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 196, 18 growers attended a meeting in Parramatta to discuss the future of the mushroom industry.

From these humble beginnings, the Australian Mushroom Growers Association (AMGA) was formed. 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 2022/23.

Nick Femia - SA Mushrooms

Nick Femia - SA Mushrooms

AMGA 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.

Kevin Tolson Regal Mushrooms

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. 

Robert Tolson

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.

 

Dr Geoff Martin

Dr Geoff Martin - Dr Mush Advisory

AMGA Deputy Chair & Director

Read Geoff's Bio >>

Dr Geoff Martin – Dr Mush

I’ve been involved in the industry for 40 years and have made compost and grown mushrooms on three continents, starting in the UK, then Southern Africa, through New Zealand moving to Australia in 2001.  Now semi-retired, I am kept busy running my mushroom consultancy business, Dr Mush Advisory, helping growers in New Zealand and Australia.

I’ve been an AMGA Director since 2007, I was Chair in 20/21 and 21/22 prior to which I was  Treasurer. As an AMGA Board member, I believe that my most important role is to look after our Growers’ interests, both large and small operators, in an equitable manner.

Robert Tolson

Brian Backhouse - Costa Mushrooms

AMGA 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

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. 

 

Robert Tolson

Robert Tolson - Premier Mushrooms

AMGA Treasurer & 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.

 

Kevin Tolson Regal Mushrooms

Kevin Tolson - Regal Mushrooms

AMGA 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. 

Robert Tolson

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.

 

AMGA Staff

The AMGA office's role is to manage the organisations business and implement the Boards directions.

Leah Bramich - Australian Mushroom Growers Association - Communications Manager

Leah Bramich - Relationship and General Manager 

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 the 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. 

 

Leah Bramich - Australian Mushroom Growers Association - Communications Manager

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

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