During North American Mushroom Conference UMDIS talked with lots of mushroom producers from Canada – and in the beginning of March we as well visited the farms in Ontario, Eastern Canada. That is what we can tell about how the mushroom business in Canada looks like.
According to figures were given to UMDIS by Mushroom Canada (non-profit organization formed to promote mushrooms consumption) – Ontario and British Columbia account for approximately 94% of the total value of Canadian mushrooms, with more than half of Canada’s production volume being sourced from Ontario.
Lots of farms in Canada use their own compost. Or number of farms are connected and receive compost from one compost yard which is working for them. That is not like in Europe when the compost yards have “battles” for their clients – here it is calmer and more stabilised.
In terms of cultivation technology – in several aspects Canada is somewhere in between Europe and the USA. For example, on the issue of compost. If Europe puts on average 85 kg/m2 and the USA 120 kg/m2, in Canada they tend to put 90-95 kg per m2. The same applies to the technology of compost production itself – it is not made in the open air here, as often in the USA – but they do not build completely closed systems, as for example in Holland.
Main difference between the USA and Canada is in the USA many farms are wood trays and stainless-steel shelves where they do Phase 3 in the rooms. On the other hand, in Canada, it has been growing from Dutch Systems like European facilities doing Phase 3 in tunnels.
On the issue of modernity of the farms, Canadian farms are somewhere in the middle. There are not many farms with wooden racks and wooden platforms – but the technical equipment of many farms is simpler than on European ones.
While number of other farms in Canada are very modern. We know farms in British Columbia with picking robots – and farms in Ontario with GTL-Europe tilting shelves and modern technology which means the rooms are divided – half for growing mushrooms with usual shelving, half for picking with tilting shelves and blue belts. As the new Dutch technology advises, the rooms should be divided for the purposes of hygiene and ergonomics.
Most popular is picking of 2 flushes – cycle 25-29 days.
In Canada according to the information which was given to UMDIS by number of farms during NAMC – an average yield is when is harvested from two flushes 5.3 -5.4 pounds per square foot (25.8 – 26.3 kg/m2) – a bit less than for example in Poland. Good yield 5.5-5.6 pounds (26.8 – 27.3 kg/m2). Of course, there are farms that harvest less than 5 (24 kg/m2) – or more than 5.6 pounds (27.3 kg/m2).
The usual requirement for Canada is that the picker must pick a minimum of 65 pounds (29 kg) per hour – an average of a week. However, we know number of farms – particularly in British Columbia – with a very good picking organisational systems and robotisation implemented – that allow to pick much quicker.
Since in Canada in the Ontario region the climate is much less stable than in British Columbia (on the west), mushroom producers must pay more attention to climate regulation. As UMDIS was told at the farm in Ontatio during our visit, over two weeks in February the temperature varied from -10 to +15 degrees Celsius. Therefore, it is difficult to make compost and difficult to regulate the supply of fresh air in the growing rooms.
Brown spot is the most common disease in the Ontario region, as it is caused by climate change. Dactillium also happens.
There is a severe shortage of pickers in Canada, just like everywhere else in the world. As in Poland mushroom farms mostly employ people from Ukraine, in America mostly people from Mexico – on Canadian farms work lots of people from Guatemala, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Number of farms in Canada – not connected to each other – told us the same story about why they choose Christians` machines. Headfilling machines, hopers, winches, cassettes are here usually from Christiaens. “Canada is located very far from Holland – so we need machines which for 100% will serve for a long time without service”, – we were told. Yes, probably reliability is extremely important if your farm is situated thousands of miles from the European machinery suppliers.
As UMDIS Mushroom Agency got as an insight from NAMC – in Canada roughly 40% of mushrooms are usually exported to the USA. And now as the amount of own domestic mushrooms on American market is enough high comparing to the demand – number of Canadian producers complain about the complication of mushroom trade in the USA.
However – what should be named here – the results of Mushroom Canada in promoting mushrooms are admirable. During 2023-year marketing campaign by Mushroom Canada got more than 3.5 million impressions which is a really good result.
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