Gwendolyn Casebeer and Jay Englebach, Black Trumpet Farm
Increased Efficiency and Output in Gourmet Mushroom Production
Grant Award: $6,000
Gwen and Jay use organic growing practices to produce 150 pounds per week of gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. Demand has consistently been far beyond production capacity, so they expanded from a 500-square-foot temporary indoor growing facility into a 1,400-square-foot space in February 2021.
The grant money was used to purchase new equipment to handle the increased workflow, including a 130-gallon
mushroom substrate steamer, two self-contained HEPA air filtration units and a vertical impulse bag sealer. These upgrades will allow them to save production time while increasing output nearly tenfold. They will be able to diversify sales through expanding to wholesale markets and adding another Saturday tailgate market.
Contact the Local Extension Agent