Where pigs used to grow, organic mushrooms are now sprouting up. Eckard Janssen has opted for a niche. Mushroom cultivation is not a self-perpetuating business, but it allows for a high added value.
29.01.2022 08:00 from
Anne Kokenbrink
Farmer Eckard Janssen has been growing edible mushrooms on his farm in Neuharlingersiel for almost two years now. The mushrooms grow on 300 m² in a part of the old pigsty. (Photo source: Schildmann)
"Please take off your shoes and put on your slippers," says Eckard Janssen before he steps over the threshold into the room. The walls and slatted floors indicate a pigsty. The clean, whitewashed floor, the high humidity and the grids reveal, however, that there are no pigs at home here any more. On the contrary: For more than a year now, exotic mushrooms have been growing on Eckard Janssen’s Grafthof in Neuharlingersiel, Germany.
GETTING STARTED WITHOUT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
With organic mushroom growing, the farmer has dedicated himself to a niche market. "It wasn’t planned," he says. "It came more out of necessity."The trigger was feed poisoning of his 6.000 fattening pigs due to toxin- and salmonella-contaminated corn from abroad, which is why the 31-year-old had to emergency-kill almost all of his pigs two years ago. Until then, 400 sows also belonged to the Grafthof in a closed system. In addition, Janssen cultivates 250 hectares of arable land.
A new start in pig farming was out of the question for the family. The necessary investment for this would have been too high. "We wanted to get away from the masses and into the niche," Janssen says. After standing empty for a year, the stables are now leased out – except for three compartments dedicated to mushroom cultivation. Here the farmer first experimented with growing mushrooms as a hobby. The knowledge of cultivation he has acquired himself. There is hardly any experience. He received support from his parents, his girlfriend as well as a mushroom cultivation consultant. After the first attempts at cultivation succeeded, the 31-year-old gutted, cleaned and renovated the old barn compartments himself.
From the entrance area, where there are even old slatted floors, there is a step down into the compartment where the mushroom bales stand on grates or walls. Eight varieties, including the Asian shiitake and the native herb mushroom, grow here.
"Please take off your shoes and put on your slippers," says Eckard Janssen before stepping over the threshold into the room. The walls and slatted floors suggest a pig sty. The clean, whitewashed floor, the high humidity and the grids reveal, however, that there are no longer any pigs at home here. On the contrary: For more than a year, exotic noble mushrooms have been growing on the Grafthof of Eckard Janssen in Neuharlingersiel.
ENTRY WITHOUT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
With organic mushroom cultivation, the farmer has dedicated himself to a niche market. "It wasn’t planned," he says. "It came more out of necessity." Triggered by feed poisoning of his 6.000 fattening pigs due to toxin- and salmonella-contaminated corn from abroad, which is why the 31-year-old had to emergency-kill almost all of his pigs two years ago. Until then, the Grafthof also included 400 sows in a closed system. Janssen also farms 250 hectares of arable land.
A new start in pig farming was out of the question for the family. The investment needed to do that would have been too high. "We wanted to get away from the masses and into the niche," Janssen says. After being empty for a year, the barns are now leased – except for three compartments dedicated to mushroom cultivation. Here, the farmer first experimented with growing mushrooms as a hobby. He acquired the knowledge for cultivation himself. There are hardly any empirical values. He received support from his parents, his girlfriend, and a mushroom-growing consultant. After the first cultivation trials were successful, the 31-year-old gutted, cleaned and renovated the old barn compartments himself.
From the entrance area, where there are even old slatted floors, there is a step down to the compartment where the mushroom balls stand on grates or walls. Eight varieties, including the Asian shiitake and the local herb mushroom, are grown here on a total area of 300 m 2 .
DEMANDING CULTIVATION
Mushrooms need an organic substrate in which their root system can spread before the fruiting body forms. Some varieties grow on a mixture of straw and other organic fibers such as nettles or miscanthus, others prefer wood. The organic mushroom substrate is not easy to make yourself. There are only a few breeders in Germany. The exact composition is a trade secret. Janssen sources it from near Frankfurt. As a rule, there is one harvest per substrate ball. "After that, we plow it under or compost it," he says.
Every mushroom picker knows that mushrooms only sprout in nature when humidity and temperature are right. If you want to harvest throughout the year, you have to offer ideal conditions. "Mushrooms are fast growing. Changes in the environment are immediately noticeable."
To grow mushrooms, you need a germ-free environment. A humidity of 90 % is necessary so that the mushroom balls do not dry out. The temperature is about. 15 °C. The bluish light in the barn is intended to stimulate the formation of fruiting bodies. Due to heating, cooling, disinfecting and cleaning, the energy consumption is enormous.
300 KG OF HARVEST PER WEEK BY HAND
Mushroom cultivation means manual labor. Janssen employs a total of three workers part-time for cultivation and sales. Harvesting takes place seven days a week. Employees separate each mushroom with a scalpel. "Which of them are ready to harvest, the employees determine by eye."The harvest is 300 kg per week. And that is more than it sounds. Because a mushroom has a lot of volume, but hardly any weight.
After harvesting, the mushrooms are sorted and packaged before they are on their way to markets and restaurants a few hours later. Mushrooms are available for around €24 per kg. Market vendors and wholesalers buy the produce for about half for resale. In addition to fresh mushrooms, Janssen also offers dried mushrooms. Recently, he has also started selling mushroom broth and mushroom soup in cooperation with a chef from the region.
Janssen had the mushroom cultivation certified according to EU organic standards after a few months. "Nothing has changed in cultivation. The mushrooms were always untreated, but the demand for organic was high."
MARKETING IS NOT A FOREGONE CONCLUSION
As demanding as mushrooms are in cultivation, so is their marketing. Originally, the young farmer relied on upscale restaurants as his main customers – until many restaurants closed down because of Corona. In some cases, he had to dispose of several hundred kilos of mushrooms.
To stand out from low-priced competition from abroad, he relies on product variety, regionality and regular customers. Janssen visited every restaurateur personally. Meanwhile, 50% of the mushrooms go to markets, the other half to organic stores, regional supermarkets and restaurants. "Restaurateurs are seeing a growing demand for meatless dishes, for which mushrooms are well suited."
ENLARGEMENT IN PLANNING
Interest is also growing beyond the region. "We ship goods as far as southern Germany because there are hardly any precious mushrooms there."In the future, a vending machine is also planned at the farm to create offers for walk-in customers. Nevertheless, mushrooms are a niche product: The mushroom consumption of the Germans is per capita and year at just under 2 kg, but mushrooms make up only a small part of it.
Meanwhile, the Grafthof is struggling to keep up with the growing demand. As the farm becomes self-sustaining, the farmer plans to double the area under cultivation to 600 m 2. A permit to convert the old grain warehouse is currently in progress. After abruptly quitting pig farming, Janssen had first provisionally started growing mushrooms. In total, he invested 80.000 € in conversion and marketing. In the future, he wants to optimize growing conditions and reduce costs. The mushrooms should grow in a ground-level building with high walls and an insulated roof.
The 31-year-old has hardly any imitators so far, even though many of his professional colleagues are interested in the branch of the business. New entrants often fail just to find substrate suppliers. Most suppliers make sure that their customers have some kind of territorial protection. So Janssen is the only noble mushroom grower in East Frisia.