The Teagasc April newsletter contained figures on the latest census of mushroom production in the Republic of Ireland.
The top figure of the number of farms was pretty steady but still down – in 2011 there were 78 farms, and in 2012 there were 75. The trend is still downward.
But other indicators were all upward.
The amount of compost used was up from 182,598 Kg in 2010, to 183,948 Kg in 2011. The production in tonnes of mushrooms was up from 54,583 Kg to 57,679Kg indicating a more efficient and better producing industry overall. Consequently the farm gate value was up too, from €98.5m in 2010, to €100.2m in 2011.
Interesting to note also that Phase 2 compost usage was down, but only slightly, while Phase 3 compost usage was up nearly 9 percent from 2010.
