Looking to add a revenue stream to your agribusiness? UMES Extension in collaboration with The Bay Mushrooms in Dorchester County, Maryland, is hosting a workshop on growing mushrooms. The hands-on, information-packed event takes place Saturday, March 8, at the Federalsburg farm from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Farm operator and plant pathologist Jose Prieto will share his expertise in cultivating popular varieties of mushrooms. The workshop is geared toward small-scale farmers who are serious about adding the nutrient-dense fungi to their existing farm operation to generate added income. Participants will come away with three ready-to-grow mushroom kits complete with bags of mushroom grain spawn and a book on growing gourmet mushrooms.
Prieto specializes in shiitake, oyster, lion’s mane, king oysters, maitake and chestnut mushrooms. Their products are grown in unique climate-controlled facilities and sold to wholesalers and at farmers markets in Cambridge, Berlin and Annapolis, Maryland. He and his wife, Bianca, have been involved in agriculture for 28 years. They moved to Maryland’s Eastern Shore after earning master’s degrees.
The workshop is being held as a follow-up to a visit to The Bay Mushrooms during UMES Extension’s Small Farm Conference bus tour in November.
“We are excited that Jose has answered the call to partner with us in offering this professional learning experience based on the overwhelming interest mushroom cultivation generated during our conference,” said Berran Rogers, coordinator for UMES Extension’s Small Farm Program.
Pre-registration is required and includes lunch. The fee is $500 per person. Click HERE to register for this workshop, or visit www.umes.edu/extension/events for one being offered in Spanish on March 22. Email smallfarms@umes.edu for more information.
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, gcstephens@umes.edu, 410-621-3850.
Top photo courtesy of The Bay Mushrooms. Photo at right by Todd Dudek, UMES Ag Communications.
