Mark Komatsu, left, and Hugh Owens

Mark Komatsu, left, and Hugh Owens

It is the grey and white cave world at Bradford on Avon, as much as 100 feet under the sold rock surface where annual temperatures vary by only 2°C, that usually gets the publicity as far Oakfield is concerned.

Farm manager Mark Komatsu, whose surname belies his sturdy English appearance, regularly appears in features that chart the history of caves that have traditionally been the source of the renowned Bath stone, but have subsequently been the home to a mushroom crop for more than 100 years.

The site may be historic, and today even an anachronism. “In the post second world war period, using caves was relatively well known [in mushroom production],” says Owens. “We are probably the last left.”

Taken over by Oakfield in 1991, the site has proved ideal for the production of delicate fluted yellow, pink and beige oysters and other specialities, following Owens’ decision two years earlier prior to that to switch from traditional white and mainly closed cup mushrooms to a range of alternatives.

It is, however, two other farms that account for 90 per cent of the company’s domestically-cultivated crop. The facilities at Fladbury and Evesham are used as consolidation points for centralised packing and it is from here that growth will come.

“We are re-commissioning nine redundant growing houses and have permission to build another 10, which will increase our specialist capacity by around 20 per cent,” says Owens. Annual sales - including Holland - run at around £10-£11 million, with a customer base that includes leading multiples, independents and caterers.

Elsewhere in this month’s Focus on...Mushrooms the dire straits into which the UK production industry has dived is well charted.

So why is Owens so confident? He is certainly no wide-eyed newcomer to the industry, having worked at Heinz when it owned Blue Prince and before setting up Oakfield Farm Products, intermediately trading in the crop on the open market.

The fact that he has concentrated on chestnut mushrooms is a story in itself. These brown mushrooms, which were also known as champignon marron, are a relatively new product on UK supermarket shelves.

“At first you could say they suffered from an identity crisis,” he jokes. “The breakthrough came when together with a retailer we came up with the alternative to the French name - Chestnut. “The name proved to be ideal, as it fitted both the taste and texture. After that, sales really took off.”

Subsequently, the sector has become even more descriptive adding names such as Portobella for large opens, Portabellini for small opens, and Crimini for small buttons.

Going organic is more complex. Mushrooms may appear to be already organic to the uninitiated. But to obtain certification amongst other things, compost has to be made from organic straw - itself a by-product from cereal crops.

Owens believes passionately that specialisation is the future, whether that lies in Chestnut grown in modern houses or Oyster that continues to emerge from the equivalent of thousands of Gro-Bags in Bradford-on-Avon. The key, as with any fresh produce line, is the ability to create additional value.

There are others waiting in the wings. Komatsu, a specialist in his own right, has grown varieties such as Horse mushrooms and Blewitts, which can take up to 30 weeks to complete their production cycle underground.

For him mushrooms have always been a mystery worth solving. “Mushrooms are grown in the dark because it is the best way to control temperature, he explains. “There are even others which actually do better in the light. There is so much we are still finding out.”

In his role as chairman of the Horticulture Development Council mushroom committee, Komatsu too is concerned about the future direction for UK growers.

Both men agree that the domestic industry is still changing, and has shrunk beyond recognition from the 1960s when it was virtually self-sufficient.

“After the boom times, English growers faced the reality of the effect of cheap competitive imports from first the Republic of Ireland and then Holland,” says Komatsu.

“Today, even this situation has been exacerbated with multiple retailers becoming more competitive and price conscious,” adds Owens. “In real terms, white mushroom values have risen very little if at all.”

This year alone he estimates that as much as 500 tonnes of production has been lost, as more farms both large and small have shut.

If the industry can now stabilise, he says there is hope, despite the potential influx of Polish product across the EU, putting the European industry under more pressure.

“Logically we should still be able to succeed. We are nearest to the market, and have some of the best growing skills in the world,” he says.

The answer probably lies in increased levels of specialisation, such as practised by Oakfield, or perhaps new forms of marketing. Time alone will tell.

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