WARWICK, Md. -- Phillips Mushroom Farms, an 82-year-old third-generation mushroom grower headquartered in Kennett Square, Pa., has opened a 235,000-square-foot growing facility in Cecil County, Md.
The facility, which produces 180,000 pounds of white button mushrooms each week, contains no wood and is largely odorless.
M Construction, which is headquartered in Lancaster, Pa., built the facility from all galvanized steel to deter rust and inhibit the growth of bacteria. A Dutch firm designed it using new cultivation technology from Europe.
"It's the only one of its kind in the United States, maybe even in North America," says Steve Brackin, the manager of the Warwick plant.
Growing began quietly around July 13 and was phased in during the next couple of months until all 24 growing rooms were full. The plant employs 70 people over two shifts.
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"It's a new day in mushroom farming," says general manager Jim Angelucci, who oversees the facility as well as the company's million square feet of growing operations in Pennsylvania.
Test run
The Phillips family hosted an open house at the facility on Worsell Manor Road in early November, conducting tours and treating participants with samples of the button mushrooms grown in the county, as well as several varieties of specialty mushrooms grown in Pennsylvania. Phillips Mushrooms is the largest grower of specialty mushrooms in the United States.
"I am really impressed with this facility," says County Commissioner James Mullin, who was among the officials in attendance at the open house.
"I can't believe there really is no odor," says Vernon Thompson, the county's director of economic development.
Several people on the tour remarked about the cleanliness of the place.
"This is really an asset to Cecil County," says Mary Scheeler, who owns a grain farm in Cecilton with her husband Mike.
Sterile growing
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Brackin says their goal is to run a sterile operation.
"The mushrooms have to be grown in a sterile, climate-controlled environment," he says.
Mushrooms are grown on aluminum shelves stacked on top of one another in each of 24 rooms. The process starts with a layer of sterilized grain, topped with a layer of compost from which the mushrooms begin to sprout as the fungus turns white.
"They can double their size in 24 hours," Brackin says. "We harvest six or seven times in a 24-hour period."
The harvesting is done by size with smallest going first. As the remaining mushrooms continue to gain more space around them, they grow quicker, Brackin explains.
The temperature is kept at 62 degrees with 86 percent humidity by a computerized system. The facility also uses an energy-efficient heating and air conditioning system that uses ammonia refrigeration.
"It saves us about 40 percent on our energy costs," Brackin says. They've also installed a hot water boiler.
"I'm delighted to have this expansion of our agriculture business in Cecil County," says county agriculture coordinator Joanne Richart-Young.
