Mushrooms Instead of Tobacco?For Immediate Release Greensboro, NC: Mushrooms could be the next big thing for former tobacco farmers, says a researcher at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. “The national market for mushrooms is nearly $900 million annually,” said Dr. Omon. S. Isikhuemhen, an associate professor in A&T’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design. “Though North Carolina has many of the climatic factors needed to grow certain types of mushrooms, for the most part, we haven’t actively participated in the mushroom market.” To help make this a reality for the state’s farmers, particularly those impacted by declining market conditions for tobacco, Isikhuemhen is embarking on a new research project, which is funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation. The Golden LEAF Foundation, based in Rocky Mount, provides economic impact assistance to economically affected or tobacco-dependent regions in North Carolina. The project focuses on exotic mushrooms which are
both edible and have medicinal properties, rather than on the more
common button mushrooms. According to Isikhuemhen, North Carolina’s
climate and the difficulty in setting up a mushroom industry make
competing in the button mushroom market difficult. “States like Pennsylvania, which is the nation’s
number one mushroom-producing state, have a history in mushrooms, and
they have built an industry around this. Plus, they have a climate more
suitable to growing button mushrooms,” said Isikhuemhen. “North
Carolina, on the other hand, is more suited to growing exotic mushrooms,
like those grown in Asia. I believe that we have an opportunity to
establish an industry around these mushrooms.” Exotic mushrooms, such as shiitake and portabella, are considered
gourmet fare, and as such, command higher prices in restaurants and
grocery stores. Mushrooms, such as reishi, maitake, and shiitake,
are also appearing in health food stores, where customers
purchase them believing that they stimulate immune responses to
bacterial and viral illnesses, including HIV. These markets are where Isikhuemhen
envisions North Carolina mushrooms fitting in, and he believes that
former tobacco growers are well suited to grow them. “We have already started experimenting by
converting a tobacco barn into a mushroom facility,” said Isikhuemhen.
“All we really need to do is create a climate-controlled environment,
and farmers can grow mushrooms. Of course, farmers will have to watch
over the growth and cultivation of their mushrooms, but they are already
skilled in that through their years growing tobacco.” To get farmers started, Isikhuemhen
will plant mushroom spawn on substrates, such as wood chips, and
establish a growth cycle, before shipping the product to farmers for
them to finish. Eventually, he would like the growers to learn the
earlier parts of the growing process, so that they are self-sustaining. Isikhuemhen is working with Dr. Rytas Vilgalys of
Duke University’s Department of Biology on the breeding, selection and
optimization of mushrooms suitable for cultivation in the North Carolina
environment. According to Isikhuemhen, the very nature of
mushrooms makes them particularly enticing to prospective growers with
limited resources. “Farmers who have only wooded areas can still become involved in mushroom growing,” said Isikhuemhen. “Because mushrooms grow in the wild, if the circumstances are right, fallen trees and branches can be inoculated and left on the ground to produce mushrooms. This would represent an opportunity for farmers to start a new enterprise with minimum initial investment.” Golden LEAF is a nonprofit organization that was
created in 1999 to oversee the money distributed from North Carolina's
settlement with Philip Morris Inc. and other tobacco companies. The
group distributed more than $5 million in its first-round funding and
$7.7 million in the second round. -
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more information, please contact Dr. Omon S.
Isikhuemhen, Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Design, (336) 334-7259. |