For a country synonymous with grass-based livestock production, selecting the mushroom industry as a model for innovation is a big call. From a value of approximately €600,000 50 years ago, last year Irish mushroom exports were over €91m.

The dairy and beef processors always had an unlimited and captive supply of raw material. They started supplying basic standard food staples with long shelf lives to British markets. Traditionally, these markets were chronically short of meat and dairy products. So getting into them was no big deal. But the mushroom industry had only horse manure and poultry litter as its raw material – agricultural waste byproducts effectively worth nothing. In fact, it costs a lot to store and dispose of them. But when the mushroom innovators transformed these agri-waste byproducts into mushroom compost, they acquired real value.

Mushrooms are the highest value-added food product. That’s because when composted, 1t of horse manure or poultry litter will produce 1.56t of mushrooms. These are the alchemies the Irish mushroom industry used. Simultaneously, they opened new markets in the UK. The farmgate value of mushroom production north and south is €130m, according to Bord Bia.

Before UK and Dutch mushroom growers knew what was happening, the Irish had gone a long way to pushing their mushrooms out of the UK market. The Irish achieved this remarkable feat on the basis of excellence, quality, technical efficiency, productivity and constant innovation.

Almost overnight, innovation propelled Irish mushroom growers from shovels, wheelbarrows and compost bags to computers, combi-lifts and supermarket shelves

The UK mushroom market is one of the most competitive in the world. Domestic UK, Dutch, Polish and Irish growers are continually vying for space on supermarket shelves. To even survive in this market is a major achievement; to take and to hold a large share of this market is nothing short of a miracle.

UK consumers always had a big appetite for fresh mushrooms. Forty years ago, UK consumers spent less than €1m a year and consumed less than 1kg per head per year. Today, every year UK consumers spend £400m on fresh mushrooms and eat 3.25kg per head.

Factors for success

In the early 1980s, UK consumers were still depending on their mushrooms from outdated UK growers and obsolete growing systems. Specifically, the systems had never been mechanised and the costs were always too high. Accordingly, compost and mushroom production could neither be ramped up to an industrial scale for corporate investors, nor scaled down to a cottage industry for family farmers.

After a century of stagnation, the technology of compost production and mushroom growing was about to skip several generations. This new technological leap was accompanied by a fortunate confluence of some new social, demographic and economic developments. Specifically, Dutch mushroom companies had much earlier built up a big market for processed mushrooms in Germany. These processed mushrooms were preserved in a brine solution and packed in cans, jars and even big plastic bags.

Traditionally, these Dutch-processed mushrooms were mechanically harvested. However, the mechanical harvesters caused a lot of damage, resulting in bruising and compost/peat contamination in the mushrooms. As German consumers got more affluent, they also got more discerning and more selective. Specifically, German consumers didn’t like their mushrooms to be bruised, broken or contaminated in any way. Accordingly, Dutch-processed mushrooms would have to be handpicked. However, given the high costs of labour in the Netherlands, this was impossible.

Today’s typical mushroom farm puts in 200t of phase 3 compost per week and produces 68t of mushrooms per week in three flushes over a six-week growing cycle.

Technological breakthroughs

The three new critical technology breakthroughs which would change the face of the Irish and UK mushroom industries forever were: bulk pasteurisation and spawning of compost; growing mushrooms in 20kg plastic bags; and the construction of low-cost, insulated polytunnels.

Unprofitable beef enterprises, a looming milk quota, a superlevy regime and the scourge of bovine TB and brucellosis pandemics, were the norm in Ireland 1980. Worse still, Irish farmers were just in the middle of receiving a Government-funded agricultural credit rescue package to repay bad loans; bank interest rates were 20%; inflation was 20%; and unemployment was 20%.

Almost overnight, innovation propelled Irish mushroom growers from shovels, wheelbarrows and compost bags to computers, combi-lifts and supermarket shelves.

Thirty years ago, everything on an Irish mushroom farm had to be done by hand. At the time, a three-tunnel mushroom farm was a viable family mushroom farm. The growing houses plus a small cold-store and a store for packaging, etc, could be constructed for €15,000 after grants.

Over a 12-week growing cycle, mushroom yields were 200kg per tonne of phase 2 compost. Mushroom picking rates were 13kg per hour. Today, mushroom yields have doubled to 400kg per tonne of phase 3 compost and mushroom picking has doubled to 27kg per hour.

Today’s typical mushroom farm puts in 200t of phase 3 compost per week and produces 68t of mushrooms per week in three flushes over a six-week growing cycle. It costs €2m to construct and employs 80 pickers.

But both compost and mushroom production at that time required a lot of fixed capital to get started. Furthermore, the variable production costs of both compost and mushrooms were extraordinary high and non-viable.

With the mushroom caps turned up, the mushrooms held their freshness that bit longer. Therefore, the shelf lives of Irish mushrooms was also that bit longer too.

Highest quality

Mushrooms for fresh UK markets must always have the best quality standards, the best appearance and the longest shelf-lives. It was imperative that when mushroom pickers plucked a mushroom they placed it carefully in the punnet with the cap turned up. This was very important. It created an image of uniformity and quality. With the mushroom caps turned up, the mushrooms held their freshness that bit longer. Therefore, the shelf lives of Irish mushrooms was also that bit longer too.

In these ways, the Irish mushroom industry fast-tracked its way on to the premium value fresh produce shelves of the best and the biggest UK supermarkets.

Within 10 years of their startup, Irish mushroom growers had performed three phenomenal feats: they had copied and replicated Dutch compost and mushroom production technology systems; they had surpassed the production efficiency and quality standards of Dutch mushroom growers; and finally Irish mushrooms had pushed Dutch mushrooms off the premium shelves of the fastest-growing, highest-value UK supermarkets.