Stalker’s eye was drawn to a wee snippet in the Dealer column of the Irish Farmers Journal of August 22. The column mentioned that widespread reports in the mushroom industry indicated that up to €100 million was paid for straw imported from England last year. That’s a lot of moolah for the straw.
“The cynics would say that English Straw was imported to keep a lid on Irish prices. The lid was kept too tight, as the composters have now realised.”
With the wheaten straw crop all in early, it was suggesting that mushroom composters were maybe caught on the hop and that they were making assurances that they would be there as usual as customers for the Irish straw.
Stalker ain’t convinced that the composters are too worried about any noses being out of joint - when you have to source the raw materials, needs must.
