Pa. mushroom industry awarded grant to study environmental use of compost

The Pennsylvania mushroom industry won a grant from Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to study how to better use the spent compost from growing mushrooms.

The research would focus on the carbon sequestration gleaned from applying spent mushroom compost, part of a larger spate of grants to state agriculture groups, totaling almost $1.3 million, according to a news release.

The grants are designed to spur innovation to increase productivity, advance human and animal science, and support cleaner water, healthier soil and a safer food supply.

This grant aligns with the Climate Goal for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which strives to achieve a 26% reduction of net greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 from 2005 levels.

For the Pennsylvania mushroom industry, $43,000 grant means an increased focus on environmentally friendly practices of mushroom compost.

“Mushroom compost, long regarded for its horticultural and agricultural benefits, is only scratching the surface of the opportunities available for its environmental superpowers,” American Mushroom Institute president Rachel Roberts said in the release.

Mushroom compost is known as “black gold” for its ability to speed up re-vegetation, mine reclamation, agricultural soil health and carbon sequestration.

Besides farm and garden use, spent mushroom compost is used for stormwater management.

Rather than build more costly sewer plants to handle the larger and more frequent rainstorms, the Philadelphia Water Department developed methods to divert and slow down the flow of the water. One method is using compost-enriched soil blends to create basins, swales and rain gardens.