Mushrooms are a challenging crop to grow, doubling in size every day. There is a fine line between a mushroom that is ready to be picked and one that is past its prime, and this is where the potential for automation comes in, says Lewis Macleod of South Mill Champs.
"The challenge when it comes to picking mushrooms is making sure you pick the mushroom at the right time before it opens, but also at the right time so it's grown to be the optimum size that mushrooms are going to grow," he says. "The challenge of growing mushrooms is every mushroom is different."
He says it's a fine line between the optimum time to pick a mushroom and one with gills that have opened and flattened out and has become too mature. "Once it's opened, the value of that crop is 20% to 25% of what it was beforehand," he says. "The value of a product that's become mature is below the cost to grow. So, it's fundamental that you pick that crop at the right time. If you don't have the labor, you're really out of business."
It's this distinction between the optimum time to pick and too late requires an incredibly skilled workforce. "One of the challenges you have in the industry is this is not an unskilled labor job," he says. "This is a job that requires nine, often 12, weeks of training to really require dexterity and it's also a repetitive job. It's also a very difficult job."
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