sustainability

At Premier Mushrooms

To Premier Mushrooms, sustainability means increasing awareness of the impacts associated with our growing operation and taking action to reduce them without sacrificing our high standards for quality. In 2011, the company hired it's first Sustainability Coordinator to help spearhead the program. Efforts have focused on setting baselines and tracking resource usage for Key Performance Indicators. From this comes a better understanding of our operation and the ability to begin establishing performance goals.

Mushrooms: A Sustainable Choice

Mushrooms are a more sustainable option than other produced foods. Here's why:

Take a Fraction of the Water Other Foods Require
Mushrooms use a fraction of the water many other foods require (only 1.8 gallons of water per 1lb of mushrooms)
Utilizes Composted Materials
Composted materials are utilized to create the growing medium the mushrooms are cultivated on.
Take Up Less Space
Mushrooms typically take up less space to grow as the growing beds are stacked vertically in the growing facilities.
Limited Electricity Usage
It only takes 1KWH of electricity to produce 1lb of mushrooms

Premier Mushrooms Sustainability Practices

Here at Premier Mushrooms we work towards being as sustainable as possible and have implemented the following strategies into our practice:

Re-Use & Re-Purpose
We utilize items that other farms don't need or may not be utilizing. Our compost base is wheat straw which is the animal bedding and by-product of wheat production and we mix in dried poultry waste from other local farmers. Even the compost utilized for our mushrooms to grow on is not wasted. The spent mushroom compost is then sent to a facility to be utilized in landscaping and gardening
Water Conservation
Premier Mushroom's facility has been built to capture all waste-water that results from farming operations. A complex system of underground utility lines diverts farm water to a "Goody Pond" located on-site. This pond contains nutrient rich wastewater that is re-used as an input to the composting system. The benefit of this system isn't just maximizing the life-cycle of on-site water, but also providing our compost with a supercharged source of hydration. All the bugs that are created proliferate in the goody pond, and by default, foster a nutrient rich environment on the compost.

Energy Efficiency

Mushroom growing is a very energy intensive process due to the high level of technology and equipment required to grow product that is of top quality, while satisfying increasing customer demand. Premier Mushrooms has steadily reduced its consumption of electricity in growing and production since 2008. To date, 2,721,252 kWh have been avoided through the installation of ballast lighting, refrigeration retrofits and strip curtains to prevent the escape of cold air.

One of the farm’s largest energy culprits is the cooling system, which must keep grow-rooms at a steady 65 degrees year round. Naturally, this is where we decided to focus our initial efforts. In the beginning of 2012 Premier entered into discussions with PG&E’s energy department who determined that our usage could be drastically reduced. After analyzing several different models, we purchased a high-efficiency centrifugal chiller that would trump our current cooling system.

Integrated Recycling

Premier Mushrooms has taken several steps to reduce the impact its growing and production processes have on the environment. The mushroom growing process itself is naturally a very closed-loop system and complements additional sustainability efforts. Inputs to the composting process are all recycled materials while the outputs are mushrooms, spent compost, and water. The mushrooms are sold and the ones unfit for production are recycled back into the composting process. However, this is not limited to organic wastes.

Recycling is one of the most fundamental practices a business can exercise in order to reduce its environmental footprint. It’s also one of the most visible and cost effective, which makes it a great initiative for fostering a sustainability oriented company culture.

Premier has long recycled corrugated cardboard in its warehouse, but the program was limited due to a lack of commercial recycling services in the area. However, there still remained additional materials that could be removed from the waste stream. In order to begin recycling these materials, Premier had to seek out contracts with a 3rd party that could provide a pickup-service. A thorough waste audit revealed what remaining materials could be accepted into the recycling program. These materials included; plastic containers, polyvinyl, white and clear film plastic, plastic strapping, loose cardboard and various others.

Overhead fillers loading compost into bunker

Mushroom Compost

At Premier Mushrooms we take every step of the growing process seriously and that begins with making the compost used to grow our mushrooms. Our compost is made indoors using state-of-the-art technology from the Netherlands to ensure the best quality and minimal odour, while also achieving the highest environmental standards.

View our composting process below:

Step 1

Bales are Added to the Dunking Pit

Bales of wheat straw (a by-product of wheat production) is dunked into the pit.

Step 2

Bales are Placed on Pavement

After dunking, the bales are placed on the pavement where they sit for 2 days.

Step 3

Dried Poultry Waste is Added to the Compost

Dried poultry waste (chicken manure) is added on top of the compost conveyor.

Step 4

Off to the Mixing Drum

The compost and the chicken manure goes through the mixing drum. This enables a better homogenous mix, thus a better consistent production.

Step 5

Up the Conveyor Belts to the Bunkers

After going through the mixing drum, the compost follows the conveyors, all the way to the top of the bunker.

Step 6

The Overhead Filler Loads the Bunker

After coming along the conveyor system, the overhead filler fills the bunker evenly where it is flipped every 3 days. The compost remains in the bunker for 17 days.

Step 7

Loaded into the Tunnels

After the 17 days the compost is ready and loaded into the tunnels.

Step 8

Loaded on the Trucks

The compost is loaded into the trucks to be utilized on all our Premier Mushroom farms. After the compost is utilized it goes to a facility to be used in landscaping and gardening!

Annual River Clean-Up

This event originated organically but developed into a partnership with the California Coastal Commission and several local businesses. Every year in September, Premier Mushrooms dedicates a weekend to cleaning up our coastal waterways, known as “Coastal Cleanup Day.” Colusa was officially the 55th of 58 counties to sign up.