The substrate I can get cheap but bags, energy and fuel for deliveries will pay its toll. I will add another 200€ to my initial 500€ projection. Total expenses: 700€ per month.
700€ / 4€kg = 175Kg In dollars 840$ / 2.16$/lb = 389lbs (92lbs weakly)
In resume, I will need to make 2700€ (3240$) and sell 675kg (1500lbs) monthly, or 168kg (370lbs) weakly.
A word on energy costs: I will be heating the lab (215 sq ft) where the bags will be incubating with a 500W oil radiator, the climate here is mild/warm year round. I pay 20€ (25$) per 13kg (28lb) bottled gas, I guess that's enough to run the sterilizer for a month.
Concerning the substrate processed per month, I wonder:
Why use factor 5 x shitloads of substrate?
Assuming how many flushes per block? Based on what biological efficiency?
Even considering a lower factor in my calculations, I still have to process a lot of substrate, that's for sure. Based on a practical case, I know a 55 gallon sterilizer can take 40 bags with 5lbs wet substrate, that's 200 lbs per cycle, since I'm planning to have two I will be able to process 400 lbs per cycle. 12 cycles will process roughly 5000 lbs. I worked in construction, often I had to carry in buckets 1-2 tones of sand in a single day into building sites for making concrete. Based on this past experience, I'm aware of the work it takes to move big quantities of one material. If I have a sterilizer big enough for big batches, than it's feasible.
If I reach this stage where I have all this demand, I'm more concerned with distribution and storage then production aspects. I can't sell 675kg (1500lbs) of mushrooms per month if each restaurant is only buying 3-4 pounds, it's simply too time consuming. I will probably have to refine the strategy here, maybe drop small costumers and focus only on those that generate more income to me. Today during a visit to a local spawn supplier, I learned some small mushroom producers are actually selling to large producers who can't fulfill demand or have to deal with seasonality. These large producers have more market range, I would love to work with them 
Well, I'm building castles in the air right now. I still have to start business.
What happened after the plan on your side? Have you launched your business in the meanwhile?
|
Metacanna
Stranger

Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Metacanna]
#24901555 - 01/09/18 07:04 PM (6 years, 19 days ago) |
|
|
Just a thought on the 3x 55 gallon drum sterilizer: How would it work, if instead of a gas burner under a 55 gallon drum, I used for boiler a pressure cooker 18L/quarts proper for induction under a induction hub (50$ new)? Induction heating is the most efficient way to heat a pan since all the heat is concentrated into the steel bottom and doesn't get lost to the air. Other aspect in favor is the tightness of a PC compared to a light steel drum, less energy loss and more safety. The pressure build up would still be compromised by the weaker drums where the bags are placed, but the energy losses would be smaller.
|
Metacanna
Stranger

Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Metacanna]
#24901768 - 01/09/18 08:21 PM (6 years, 19 days ago) |
|
|
Sorry for triple posting but I have to write down my thoughts, I will use this topic for that purpose.
- There are 9500 operational restaurants, more a few not registered in my area. Assuming an average 3kg (6.5lbs) per order it would take 666 orders per month, 27 deliveries a day (6 days per week). This would't work for me. To achieve this scale I need to work with larger orders. I'm insisting in the number 4€/kg for appealing to larger customers.
- I just solved my wasted bags disposal issue: For 40€ I can have a local company taking one cubic yard big bag, or 6 cubic yards for 120€. They will drop the big bag and then come to pick it up when I want, just a rig distance. I'm allowed to have the big bag sitting outside for a week before people start complaining, it's how it works here. This extra cost it's justified for the hassle it saves me not having to drive old bags around town... This way I will get rid of the bags just next to the front door. I wonder if some organic farmer would be interested in taking them, I would be happy to give them for free.
- So far in my calculations I haven't included potential sales from mushroom growing kits, spawn and fruiting blocks, how knows Reishi/Maitake. Not saying I will do all this at once, but I like the idea of having others possibilities to explore in case plan A start to shake.
|
thunderfarm


Registered: 02/19/17
Posts: 397
Loc: Oklahoma, USA
Last seen: 8 months, 10 days
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Metacanna]
#24901826 - 01/09/18 08:43 PM (6 years, 19 days ago) |
|
|
Metacanna, I am currently constructing my facilities, equipment and control systems. I hope to be up and running by the end of the summer; hopefully sooner. Details on my build are given in the following tread. My current target production is 250 lbs/week of oyster mushrooms.
https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/24377165
--------------------
|
Quadman
Challenged


Registered: 04/23/16
Posts: 2,529
Loc: IL
Last seen: 1 year, 3 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: thunderfarm]
#24902050 - 01/09/18 10:25 PM (6 years, 19 days ago) |
|
|
28 pounds of gas for the sterilizer. I can't imagine that lasting a week. My 41 quart goes through a tank fairly quick and I run it maybe once a week.
A pressure cooker for steam is not efficient either. You would have to babysit and then stop and open cooker for water refills.
The drum with electric element seems to me the easiest and most effective. Thermostat to control heat , float to control water.
--------------------
|
drake89
Mushroom Magnate



Registered: 06/26/11
Posts: 4,168
Loc: TN
Last seen: 4 years, 10 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: Quadman]
#24902123 - 01/09/18 11:25 PM (6 years, 19 days ago) |
|
|
I sell to a distributor and it was the best move I ever made, business wise. Not many people do that right out of the gate but once you get consistent production, maybe you can sell exotics to larger farm's or something
|
frog48
Peasant



Registered: 03/08/13
Posts: 612
Loc: France
Last seen: 12 days, 2 hours
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: drake89]
#24902264 - 01/10/18 02:22 AM (6 years, 19 days ago) |
|
|
My bags come from saco2/mycelia.be. Expensive but IMO necessary. I never used unicorn bags till now but from what I understand the quality of filters are not as good as saco2. The air of my incubation room is not hepa filtered and I'm afraid that will cause problems during three months incubation of shiitake. Our farm has got an output of 40 kg of organic shiitake at the moment. We're selling that for 10 euro's a kilo to organic platforms and shops in the region. I deliver once a week on tuesday. Lowest price of organic shiitake I've seen is 9 euro's a kilo, six euro's a kilo for oysters. Conventional mush does about 4 euro's a kilo in France, 2 euro's for oysters I'd start smaller if I were you. I've been doing this for 5 years now and one of my main concerns has been to have a consistent output every week. Over the years there's always been some kind of weird shit happening. Beginning of 2017 was great with 20 to 25 % yields, second part was a disaster, yields went down to 10/15 % because I had bacterial issues in my sub. Result is that you lose half of your clients, especially restaurants don't like it when you disappoint them. Concerning the organic shops, as a small grower you have to compete with the bigger platforms that always have merchandise if you call them. In that case you have to count on the direct relation you have with these shops. If you explain them what's happening in your FC they are likely to take your mush again once you got your shit sorted out. You have to maintain your network, or do your small grower act, as call it often. 
I didn't get what you're going to grow and if you are going to sterilize or pasteurize?
|
WolfGang G
Stranger

Registered: 07/20/17
Posts: 64
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: frog48]
#24904755 - 01/11/18 03:25 AM (6 years, 18 days ago) |
|
|
Thanks for mentioning orchid flasks. I'm hooked. you can take a 55 gallon STAINLESS steel drum and attach the pressure valve and a 5lb weight for a pressure cooker to the top. you'll have to cook it for like 4 or 5 hours though. I think R.R. was sterilizing jars under 1 psi for 10hrs. that was a long time ago. your headed in the right direction.
|
SPASURr
Stranger
Registered: 10/21/17
Posts: 11
Last seen: 5 years, 9 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: WolfGang G]
#24905329 - 01/11/18 11:14 AM (6 years, 18 days ago) |
|
|
wow, you've done a lot of homework to get where you are. I'll be following your progress!
|
Metacanna
Stranger

Registered: 01/22/17
Posts: 96
Last seen: 2 years, 6 months
|
Re: Setting up a mushroom farm (raw business plan included) [Re: SPASURr]
#24906623 - 01/11/18 09:51 PM (6 years, 17 days ago) |
|
|
Hey. Thanks for your words and input, everything you saying is subject to research and considered into my plan. Really grateful thunderfarm, nice work you are doing there. Only thing I would change is the diameter of the pipes staying underground. Over the years of operating you never know what might go in the gutter. I noticed you took measures in case it clogs 
Could you link me for a steam room example? I'm really curious. If I got it right, you can have a room large enough to fit a cart filled with bags in trays and then steam it with a boiler? Not sure if that's what we are talking about but wouldn't it be necessary to have a heavy structure to hold pressure? I would say if the structure has a squared shape, pressure builds up in the corners and the bags aren't evenly sterilized. I imagine this could work in a bunker like structure with rounded corners. Maybe I got it all wrong and I'm saying crap.
Quadman, I wasn't expecting that, from what you saying I will need 4x more gas than estimated. I can have delivered a 100 lbs industrial gas bottle for 100€. Thanks for the add, I will do my research to get a clear number on that.
The pressure cooker can have a float valve installed to let water in just like a 55G drum. I don't have the tools for drilling that but can have it done at a local metal worker. Concerning the heater, yeah, probably the electric element is better option, could be fit in the PC as well.
drake89, honestly, deep in my dreams that's what I would like to have, only a few distributors to deal with. Less logistics, less variables, more time for production. Do you have a topic on this forum about your farm?
frog48, got a quote from these guys in Spain - http://www.hongosbiofactory.com/es/home. They ask 340€ for 1000 bags. I was thinking of buying directly to unicorn bags but they recommended me to buy from their distribuir in Spain to avoid shipping. There are a few more distributors in Europe that I haven't contacted yet - http://unicornbags.com/distributors/distributors-europe/. ; Now that you talk about bacterial issues, I should consider 5% contamination rate into the plan, that increases the total number of bags needed to reach the goal. I'm assuming this number based on what I have read on other businesse examples.
If I hadn't enough production to meet demand from regular costumers, I would buy from others producers with whom I had established a relationship, better to have little profit than none. More importantly, keep costumers happy and show them you care, never let them down. Small businesses, more even in the beginning, are made of trust relationships, in this case between the guy who sell mushrooms and the chef that is expecting to have it delivered on time.
I will grow oysters and shiitake and see what sells better. I will use atmospheric sterilization.
WolfGang G
Quote:
you can take a 55 gallon STAINLESS steel drum and attach the pressure valve and a 5lb weight for a pressure cooker to the top.
Could you put it in another words? Sorry, didn't get it.
Edited by Metacanna (01/11/18 09:57 PM)
|
|