Progress report for FNC25-1478
Project Information
Roger and Mary Winstead are co-owners of Beautiful Edibles farm with a two acre suburban farm in Paradise and an urban mushroom facility started in 2021 inside a 1930's building in downtown Evansville. They have been foraging and growing mushrooms as a hobby for over 20 years. Their operation produces between 50 to 100 lbs. of mushrooms weekly for retail and wholesale buyers. They will be facilitating the initial organization of a statewide network of growers and participating in education events.
Cort Carrington launched his mushroom business, American Mushroom and Spice in 2014. It is a Veteran owned business located in Southwest Monroe County Indiana. They custom manufacture mushroom substrates and cultures for distribution to other mushroom business and farms located throughout Indiana and the lower Midwest. They also produce fresh and dried packaged mushrooms for distribution locally. The operation provides thousands of mushroom blocks weekly. Cort will be providing contacts and outreach within his network. He will be our expert on commercial mushroom cultivation and share his experiences as a member of professional mushroom organizations.
Commercial mushroom growers in the state of Indiana do not have a professional association for representation and education. The state only offers Wild Mushroom Identifier Registration with the Indiana State Department of Health, Food Protection Program and certification through organizations like the Hoosier Mushroom Society for individuals. Indiana Grown has over 40 mushroom businesses listed in their online directory and this does not include everyone. The emerging mushroom industry is well suited for urban and beginning farmers who need lower startup costs or have limited space. Education opportunities and access to resources is increasing but not easily accessible. This growing segment of agriculture would benefit economically if their crops and industry were represented by an association at the state level.
This project will begin by creating a website as a point of contact and educational resource. Website visitors will be asked to subscribe to an email list and receive scheduled updates for 18 months. Team members will create website content using GoDaddy bundled services including email content for at least six or more subscriber updates. Team members will conduct interviews with commercial mushroom growers in Indiana to determine their needs and interest in a professional growers association. Interviews will be conducted through an online form, by phone and in person at events. Interviews will identify key demographics like sales channels, urban and beginning growers of less than ten years. Team members will plan and present at least two education programs about commercial mushroom businesses virtually or in person. Partners will be targeted at local colleges, small business services and farm agencies for education programs. Educational flyers will be designed and printed for distribution at events. Team members will recruit potential board members for the association formation. Board members will begin the process of writing an association business plan. Three members will represent commercial mushroom growers at the Purdue Indiana Small Farm Conference with a tradeshow booth in March 2026.
Cooperators
- - Producer
Research
We are in year one of our two year project. We have held three virtual meetings with four mushroom farmers to review our project objectives, create tasks lists and assign action items for each of us. We were successful in getting a logo, website, basic content and an initial informational flyer/handout created. We have just gotten started on compiling survey questions and content for newsletters. Technical information for commercial growers will be added to the website and a higher quality tri-fold flyer will be developed in the next 6 months. The first of two planned presentations was not well attended by the audience of grade 6-12 science biology careers. We will do a better job at vetting the event and attendees at the next presentation.
We are only in year one. We won't have results until year two.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation summary:
A presentation was created with a slideshow for the USI Summer Biology camp titled "Unravel the Hidden Kingdom: Fungi and Mushroom Camp on July 22, 2025. Dr. Brian Bohrer held a 2 day camp and invited Roger and Mary to bring mushroom samples and tell the attendees about owning an Urban Mushroom Farm. Flyers were distributed to 10 attendees and staff at the event that included a QR code to signup for emails at the Fungind.com website.