containers of specialty mushrooms displayed at farmers market

Specialty Mushrooms

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!

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Kacey Deamer / Cornell Small Farms Program

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.

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Mushroom Resources

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Events

Events

Today

  • Starting Shiitake Mushrooms

    Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County 377 Schroon River Road, Warrensburg, NY, United States

    Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County will be holding a “Starting Shiitake Mushrooms” workshop on Friday, July 10, at 3:00 pm. This program is perfect for the very beginner as […]

    $20

News and Updates

  • Speciality Mushrooms Project Launches Survey for Growers

    by

    Steve Gabriel

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    Did you grow and sell at least $100 worth of mushrooms in the 2020 growing season? Then our Specialty Mushrooms project wants to hear from you. Specialty Mushrooms are defined by the USDA as any species other than Agaricus bisporus (Button/Crimini/Portobello) produced in the USA. Our project is a unique cooperative extension effort that offers technical…

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  • New Resources Available for Specialty Mushroom Growers

    by

    Anna Birn

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    We are excited to announce the release of a new Harvest to Market Guide for producers interested in growing specialty mushrooms. This resource is the product of a cooperative effort conducted by the Cornell Small Farms Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension, consultant growers, and other supporting organizations.  This guidebook is meant to serve as a companion…

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  • Free Webinar Series Will Teach Commercial Specialty Mushroom Production

    by

    Steve Gabriel

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    Learn to develop and implement a business plan for growing mushrooms commercially with an upcoming webinar series from our Specialty Mushrooms project and our project partner Fungi Ally. The webinars will cover an introduction to mushrooms farming, including details on grow rooms, methods of cultivation and economics of mushroom growing. Through this webinars, you will…

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  • New Community Mushroom Educator Program Offered in 2020

    by

    Steve Gabriel

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    Join our new network of educators to learn how to grow and sell mushrooms, and teach these skills in the community you serve. With support from USDA-SARE and USDA-AFRI, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Cornell Small Farms Program is partnering with Just Food, Farm School NYC, and Grow NYC to offer a two-year Community Mushroom…

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  • Don’t Miss Our Last Monthly Mushroom Webinar of the Year

    by

    Steve Gabriel

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    As the year comes to an end, there is still time to join one more installment of our Specialty Mushroom project’s free monthly webinar series. On Tuesday, November 19, the topic of financial planning for mushroom enterprises will be covered with our mushroom project specialist, Steve Gabriel, and Faith Gilbert of Letterbox Farm Collective. You…

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See the full archive from Cornell Mushrooms

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.

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Fungi Ally
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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.

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containers of specialty mushrooms displayed at farmers market
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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:

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