Stalker was chatting to an Irish grower this month who was fulminating on the costs of producing mushrooms and specifically the cost of compost and the quality thereof.
He maintained that Irish growers have been paying a bit of a premium for compost these past few years, maybe 30 % more or so than other parts of Europe. He understood that straw costs were a major factor and was hoping that this year's harvest will be good and hopefully help keep costs down and quality up. However he did reckon that quality of some Irish compost hasn't reflected the premium price that growers are paying.
If growers lose 15 % or more of their production due to inferior quality then why would they be paying the higher prices for the compost?
Stalker noted that the grower was very positive about one Northern compost operation that he reckoned went the extra mile to ensure quality.
Who knows, maybe there'll be a bit more on the subject in the next edition.