Page 16 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 107

16 Issue #107 December 2021 www.sportsenergynews.com

Champion Mushroom: A Well-Established Local

Organic Farm

By Christine Ouellet mushrooms: the Chinese method of foreign spores.
doesn’t require sterilization, and
Champion Mushroom sell
the Japanese technology method
ome twenty years ago, Ben wholesale to Toronto, Ottawa, and
which is the one he uses. It involves
SHuang’s uncle started Champion Montreal which are the big markets.
specialized machinery such as an
Mushroom, a specialty oyster, and autoclave to sterilize everything He explains that it is specialty
shiitake mushroom farm on Highway produce and he doesn’t sell retail
at very high pressure to kill the
#138 near the 417 in Moose Creek. germs, bacteria, and virus inside the as it is more difficult to do, and he
As he was getting older, he asked his doesn’t have the manpower he would
compost.
nephew to take over the business. need to do retail. He feels that people
Ben initially said no. Ben says, “The Japanese method from Cornwall or Ottawa don’t want
is more difficult to control but, in the
Ben and his wife were established to come to work in Moose Creek, but
end, you get a higher yield per pound,
in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was basically it is double. My uncle had he is happy doing what he is doing
a successful engineer for the past and feels that he doesn’t need to grow
tried different methods but with the
seven years, and they enjoyed an Japanese method, you can produce bigger.
easy and pleasant lifestyle which left Photo Submitted organically which is more profitable You can buy a crate of mushrooms
them plenty of time for their family.
six months, he received the organic and you don’t waste so much material at the farm, but you won’t find small
But his uncle managed to convince certification. in the bio-transfer rate.” packages. For the mushroom lover,
him and in 2019 he transferred the Champion Mushroom’s oyster and
business over to Ben. He said, “In growing specialty Despite all this extra care, there are shiitake are the best, organically
organic mushrooms, you have to use some factors they can’t control. For
With the help of his uncle and grown in a healthy environment and
a different technology, I use compost example, last year, just as COVID
his sister-in-law, Ben decided to that is 75% organic saw dust and the peaked, they and all the other are simply delicious.
start producing specialty shiitake other 25% is organic wheat bran and mushroom producers, experienced The farm opening hours are:
and oyster mushrooms organically.
soya bean. You have to use a green a fungi problem with the mushroom 8.00-14.00 Monday to Friday
To him, it was a logical business procedure.” seed called spores. They are slowly and for more information, phone
model and the way to go. He did a starting to produce their own 613-703-2528 or visit their website
lot of research on how to become an Ben further explained that there mother spores, so they can avoid the at https://www.facebook.com/
organic producer and at the end of are 2 different methods for growing
problems related to the importation ChampionMushrooms .

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