The Australian Mushroom Growers Association (AMGA) is a national peak industry body dedicated to driving value for our members, Australia’s mushroom growers. Our vision is to ensure mushrooms are a vital, unique part of the Australian diet.
We provide a range of services to our members and the broader industry to foster growth and development, and our members comprise of Mushroom farmers, associated businesses and industry people.
The AMGA works with all parts of the supply chain, from production through to the consumer. By working together, we seek to continually improve our growers’ ability to provide a healthy, profitable and safe product for all consumers. As part of this continual improvement, we work with Hort Innovation to ensure the industry levy funded Research and Development and Marketing programs for the Australian Mushroom industry are well directed and responsive to industry needs.
The AMGA’s Governance:
The Australian Mushroom Growers Association is governed by a Board of Directors responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organisation. The Board comprises elected grower and industry members and AMGA members can stand for election to the Board at the AMGA AGM. The AMGA office’s role is to manage the organisation’s business and implement the Board’s directions.
The AMGA's History:
The origin of commercial mushroom growing in Australia can be traced back to 1933 in disused railway tunnels under Sydney – including the incomplete Circular Quay to St James line. In the late 1930’s the mushroom industry moved outdoors to the Hawkesbury district when growers created the first raised beds in open fields, covered by nothing more than straw and hessian bags. It was hard going, with low yields and fragile mushroom crops at the mercy of Australia’s weather extremes. Relying on the expertise and hard work of newly-arrived migrants, the Australian mushroom industry became a reality.
With growing techniques in the 1940s and 50s still largely unchanged from the methods used in 19th Century Europe, mushrooms were very much a seasonal crop in Australia, produced during the cooler months.
It wasn’t until the 1960s that modern mushroom farming emerge on a world-wide basis. In 1961, 18 growers attended a meeting in Parramatta to discuss the future of the mushroom industry, and the AMGA was formed.
From these humble beginnings, the Australian Mushroom Growers Association remains committed to mushroom growers and the mushroom industry, the mission of the AMGA is simple: to provide wholesome food for the community.
In 2021, Australian Mushroom Growers celebrated 60 years of growing together.
The AMGA’s Board of Directors and Governance:
The Australian Mushroom Growers Association is governed by a Board of Directors responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organisation. The Board comprises elected grower and industry members and AMGA members, who can stand for election to the Board at the AMGA annual general meeting.
The following directors form the elected Board of Directors of the Australian Mushroom Growers Association for 2024/25.
Kevin Tolson - Regal Mushrooms
AMGA Chair & Director
Read Kevin's Bio >>
Kevin Tolson - Regal Mushrooms.
As a seasoned industry professional with a deep-rooted commitment to the Australian mushroom growing sector, Kevin has an extensive background in our industry, which brings invaluable experience and insights essential for sound decision-making. For sound representation of our industry.
Over the past 31 years, Kevin has demonstrated an unwavering dedication, having served as a board member for 23 of those years, including six years as chairman. He is dedicated to representing and making decisions that serve the best interests of the entire industry.
Georgia Beattie - Bulla Park
AMGA Director
Read Georgia's Bio >>
Georgia Beattie - Bulla Park
Georgia Beattie is the CEO and owner of Bulla Mushrooms, Australia’s largest organic mushroom farm. As a new generation of farmer, Georgia specialises in high performance farming, embracing the use of technology and innovation to achieve fast growth and scale in agriculture.
Georgia began her career in the startup space, founding wine packaging business Lupé Wines in 2010. The company created innovative IP to manufacture a single serve glass of wine and raised venture capital to expand quickly into events, hotel minibars and airlines across Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. The company was acquired in 2016. Prior to this, Georgia spent a period in the tech industry as CEO of Realestate.com's new venture, Spacely, as well as CEO of Startup Victoria.
Georgia is also a non-executive Director of Rowing Australia and Second Bite and also on the advisory board of Law Squared.
Carmine Callisto - Global Axis Import Solutions
AMGA Director
Read Carmine's Bio >>
Carmine Callisto - Global Axis Import Solutions.
Carmine Callisto is the Managing Director of Global Axis Import Solutions Pty Ltd, a successful family owned business that has been operational in Adelaide, South Australia for the past 32 years. The company acts as exclusive agents for a number of international mushroom and horticultural brands and products in Australia and New Zealand-supplying mushroom farms, nurseries, turf producers and potting soil companies in all states of Australia and New Zealand.
Carmine has a strong background in sales, having worked across other industries including the building and automotive sectors, prior to his introduction to the Mushroom industry in 1998. He has worked extensively to build solid and strong relationships and connections across the industry, investing time listening to growers and delivering what they need to produce strong yields of quality mushrooms.
Carmine has been passionate about giving back to the industry, and has been a member AMGA conference organising committee for the past 19 years.
Nick Femia - SA Mushrooms
AMGA Deputy Chair & Director
Read Nick's Bio >>
Nick Femia - SA Mushrooms
Nick has been an AMGA member for 23 years, and previously spent 13 years on the AMGA board as well as the South Australian state director for 3 years.
He has been instrumental in shaping the industry, also having held positions on the AMSAFE program, MIAC, the AMGA Marketing Sub committee, Hort Innovation Strategic Industry Advisory Panel, and various mushroom project reference groups. He also spent time on the Horticulture Coalition committee of South Australia.
Nick and his family started SA Mushrooms in 1998, and the farm has recently expanded to include a state of the art compost yard, as well as a mushroom wholesale store in the South Australian Produce Markets - which distributes SA Mushrooms Australia-wide. This fully integrated business now has over 120 employee’s on three sites.
Nick is excited to be back on the AMGA board, and giving back to the industry, and believes that his most important role is to look after Growers’ interests, both large and small operators, in an equitable manner.
Manpreet Sidhu - Costa Group
AMGA Director
Read Manpreet's Bio >>
Manpreet Sidhu - Costa Group
Manpreet is the General Manager of Vertical Farming at Costa Ltd, the largest grower and marketer of Mushrooms in the country. She has worked with Costa and specifically, the Mushrooms business, for close to a decade. In her current role as General Manager, she covers the end-to-end operations and sales of both Mushrooms and Tomatoes. As a fully integrated business, operations include spawn making, composting, growing, harvest and the packing operations across Costa farms. Manpreet understands the complexities, on a large scale, that are managed daily by our industry and what it takes to get mushrooms in retail stores and on the plates of consumers.
Manpreet has an extensive background of experience in Finance, Sales/Marketing and Strategy. As a Board member, she will bring the depth of experience in both her technical expertise and passion for steering the growth of the mushroom industry as a whole and is looking forward to being of service to the industry.
Kyle Davies - Zweck
AMGA Director
Read Kyle's Bio >>
Kyle Davies - Zweck (on behalf of Marland Mushrooms).
Kyle is a founding partner in Zweck, a consulting firm offering accounting, taxation, HR, and HSEQ services. Kyle spent over a decade working at firms including senior management roles at PwC and KPMG before moving more into the commercial roles where he served as CFO and then General Manager of Marland Farms QLD for over five years.
With over 17-years of experience working with SMEs and larger corporations, Kyle is an expert in budgeting and financial management with a proven ability to provide actionable insights.
Brian Backhouse - Costa Mushrooms
AMGA Treasurer & Director
Read Brian's Bio >>
Brian Backhouse - Costa Mushrooms.
Brian is the South Australian State Manager for Vertical Farming for Costa, which includes Mushrooms. He has been involved in the Mushroom Industry for 9 years with Costa running the West Australian tray farm operations for the first six and a half years and now running Costa’s flagship Mushroom facility in South Australia. Brian brings an operational focus and team engagement to the sites he is responsible for recognising that it is a team that delivers results and not individuals.
Brian has worked across the Dairy industry and Chemical manufacturing and has a Bachelor in Commerce majoring in Accounting. He is passionate about the mushroom industry and has a desire to see the industry achieve its potential through modernisation and new thinking of both the physical processes and the strategies implemented to drive improvement through our marketing and sales performance.
Robert Tolson - Premier Mushrooms
AMGA Director
Read Robert's Bio >>
Robert Tolson - Premier Mushrooms.
Robert is the owner of Premier Mushrooms. The farm grows 2 rooms per week of Phase 3 compost. He is a Director of Sylvan Australia and Director shareholder of White Prince.
David Tolson - Elf Mushrooms
AMGA Director
Read David's Bio >>
From 2001 to 2016 I served on the AMGA board in various roles NSW state director, treasurer & Chairman 2012 & 2013, post my tenure on the AMGA board I have served on the Mushroom SIAP.
I see a bright future for the mushroom industry with a trend for consumers reducing meat consumption that our mighty mushroom should be winning shoppers basket space as a healthy alternative.
AMGA Staff
The AMGA office's role is to manage the organisations business and implement the Boards directions.
Leah Bramich - Chief Executive Officer
Leah has been working with the Australian Mushroom Growers Association since 2019, and is a strong advocate and passionate voice for growers.
Reporting to the board of the AMGA, Leah's role is to lead all facets of the organisation, and implement the associations' strategic plan. She is passionate about delivering results for the mushroom industry, with members needs being the focus for the AMGA.
Leah is the project lead for multiple levy-funded Research, Development and Extension projects and Marketing initiatives, with a clear drive to ensure they are relevant to industry and provide returns on industry investments.
Kura Antonello - AMGA Marketing and Communications Manager
Kura is responsible for the development, implementation and performance of the marketing and communications strategy for AMGA. Kura is extremely passionate about mushrooms, and is excited to help amplify the voices of the Australian mushroom industry.
From humble beginnings as the daughter of a second generation market gardener from Melbourne, to a Marketing Manager with extensive multi platform experience representing global brands across TV, radio, digital & live events and experiences within the Australian market, Kura's key strength is the ability to develop & deliver successful integrated campaigns that get people talking.
Dr Carly Rosewarne - AMGA Research, Development & Extension Manager
With a PhD in microbiology from La Trobe University and ten years at CSIRO, Carly has focused on DNA sequencing to study microbes in various sectors, including agriculture and food safety. Her highlights include discovering the red seaweed (Asparagopsis) that reduces methane emissions in livestock and receiving a Fulbright Professional Scholarship to the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute.
Previously, as Innovation Funding Manager at Elders Rural Services, Carly developed projects to bridge the gap between research and on-farm practices, collaborating with growers and industry partners.
Carly works with both Hort Innovation, the AMGA and growers so that together solutions to industry challenges can be found through robust research, development and extension activities, to maximise the return of the mushroom industry RD&E investments.
Honour Board
Since its inception, the AMGA has worked to represent the interests of its members to the betterment of the wider industry. Many people have taken up positions within the AMGA, while others have worked in roles to support the future development of the industry.
AMGA Foundation Members
- Bill Anderson
- Vern Cameron
- Stan Grabowski
- George Johnson
- Martial Lawson
- Eric Marland
- Tom Paskin
- F Thomas
- John H Baker
- John Daley
- Bob Harris
- Wally Klepetko
- Ian Longworth
- Des McCord
- David Pulsford
- J Wakeling-King
- K Barton
- Adam Ducats
- Norman Johnson
- J Larkins
- Mal Manning
- Keith Morrison
- Arthur Thomas
- JW Watt
AMGA Past Chairmen
2021/22 - Dr. Geoff Martin
2020/21 - Dr. Geoff Martin
2019/20 - Kevin Tolson
2018/19 - Tim Adlington
2017/18 - Tim Adlington
2016/17 – Kevin Tolson
2015/16 – Kevin Tolson
2014/15 - Mick Surridge
2013/14 – David Tolson
2012/13 – David Tolson
2011/12 - Douglas Schirripa
2010/11 – Douglas Schirripa
2009/10 – Michael Surridge
2008/09 – Douglas Schirripa
2007/08 – Douglas Schirripa
2006/07 – Kevin Tolson
2005/06 – Kevin Tolson
2004/05 – Douglas Schirripa
2003/04 – Douglas Schirripa
2002/03 - Brian Pratley
2001/02 – Douglas Schirripa
2000/01 – Douglas Schirripa
1999/00 – Carol Holden
1998/99 – Carol Holden
1997/98 – Robert N Tolson
1996/97 - Robert N Tolson
1995/96 - Mick O’Brien
1994/95 - Andrew Gulliver
1993/94 – Andrew Gulliver
1992/93 – John Baker
1991/92 - John Baker
1990/91 – Brian Carroll
1989/90 – Douglas Schirripa
1988/89 - Douglass Schirripa
1987/88 – Robert N Tolson
1986/87 – Noel Arrold
1985/86 - Brian Carroll
1984/85 – Martial Lawson
1983/84 – Martial Lawson
1982/83 - Hank Young
1981/82 – Hank Young
1980/81 – Robert N Tolson
1979/80 - Wally Klepatko
1978/79 – Robert N Tolson
1977/78 – Martial Lawson
1976/77 - George Johnson
1975/76 – Graham Price
1974/75 – Robert N Tolson
1973/74 - Martial Lawson
1972/73 – John W Baker
1971/72 – Robert N Tolson
1970/71 - George Johnson
1969/70 – Peter Jones
1968/69 – Robert N Tolson
1967/68 - John H Baker
1966/67 – Keith Morrison
1965/66 – David Pulsford
1964/65 - Mal Manning
1963/64 – Arthur Thomas
1962/63 – Arthur Thomas
1961/62 - Mal Manning
1961 – John H Baker
Life Honorary Members
2023 - Dr. Geoff Martin
2007 – Peter Willemse
2006 - Douglas Schirripa
2003 - Judy Allan
2001 – Joe van Dorresteyn
1998 – Beryl Miller
1995 - Graham Price
1993 – Peter G Jones
1992 – VG (Wally) Klepetko
1991 - Herman P van Schajik
1990 – Robert N Tolson
1988 – Hank Young
1986 - Norman C Johnson
1985 – Dr Alan Clift
1984 – Martial Lawson
1982 - Norbert P Flynn
1981 – Dr N. G (Tan) Nair
1978 – Dr James W Sinden
1977 - John W Baker
1974 – Vince Pace
1974 - Fred Atkins
1974 – Roy Sanders
1973 – Dr Lillian Frazer
1971 – John W Miller
1966 - John H Baker
1965 – David Pulsford