Mushroom farms around the world are dealing with the problem of labor shortage. In Canada and the US, there is a labor gap of about 20 percent and about $200 million worth of mushrooms are wasted each year due to the lack of laborers. “It’s a skilled job as mushrooms are very delicate to the touch” says Michael Curry with Mycionics, developer of a robotic mushroom harvesting system. “It takes about three months to become a skilled harvester but due to the repetitive nature of the work and the high humidity, it’s a job people are not as keen to do.” With a turnover of 40+ percent, many workers leave the farm before they have learned the ropes.

Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) announced the transfer of its patented robotic mushroom harvesting technology to Mycionics Inc., a Canadian agtech company located in Putnam, Ontario.

The move comes at a time when the horticulture industry looks to accelerate its automation efforts to benefit Canadian growers.

A interesting chat with Ryan McCartney of Mycionics Inc. Interviewed by Niranjan Minase, CEO – AgTechNews.com & AgRoboNews.com

Today, Élisabeth Brière, Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced the 5 projects that will receive up to $1 million in funding each under Phase 2 of the Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) program – Challenge Stream. The announcement was made at Exonetik Inc., one of the Phase 2 winners.