Project Lead: Connor Youngerman, Yolanda Gonzalez
Our project offers the leading extension resource for specialty mushroom cultivation on small farms in the United States.
Specialty mushrooms are defined by USDA as any species not belonging to the genus Agaricus (button, crimini, portabella). The most common specialty mushrooms produced are Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) and Oyster (Pleuterous ostreatus). Scroll down for our library of resources to help you grow better!
Demand for specialty mushrooms is rapidly rising, as consumers look to purchase more foods that are healthy, nutritious, and medicinal. There are methods to grow mushrooms outdoor systems on logs, stumps, and in beds, as well as indoor production techniques that can occur in a wide range of spaces on straw, sawdust, and other agricultural materials.
For urban growers, mushrooms offer a high value niche crop that can be grown in small spaces. For rural growers, the farm woodlot can be better utilized and healthy forests maintained while procuring materials for production.
Building a viable mushroom enterprise requires learning two skills; technical production and business planning. We help you develop both to meet your goals for production through factsheets and articles, guidebooks, videos, and opportunities to connect with other growers, industry suppliers, and more.
Mushroom Resources
Join our email list to hear about new resources as they’re added.
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Mycology 101
Mushroom forming fungi are a subset of the fungal kingdom that include an estimated 1.5 – 5…
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Outdoor Production
This page offers the basic cultivation techniques and information on the economics of log grown shiitake enterprises.…
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Indoor Production
Indoors: Economics of Growing Most specialty mushrooms are best cultivated in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) scenarios. In…
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Markets, Regulations, and Food Safety
While many growers focus heavily on the technical aspects of production, it is the post-harvest handling and…
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Events & Online Courses
Our program offers events both in person and online. Any upcoming events will be posted to this…
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Find Supplies (spawn, tools, logs)
Find Mushroom Supplies Scroll down for a directory of suppliers of mushroom spawn, tools, and supplies. Below…
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Connect to People
Here you can learn more about what we offer, join out grower listserv of over 700 growers,…
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Cornell Mushroom Resource Library
While each of these resources can be found on other pages within this site, this page offers…
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Mushroom Books, Videos, Podcasts, Media
Here are some of our favorite resources for learning about mushroom cultivation and related mycology. Have a…
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Community Mushroom Educator Program
Community Mushroom Educator Network Cultures around the world have long valued mushrooms as a vital source of…
Events
Events
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Outdoor Mushroom Workshop
CNY Organic Farms 519 County Rte 4, Central Square, NY, United StatesCornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County will host an outdoor mushroom workshop that will identify specialty mushrooms that make sense to grow on small acreage in an outdoor forest setting. Joshua […]
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Western New York Mushroom Farmer Gathering
Flat 12 Mushrooms 612 Northland Ave., Buffalo, NY, United StatesCalling all mushroom farmers, CCE, and technical service providers! Join us for an afternoon of lightning talks, small group discussions, and networking. Topics include mushroom research, regulation, and advocacy updates, […]
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News and Updates
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Our Team Is Growing: Now Hiring Agroforestry Specialist
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The Cornell Small Farms Program team is continuing to grow, and we are hiring! We are excited to share that the application is now open for our newest team member, Agroforestry Extension Support Specialist. Our dynamic team is working to help diverse small farms thrive and to make farming more equitable. For this position, we’re…
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Smart Marketing for Specialty Mushrooms
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Results from a 2021 survey of specialty mushroom growers around the USA offer an interesting glimpse into this growing industry. By Kristen Park and Steve Gabriel In January 2021, the Cornell Small Farms Program conducted a survey of specialty mushroom growers about their cultivation and marketing practices. We want to thank the growers for providing…
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Apply Now for Our 2022 Community Mushroom Educator Virtual Training
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Join our network of educators to learn how to grow and sell mushrooms, and teach these skills in the community you serve. Our ongoing partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY and Farm School NYC is offering a virtual Community Mushroom Educator Training that aims to build a cohort of educators from both urban and rural centers throughout…
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Building an Alternative Supply Chain for Shiitake Mushroom Growers
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The Logs to NYC project connects city-based mushroom growers with rural landowners and surplus lumber hoping to blaze a trail to lower-carbon living. On a recent sunny Saturday afternoon, power tools whirred and wood shavings flew outside the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, New York. In the shadow of Mathilda, a hefty 19th-century tugboat propped…
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Webinars to Teach about Regulations, Certification, and the Specialty Mushroom Industry
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Join the Cornell Small Farms Program and CCE Harvest NY this winter to learn how to navigate the various regulations and certifications in a specialty mushroom enterprise. The type, location, scale, and markets of a given farm all affect the programs that farmers are required or can choose to join. Specialty mushrooms are defined by…
Project Partners
The Cornell Small Farms Program, with support from USDA-NIFA and USDA-SARE and alongside partners CCE Harvest NY, Fungi Ally, Farm School NYC, Just Food, and GrowNYC are engaged in a multi-year project to elevate and support diverse mushroom growers in the Northeast region. We are here to help! See our resources at this website, and get in touch.
About Connor Youngerman
As the Agroforestry and Mushroom Specialist, Connor applies his skills and experience toward climate resiliency outreach for new, established, and historically excluded farmers. His particular interests lie in advancing research and education for agroforestry and tree nursery management, medicinal agroforestry crops, and novel mushroom substrates. He believes these areas hold huge potential to diversify the ecological and economic portfolio of small-scale farmers.
Read Articles by Connor Youngerman
Subscribe for Updates and Opportunities
This list-serve provides information and resources to connect small and mid-sized farmers to larger markets such as food hubs, grocery stores, restaurants, online marketplaces and cooperatives. Farmers, educators and prospective buyers are all welcome:
