EVENT: Mushroom Production - Review and Update

International Facilitator - Erik de Groot

EVENT DETAILS:

Erik has worked in the mushroom industry for more than 30-years, and has consulted in Netherlands, USA, China, Russia, Australia, Mexico and Australia. This workshop will cover compost to production, and includes a farm visit.

This workshop covers compost to production, and includes a farm visit to Costa Monarto (Adelaide event) or Premier Mushrooms (Hawkesbury event).

The event provides a unique opportunity for owners, managers and key farm staff to extend and update their knowledge without the expense of overseas travel.

TRAINER PROFILE: Erik de Groot

Mushrooms have a big meaning in my life because I’ve worked with them since I was a teenager. I started working as a picker and cleaner and did whatever had to be done on a mushroom farm. Later, I rented my own farm and after that I started working at bigger farms in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands I gained a lot of experience about all sorts of things, from growing to picking. After some years I started consultancy work and I continued to do more that line of work. Because I lived in Spain at the time it made sense that I concentrated on the Spanish market. In Spain I was involved with several farms as a mushroom consultant and in making compost and preparing casing soil. In addition, I also gave courses on growing for Spanish growers in their national investigation centre. Besides Spain, I also worked in Italy and Malta. There, I was helping new farms to start up. In the beginning of 2012, I was asked by Adelaide Mushrooms to come to Australia for a couple of months to see what kind of improvements they could make. Soon they offered me to stay a little longer and that’s why I stayed down under for almost 2 years. Next stop was the USA, 2 years on a farm in California and after that back to consultancy. That took me all over the world with projects in China, Russia, Australia, Mexico, and many other countries.

As a consultant I consider one of my strong points to be: my extensive experience (from compost to harvest). By working for several farms, I gained a lot of experience, which makes it easier for me now to understand the difficulties that growers face. My other strong points are my teaching skills and my ability to express myself in various languages. In addition, I consider myself to be honest and independent.

One of my biggest clients is SA Mushrooms and that’s why my knowledge of the Australian market, their problems and requirements is good. At SA Mushrooms I have helped the owners, for some years, teaching their own people to run the farm as they do now. Hopefully being involved in these the workshops I can also help others and I look forward to that.