To pick 2-3 kg/m² more (1-2 pounds/sf) in three flushes with the same compost and casing soil, and the same amount of labour is the aim of the Dutch way of picking, also known as the staggering method, or selective picking. Principally this technique means allowing each individual mushroom to grow to its maximum size and weight instead of picking it before it has reached this potential. How exactly does this technique work?

Efficient picking is not just for innovative mushroom farms trying to keep ahead of the competition, but also for the farms reacting to changing markets or threats, for example from competitive prices.

In the first scenario this picking technique can be gradually introduced. If the motivation is a threat, changing the picking strategy immediately is a case of survival.

To produce more with the same input of basic ingredients and work is a good way to cut costs. To be honest, everybody would love to have (e.g.) $ 90.000,- a year extra (to make your individual calculation: count growing m²/year multiplied by 2-3 kg, multiplied by the sales-price for percentage retail, and processing).

If performance is uneven, caused by infection for example, selective picking can cut losses by increasing production in the rest of the growing room: namely on those beds or trays that are not infected. I worked for one farm, which lost some 200 square metres to green mould, and I still achieved 28,2 kg/m² in two flushes (average total). But instead of just compensating losses, it is possible to have more than 2 -3 kg/m² … when the farm is delivering optimum performance!

Selective picking in practice

Selective picking is focusing on the essentials, as the manual labour of picking is the highest cost factor in mushroom production. Compare this to making a science of picking all year round by maximising the opportunities present in all possible situations. Some examples;

If compost is overactive in summer, the mushrooms ripen quickly. To pick successfully, the harvest manager should not start picking when the mushrooms start to mature quickly, but anticipate this process. One option is to pick the room a day earlier to leave a great percentage of the mushrooms for picking on the following day.

It's also important to inspect the entire room after the pickers have finished, to check whether the room has been picked correctly and efficiently and if not, to take action. Those ‘patches of mushrooms’ left behind must be harvested first thing the next morning instead of picking according to the 'usual routine’ - even if this means starting at the back. Another option is not to pick until the next afternoon, or not at all. If a room is not inspected daily, both yield and performance will decline.

Knowledge and attention to detail in the harvesting department are essential. The harvest manager needs the proper skills, and proper picker training is vital. Your results depend on these pickers making the right decisions daily in each situation. The best results are achieved if they work correctly and consistently.

Starting up

Practically speaking, start by using the whole day for harvesting. Fewer people can be used in a growing room. Selective picking means selecting those mushroom that need to be picked, no matter what the size is; or vice versa: not picking certain mushrooms, certain beds or trays. It depends what has happened in the growing room overnight, and the situation you are confronted with today! Firstly, introduce the idea that picking will be spread over the entire working day instead of aiming towards being ‘finished at lunchtime’ (this is no exaggeration: one company picked with some 30 people from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., going home afterwards).

Secondly, provide the unpicked mushrooms with what they need to be able to grow: space and nutrition. Just changing these two factors should bring extra income. The pickers work different hours than usual, the manager in charge has a greater responsibility for the harvest, the daily watering schedule is different - all aspects to be considered.

Growing and harvesting

Traditionally, the owner/ grower is responsible for the whole farm. In the harvesting department one assistant helps supervise picking (on smaller farms). Principally, however, the owner is the person who inspects picking practice and introduces any changes. On larger farms there may be one or more harvest managers who deal with all the operational aspects, including bussing, attending meetings, etc.

With selective picking, this picture changes. The harvest manager will now be acting full-time guiding and encouraging pickers to do a good job. This person will in the growing room for 80% of the time, following the flush (break) and picking. The remaining time is centred on organizing picking. So now it will be the harvest manager who notices that growth is not ideally linked to the picking, or the other way around!

Both the grower and the harvest manager are important. Both departments have to perform well to ensure the input of a harvest manager is optimally effective.

For instance, the third flush is too late, and the grower decides to speed things up, but without informing the harvest manager. The result will be a quickly ripening flush with not enough pickers to harvest it! Good and clear communication is paramount.

Focus on the growing room

The harvest manager must work closely with the pickers to help them perform properly. Tasks include checking quality standards, the way the employees pick, and overseeing picking in general, for example: are there enough pickers in the right place at the right time?

If there are too many managerial tasks and too little time for actual supervision of harvesting, money will be lost. Maybe mushroom quality checked in trays outside the growing room is uneven, or there is a bad shipment of mushrooms lacking uniform quality and a good shelf-life. The harvest manager currently has to correct this kind of mistake afterwards. The new working system argues that the manager's duty is to prevent the mistake beforehand by being actively involved in the growing room, and, in this case, by steering the pickers towards harvesting a uniform product. A positive attitude towards them is essential. Simply said: know your pickers. This will enable you to help them do a good job (rather then to correct them afterwards).

Part two of this article >