Mushroom industry crisis and reputation risk management (MU20006)
This investment strengthened the Australian mushroom industry’s ability to identify, manage and respond to food safety, biosecurity and reputational risks.
Completed project
Mushroom industry knowledge training project (MU12001)
Publication date: February 5, 2019
Delivery Partner: Australian Mushroom Growers Association
This project was designed to help the mushroom industry address challenges in finding and retaining sufficient committed and capable staff to meet labour requirements.
As the industry expands, it is expected that labour and skills shortages will become more limiting. On top of that, there is no existing regular/ongoing mushroom-specific training available in the Australian industry above entry level.
The training delivered through this project helped provide skills, confidence and support to participants to help them perform effectively in their work at farm level. These courses helped provide industry with a growing pool of suitably trained people to support continued growth. Workshops were run in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
A number of training modules were delivered, spanning a range of topics including:
Growing and composting courses were also delivered using experienced trainers from The Netherlands in both New South Wales and South Australia and three training webinars were made available online.
Training content improved participants’ problem solving and risk management skills through a better understanding of production basics. It also reduced risk of pesticide misuse and improved communication with pest and disease management services.
Training resources, including webinars, remain available through the Australian Mushroom Growers Association.
This project was a strategic levy investment in the Hort Innovation Mushroom Fund
© 2026 Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited.
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