Mushroom Farms Rely on Generator Power
Mushroom farms grow, harvest, package and store mushrooms, and also rely on generators for backup power.
Mushroom Production & Facts
Mushrooms are one of the most popular foods available today. They are technically not a fruit or a vegetable, but are actually considered a type of fungi. A recent study from the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported that 891 million pounds of common mushrooms were produced in the 2016-2017 season,
view the report here. Mushrooms are grown from spores that do not require sunlight for photosynthesis. Mushroom spores are cultivated in buildings. The farms are complete production facilities. They range from manual farms to automated operations. Each mushroom type can require a different growing medium. White button mushrooms require a compost mixture, while shitake mushrooms grow on decaying logs.
The mushroom growth cycle is approximately 13 weeks. The growing steps for mushrooms that require a compost medium are:
- Compost is created on or off-site and pasteurized
- The compost is spread evenly on a growing table
- Mushroom spores are on seeds (such as wheat). Spore seed combination is spread over the compost
- A layer of peat is spread over the mushrooms
The growing building contains horizontal tables that are stacked on top of one another. Each table is separated from the lower. It takes about two weeks for the mushrooms to emerge out of the peat. As the mushrooms grow, heat is produced. The mushroom crop will die if heat exceeds the appropriate temperature anytime during the life cycle. Once the mushrooms are reaching harvest, they double in size every 24 hours. During the harvest, each table renders a crop every 2 to 5 days for the remaining three weeks. Harvest and storing for transportation are the final steps.
Automated Mushroom Farms
Many large mushroom farms have moved to installing automated equipment at their facility to increase production. Fully automated farms use cranes to place tables on the racks and conveyors to spread the medium. Planting is often completed by hand. Some growers harvest mushrooms with an automatic cutting device that cuts all mushrooms on a growing tray in a single pass. Many feel that hand harvest and sorting preserves quality.
Generators Supply Power to Farms
Farms that perform growing operations manually as well as automated farms require a dependable power supply. Manually operating farms require building climate control. When the climate control system fails because of a power outage, complete crops can be lost. In addition, any produce in refrigeration units begins to decompose.
Diesel powered generators are the answer for emergency power for mushroom farms on the utility grid. Generators are manufactured for continuous supply for remotely located farms. We have many styles of generators.
Portable, sound attenuated enclosures, and skid are the basic designs. Generators on skids are for enclosed applications and have supporting systems. Sound attenuated enclosures have fuel tanks and do not need supporting systems. Portable generators can be easily transported from area to area on a farm.
The 2000 kW Cummins generator displayed here is one example of a unit that was recently supplied to a mushroom farm to fulfill their extensive backup power requirements. Generator Source offers high quality, low-hour pre-owned generators for cost savings. Go to
Used Generator Inventory to see our in-stock invnetory of fully tested generators. See
New Generators for our new genset options. We offer immediate availability and can often ship within 24 hours.
Contact Us with any questions.
|
0 comments