Overview 

Although over 2,000 varieties of mushrooms are edible, only a handful have become important in the American diet. The mushrooms most familiar to U.S. buyers are the "whites" or common button agaricus. Other varieties of agaricus, the criminis and portabellas, are known as the “browns.” Shiitake (shee-tah-kay), oyster, wood ear and enoki (e-nok-e) mushrooms are also popular. Particularly in the Pacific Northwest and the northeastern United States, seasonal species such as morels, oysters and chanterelles are gathered in the wild and sold at farmers' markets and through retail stores. U.S. consumers continue to purchase increasing amounts of fresh, canned and dried mushrooms, both domestic and imported.  

Production 

Overall mushroom production continues to decrease even as the value of mushroom sales increases. During the 2006-07 season, 827 million pounds of U.S. mushrooms were produced, down 2 percent from the 2005-06 season. The total value of the crop was $956 million, up 7 percent from the previous season. The number of commercial mushrooom growers also continues to decrease, falling from over 500 in 1970 to 279 today. The average price for U.S. mushrooms was $1.16 per pound, up 11 cents from 2005-06.  February 2008 . . .  Mushrooms

Marketing

• American Mushroom Institute - A national trade association representing the growers, processors and marketers of cultivated mushrooms.
• British Columbia Mushrooms, Mushroom Industry Development Council - Representative body for cultivated mushroom growers that undertakes research, grower education, and generic promotion. 
• Mushroom Council - Information on basic mushroom production, types, care and handling and recipes.
• Mushroom Grower's Newsletter - Covers all aspects of the world-wide industry. Includes a bookstore, information board and list of suppliers.
• Mushroom Research and Promotion Programs, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA.
• Mushrooms, National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA, 2007.
• Mushrooms, Vegetables and Melons Yearbook, ERS, USDA, 2007.

Processing/Manufacturing 

• Crop King Mushroom Production Unit, Seville, Ohio - Provider of mushroom products for commercial and hobby growers.
• Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. - Supplier of food and neutraceutical mushrooms and mushroom products, also automated production systems, kits for hobbyists and educators and "direct-to-chef" marketing arrangements. 

• Advice for Prospective Mushroom Growers, Technical Notes, Scottish Ag College, 1997 - A brief introduction for those contemplating growing mushrooms commercially.
• Basic Procedures for Agaricus Mushroom Growing, Pennsylvania State University, 2003 - This fact sheet outlines the mushroom production cycle and gives a brief description of each production stage.
• The Edible Mycorrhizal Mushroom Research Group, Uppsala University - Various research reports on edible mushrooms.
• Fungi Perfecti, LLC, Olympia, Washington - Growing kits, spawn, books, seminars and siliar information from acclaimed Pacific Northwest mycologist Paul Staments.
• A Guide to the Fungus Among Us, Pennsylvania State University.
• Home Mushroom Cultivation with Hydrogen Peroxide - Instructions and photos of a new concept in mushroom cultivation. Available in Spanish and Romanian.
• Mushrooms (Enoki, Pleurotus, Shiitake), Texas A&M University.
• Mushroom Cultivation and Marketing, ATTRA, National Center for Appropriate Technology, 2004.
• Mushroom Production, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland, Australia.
• Mushroom Production, University of Sydney, Australia. 
• Mushroom Production: Sweetening the Smell, Penn State University.
• Shitake Mushroom Production: Economic Considerations, Ohio State University Extension - A commercial grower must become an expert shiitake marketer to realize an economic gain.
• Shiitake Mushroom Production: Economics, Ohio State University Extension. 
• Shiitake Mushroom Production: Obtaining Spawn, Obtaining and Preparing Logs, and Inoculation, Ohio State University Extension.
• Specialty Mushrooms, 1996 - Overview of various species applicable to specialty or gourmet markets. Includes a comprehensive bibliography. 
• Woods-Grown Mushroom Production, Cornell Cooperative Extension - Collection of workshop information, demonstration results and fact sheets.

 Businesses/Case Studies

• Riding the Mushroom Boom: Small-Scale Growers Seek Niche in Cultivation of Exotics - A profile of Dean and Kathy Hansen, small-volume high-quality producers specializing in food-grade and medicinal mushrooms, and Petaluma Mushrooms, a large-scale button mushroom producer.
• Shiitake Mushrooms, The New American Farmer, Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education (SARE), USDA.

 
Links checked February 2008.