The cost of picking is the single biggest cost after compost in producing a pound of mushrooms. Therefore ways of improving picking rates and yield need to be looked at to keep costs under control. The quality of picking and presentation has a huge bearing on the price achieved for mushrooms.
The following are the main points raised at recent Sylvan Ireland picking seminars held around the country.
Where to start?
Assess the current pick rate for all pickers.
Ensure equipment is in good order - knives, trolleys, lights, waste containers etc
Have a training plan for all new pickers.
Introduce new pickers to the farm and the growing cycle.
New Picking strategy.
Consider picking twice a day and in heavy flushes three times.
Only two packs should be available on the trolley at any one time.
If mushrooms are picked at maximum size this will optimise yield and pick rate.
There are approximately 12 mushrooms / lb at 55mm.
There are approximately 45 mushrooms / lb at 30mm.
1st Pick--- Take only 50-60mm mushrooms.
2nd Pick—Take only 40-50 mm mushrooms.
3rd Pick--- If the flush is heavy thin out with baby-buttons to allow remaining mushrooms to grow out and keep there quality.
Stem length
The ideal stem length is approximately 1-1.5 cm, which is the same as the width of the picking knife.
Anything less is throwing away money which can be anything up to 6% weight loss.
A 5-house grower can lose € 10,000 p.a. through short stems.
Mushrooms with a long stem will stay cap up in the chip.
Picking Tips
Always pick moving and looking forward (avoids injury)
Avoid double handling at all costs.
Pay particular attention to the presentation of the mushrooms at the top of the chip.
Space out the pickers well in the tunnel, otherwise they will slow each other down.
Keep packaging available at all times to keep up picking speed.
Change knives regularly to ensure a good clean cut.
The length of the knife blade is 60mm and the width is 1.5cm, which is the ideal stem length.
Check trolley wheels to ensure they move with ease.
Do not try to pick too many mushrooms at a time, 2-3 is the optimum.
Do not throw mushrooms in the bucket. This can amount to large amounts of money at the end of the year.
Implementation
It is not easy to get people to grasp new changes so a suggestion would be to choose a good member of your picking crew to actually implement these techniques to prove to the pickers that they work.
