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Messagesfinaaly sunk some money into my old truck so its ready to roll for me.... now i can feel a little more at ease travelling the backroads.... nice pics as always Sam.... looks like those chantrelles need a little rain again.... getting that orangy look from sun exposure.... hotspring?? is that a hint jk but we know theres some around here... anyhow i found a few pines yesterday but really i hope they hold off for at least to more weeks.... otherwise too many wormies... full buckets all ger can't figure it out so i will post some pictures on my face book ger
MessagesHey Dwight,was just thinking about giving you a call.Guess you had a half decent season....hope we have the same out here. Cheers !
Messagesmountain harvest.... SORRY for taking my frustrations out towards you , for the way things have become. I have picked the boston bar area for 25 years and never sold any dirty mushrooms. to each their own I supose. Also I jumped the gun as to not knowing what years you were there, 05 was much better than 07 and 08. Anyway no hard feelings I hope, and by the way fishing here is always GOOD, like the patches you can't tell anyone about the good holes lol. Once again my appology to you Dwight
MessagesEvening all !! just got back from an overnighter , checked a patch of chantys I hadn't been to for a few years , they were still there waiting for me :) http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3058.jpg I also managed to find a few pines http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3060.jpg and found enough white chanterelles to keep me happy :) http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3088.jpg then I went for a soaker in the hotsprings before headin home , just another fine day in the wild..... :) full buckets to everybody !! Sam in BBY.
MessagesThankyou Carla, this sight is for mushroomers
MessagesHey all, how goes it? waiting to go to the Cranberry. Heard there's just wormies. We should be there in a couple of weeks to meet up with you all. Good luck for now. Elliot & Sharon
MessagesWow Nola, that's awesome. Over here the average picker is making 40-60 a day with the excellent pickers making 100...The same seems to be the case in Wa from what i am hearing.
MessagesAugust is a regular poster that we all know and love and those of you who have just came here to trash him are wasting your time because we don't want to hear it... This board is about mushrooms and sharing information not hating and trash talking...
MessagesGood to see you posting Dwight, be glad you havent been part of the BC mushrooms lately. Last year was really sad. say hi to Deb for me
Messagesgoodday all, we went too check out our patches in kitwanga/hwy37 not much happening yet, compared to last year this same weekend when we found 34lbs of pines. everything seems to be running abit later this year. prices @ 20.00lb in Terrace area. Goodluck too all
MessagesI was surprised by the quality of the mushrooms that came through my door tonight. It seems these chantrells are growing in quantity in certain places. Average pickers are making between 1 and 2 hundred a day, and real good pickers are goin nuts. Tonight i'm 4 on chantrell and 2 on lobsters. Get them before they dry up, and bring them to me. Got questions call 541-362-0700 OR 541-361-0770 :)
MessagesSettle differences somewhere else. Later, Matsiman
Messageslooking for dried pine and dried porcini.. brent@pacrimmushrooms dot com
MessagesSAT NITE REZPICKERZ NEEDUM FIREWATERZ
MessagesRezPickerz, what is your point?
MessagesYes,I did get payed as a guide and I also told you what was going to happen with the Discover Channel and you did not be live me. I must of laid about that too?. What I did get was $150. 00 a day for two day's and I never picked a dam mushroom but they did and there total for two day's was 7lb's between three people and really it's not your business on what I make are do. You have a lot to learn about farming and slaying well you best look at yourself and how you put people down for just trying to teach other's what fire burns are all about and give them a ones in a life time shot at it. Here is something for you to remember,what you say and what you do I don't care for it's all up to you. buy the way did you ever make it up to the Rattlesnake like you said you would do?. I never made it due to snow over the trails and it would of been a long walk besides I had chant's coming in and needed to be picked and boletes as well. I don't have time to play game's and I also needed to take care of my family as well as finding a home for the three of us. I would like to take some pic's of the sh'rooms I find just to show all of you but I don't take the time to do so. Some day I well if I ever get old and can't find my way out of the forest I'll drop the film off for all to see how I left to go to the sh'room world lol.
MessagesMUSHROOM MAKE WHITE MAN SPEAK WITH FORKED TONGUE
MessagesP.S. hope matsiman has good luck lookin for work
Messageswell havnt heard from TC yet must not be much happening up north yet??Jackie you buyin yet this year?shes for sure one of the best buyers ive ever known and certainly the most honest. e-mail me jack if u read this.myself im not goin huntin until at least sept 15.let them come first i hope gas way to high.good luck to all this year and i can only hope for sum decent prices but dont really care as long as crop is good and healthy.
MessagesDid you own the land Marin? Because if it is public property you really have no right to be so angry at August.
MessagesAugust is famous now and he's having a little trouble adjusting to the fame. It'z cool w/me. And I am NOT marin. lol. I just wanted to know what ever came out of Rattlesnake? Seemed like a bust to me. Dried out, hard to get to and pine beetle ridden dead end.... SOMEBODY PROVE ME WRONG! cell phone pix verification only LOL
MessagesDwight., That was inspirational , I consider myself lucky to be your friend .
MessagesOk August I've had enough of your attitude, if we can't be friends then so be it. I use only my own name, no need to hide behind a stage name. Its time to let everyone know about you though. August and I were farming morels at Crow Creek when he brought in the Morelman and Discovery Channel to ducoument them on film. The next thing I know their slaying every thing big enough to see.August sold me out, He got paid a guide fee and I got shafted. So thats the kind of guy August is!
MessagesYep, don't let the trolls get to you.... They always go away and it's just us left. Some people just cant help but to make a butt of themselves with immature postings on the net...
MessagesNo bother Matsiman, thanks for the encouragement though. There are many who post here who know me, some like me & some don't. Those who don't is because I didn't allow Booze or dope at my buying station while it was open, nor did I give either as a bonus for selling to me & I wouldn't buy dirty mushrooms. What Deb & I did give was something either hot or cold to drink, food if you were hungry, and a place to stay if they had nowhere else, including your sister Rainbow Warrior! And for those of you who may remember, I'm the old guy with one eye & one arm who took on the Frenchman"s hired knucklers on Morsby Island at the Sandspit Inn at the end of the season in 2000 when no one else would , cost me $1,342 for damages to the bar, sure I took the first swing while I could, but I didn't win the fight. And a week before that, that crazy Russian, Raza ( First time picker )got all drunked up and tried to sneek in behind me while I was packing mushrooms & stab me in the back with a Bowie knife because prices were so bad that year because Russia came back on line & flooded the market with cheap Cahanterelles that year. The end of that story was he ended up taking that knife in the leg to the hospital with him, with no charges laid I might add, & to boot we still gave him a ride back to Squamish where he lived at the end of the season Anyway I know how tough things are for all of you out there who follow the mushroom trails on the west coast, it took the best of me, I no longer desire to climb mountains so steep that sometimes your nose almost touches the ground in front of you just to get those Morels sitting just out of reach on that ledge. I am no longer strong enough for that, I envy all of you who still are & for your youth. And remember that old saying, " Living Is The Only Thing Worth Dying For" I would rather die falling off that cliff reaching for those Morels that are just out of reach, than die with my belly full of booze & my system full of drugs in a car crash or some stupid fight in a bar. Stay curious & strong, Dwight in New Brunswick
MessagesMountain Harvest, Don't let these guys bother ya. Keep posting. Your input and experience is welcome here. Let the rest of us take care of those frustrated by prices, and won't accept any explanation for this state of affairs. I have a delete button and many others have sharp wits to take care of the unwanted posters. Later, Matsiman
MessagesThanks for the support A" good to see you still hanmering the keys here for us, but I think I can handle the dorky comments okay, and yes it has been quite a while since I have posted here. Do you know what a New Brunswicker is Morris? Your right, it's a newfy who never made it to Toronto :) but this New Brunswicker did make it to BC, and had the chance to meet a lot of fine teachers & pickers of mushrooms for almost 40 years And as far as working for a Jo, never had a boss by that name. And Morris I don't believe that you know me at all ( unless your name is not actualy Morris ) to make these kind of judgments, and name calling at your age !! Who do you blame for that, iggnorence was instilled in you by someone, why don't you tell us all about so we can get to know you a little better. Mountain Harvest
MessagesMountain Harvest, how the hell are you. I don't understand why people act the way they do but as long as we understand where there from we need not wast are time with them. I don't care where people are from just as long as they leave there H&D at home.
Messagesok morris,how bout you leave the board and never come back,this is a board for shrooms not lame name calling
MessagesMarin, Why don't you just use your real name and not hide who your really are. I need not prove to you a thing and if I had a cell that could take pic's you would eat your words. I well not lower myself to you are anyone that can't take my word and I really would like to show you what you don't know but it's my patch's and not your's. If you would get off you butt and look for places where no one has been before and not where every eel's picks you could have something to talk about. But what I see of you is that your I.Q. is to low to learn. You just won't someone to point you to the patch's so you could pick and leave your beer can's all over the wood's. You did it here and you do it there and some day it well come bach to bite you along with your word's. This I hope well be your last post from me. So say what you well and do what you can to learn as much as I and then if I see a change in you I may give you the time of the day. Remember this, I know who you are and where you pick and I could let other's know just so they could pick with you. I have been picking for more years then you and I have found patch's that kn no one eel's knew of and I have never pick in a patch that someone eel's picked. I may not be seen in some of my old patch's for year's because, I seek out for new one's ever year and this is the year to do so and where I live is just the right place to begin but don't think I won't be over there to pick my patch's that need to be work. I beleive you get my point so wake up and learn to be someone that your not but won't to be. A"
MessagesRainbow Warrior, favor granted !!!! Hows the fishing ? And I agree, I wouldn't pick pines for a buck either, but I think pines were on the average of $26 to $32 for #1s for 2005 in Boston Bar were they not? I think your confused with last years prices. But let me end with my hat is off to you boy's who climb those cliffs you got there, hard work I know . Dwight in New Brunswick
Messagesaugust your so full of crap you dont have any pines to prove your not telling the truth you might fool some but you dont fool me take a cell phone pic and prove your a pro picker idont have to is not an excuse have your out of state buddy take one for you
MessagesApparently Nakusp is starting, a few buyers present
MessagesHey all...anyone know whats happening in Nakusp?
MessagesIf you are a buyer of Pines & you are used to buying clean mushrooms, then " DO NOT" go to Boston Bar to buy mushrooms, because no-one will sell to you if they have to clean them, even if you offer a good bonus for clean. I lived there for two years and only bought for one season because the locals refused to clean the mushrooms. On the other hand, if you are a picker & don't want to bother cleaning your shrooms, then "Boston Bar" is the place for you. And if you go there to pick, please give my regards to Ron. But if you do pick good clean quality shrooms, then check out the local Asian store owners beside "Kal Tire". The end of October is when it really kicks in at Boston Bar. Dwight, in New Brunswick
MessagesGarf ; I think that if you are good enough to tangle with Grizzlies you are good to go !!!
MessagesDew of heaven ; I'm sorry I did not understand part of your comment ., but, did you meant to say that you will stomp you patches before someone also gets them ? Please expand on your explanation. Thanks.
Messagesanyone hear anything on elphinstone yet
Messagesgot a bucket full of chantys yesterday, will double that tomorrow- still way early for a crop tho, lots of baby throw backs
MessagesBarbie butch usually buys in boston bar i belive but boston bar wont be happening yet
MessagesMarin, I do have a bull board but what I have type on this board is true and why should I show you what I have really been picking. I have said it on the forum board that if the snow left late your ground would take longer to warm up and your fall crop would be late. The ground on the 90 rd has been very wet all summer long and slow to warm up and to have the sh' room's to grow would take some hot day's just like fruit on a tree.If it's late it because that it needs heat to help them grow as well as water. To much heat then they dry up,no water they never grow. I know it takes some drying and heat to force them to set fruit before it rain's. What I should say is, places like the ninety road had a lot of snow that left late and the ground has been colder much longer then here where the snow left sooner. Sorry you fill the why you do but from what I have learn from you and people you know, are know of you is sad. Today is my day off before I head back into the wood's, by the way your friend Rick the buyer would like to talk. to you. he knows what i have picked on your, your side of the hill!.
MessagesGreetings All, My study partner checked study on Wednesday 9/3. Found few fungi emerging, no chantie or matsi. Later, Matsiman
MessagesTook a 4x4 trip up into the hills a couple days ago with a buddy of mine for something to do and I found some Golden Chantrelle buttons. This was on Vancouver Island south of 49 and above 600m elevation on NW facing slope with one small patch growing right beside the logging road I was driving on. Gotta love drive-thru picking! Mostly tiny buttons too small to be worth picking but it's a start. No sign of any Pines yet in the two known patches I checked but they really weren't my prime focus for the day. Also found one miserable lonely hedgehog.
MessagesI been on the 90 and the yellows just started, no lobsters and no pines. A your full of it!
MessagesHey northern pickers, we are open in reedsport if you dont want to drive to coosbay or eugene. Hours are 4-8. 541-361-0700. Prices available over the phone. Pray for rain :)
Messagesoh i could not help my self,. i stop at my pine patch, aw thier they were just waiting for me, same place same day as last year, took my legal 2 and covered the rest, ill be back,.!!!!LOL,. i think all of us who did not get permits should just got out and keep stoping our patchts if i cant have them no one can attuide,..dew of hell
MessagesRan into loon lobo today over my way. He just could not talk the Ant's in the forest into helping him find any sh room's. I just feed them and they pack them out for me lol. John, they packed out 25lb's of yellow's and ten lb's of bolete's for us in two hour's. Seen more blue's chant's but well let the grow some more for lb's. Is there anyone that needs some?. Stop in to look at two pine patch's and they are growing really good and pick one just to look for worm's and not one was to be seen even the bolete's look good. Buckettogo
MessagesHey Barbie, email me @ jasonrobertson6@hotmail.com I may have some info for ya, Cheers
Messagesdoes anyone know of a buyer in Boston Bar or Hope BC any information would be most appreciated.
Messageshi to all,any chantys in powell river yet and is there enough to travel there for,any info would be appreciated,thanks
MessagesHi Dew, no need Karma will get him back...LOL and that is even worse than my hubby can do... ;-)
Messagescarla, got your message,.have u man kika his ass, lol,.i be callin u today,. gota go look for some dew,.so i can see u ,.
MessagesBluecollar........ The zoo is at km. 68.5 and is the center of the cranberry patches. I know most of the patches there and many that are long logged. It is refered to as the cranberry as thats what we called the old site on the cranberry river on the nass valley service rd.. thank goodness we had to move from the old site as it was way too small with everyone on top of each other (was a fight fest many nights ;) ) The other cranberry is on vancouver island which is being devestated by Island Timber lands (so sad) Sad because it had some of the best producing matsi beds in n america..... km
MessagesDew of heaven, check ur messages... You will know who to blame at that point... lol .... Same trouble making fool, all the time... I will be back today.
MessagesYes, they are Steve. Very small amounts, not even making gas money...
MessagesAnyone finding pines yet in Oregon?
Messagesi unfortunately pulled into a roadside pulloff by a bridge on the stewart cassiar late one night ... dead tired .... was putting up the tent as there was two of us and no room .... and i could hear all of this splashing .... pretty loud.... this was the cranberry river and it was grizzly fishing by the moon and my tent was pretty well right on the trail to the river.... call me goneeeeeeeeeee ... slim to very little,,, prices anyone ?? ger
MessagesKingmorel,cranberry is the area around the Cranberry river on Highway 37 north of Kitwanga.B.C. Just a general term that covers a lot of area.
MessagesShelly in Powell River is paying $5.00 per lb. for CLEAN Chantrelles.
Messagescarla, i want to chew your ass, thier were alot of pickers standing at your door !!!!!call someone, to post a note or somthing ,.dont leave us hangin,. say anthing not open till further notice,. do you need help at the buystaion call me,.
Messagesi need to know if you are open today ,. carla it a long drive, if your not
MessagesWhere is the "cranberry"? do you know both Cranberrys? There are no yellow boletes where im picking my matsi....... never was, prob nvr will be. Thats a west coast thing, sp. south of the 49th. Dont think north of 60 I have ever seen yellow boletes or south of the 20th. ;) km
MessagesHi North, i will tell u when i see you...
Messagescould someone please let me know what the price of pines are at.
Messagescould someone please let me know what the price of pines are at.
Messagesthe succession of mushrooms that precede matsi's are ryhsopoegon (puff balls),then yellow boletes .where ever you see yellow boletes,when they stop growing in the area the matsi's start 1 to 3 years later.
Messagesflorence canada
Messagesnorth is florence
MessagesInfo on Pines & or buyers in the Zoo, Cranberry, or Nakusp areas please. Thanks S
MessagesSay North, were is north?
Messagesim a mushroom whom the dew of heaven drops now and then,. what the heck carla,. i ve called and call to see u open or what is up,. looks like h&p buy staion here is getting ready to open doors, any guess who it will be this year,.
Messageshi Carla - i went down the coast to check patches and meet some others for a foray, the group did OK, if a few pounds each was enough for the labor day efforts...... I expected more, sence it rained pretty good a few weeks ago, still pretty dry. might check some of my local patches and see whats in them in a few days. mushroom fest - Yachats - Oct 17 - 19
MessagesHi Sundanzz. I wish u would have called me, i could have told you that the average picker is only getting 12-15 pounds of chants right now... Very few are actually making any money. And to make it even worse the price is coming down, from what i hear other companies are selling for little more than we are paying...
MessagesHey Randy check and please respond to you hotmail e-mails if you get a chance. I e-mailed you and P with some questions. Hell if the shrooms are still popping nicely i might quite my day job and come pick until it snows. Of course i would need to travel back to the states for family visits. Hit me back asap. Job search for me is bleak some openings but not willing to pay! Ps. Going to look into adding a Canada calling package to my cell. Werd up. duncan!~~
Messageshey thanks for the heads up Leo.... feeling pretty darn good considering and now its just a matter of how hard of hikes can i do.... went for a walk saturday and it was steep and fairly ugly and i managed pretty good so looks like its a go.... feel like i could handle a good fall and that was my concern so yehawww..... found one quarter lber....really nice and thats a good sign and hearing august about all the babies where he hasn't seen them for awhile .... i suspect it might go here to... weather patterns been great... if i was andy i would know better on that one.... guess i'll look at the charts...ts andy randy hope its being good to you over there it sure looks like it.... i'm kinda excited about this season and now i will start contacting my buyers and see if i can avoid the cartel again .... course if they keep their prices decent ... right joes??? full buckets all ger
MessagesRick,I'll give you a call in the morning are you can call me.
MessagesWell just got back from Mt St Helen's and we picked two basket's of yellow's in two hour's time. Stoped off in and around Packwood to see what the price's were for yellow's and White's going for, $2.50 and yellow's $3.00 but then the buyer would not tell me anything eel's also he was buying for P&H. There doing they best to get the price's down are should I say firetruck(starts with f and end's with uck) the picker's and other buyer's!!. Ok,maybe I should play right and pick-it his station because his buy told me to not return to his station again. I well do what ever I can to point out to other picker's how there getting firetruck by P&H on there price's. I almost won't to open up Myself to keep it fair for the picker's.? Well it's time to say goodnight to you all, I have a long day of sale's and if I have time I well try to go out late to do some more picking. Bucketstogo
MessagesPines just starting here, found 1lb. made $20.00 from frenchies. I'll give it a few days and try again. goodluck to all
MessagesHey steve - went down the carla way - no chantys, no lobsters no matsi no boletes on the coast, need to go inland for sparce hand fulls of chantys -- too much work and a waste of presious gas, glad the casino gods were good to me to pay for the trip .. mushys didnt..
MessagesGarf ., Do you remember your post about matsies growing by the railroad cliffs ? Well I though about it and last month when I was in mount Washington it occurred to me that I should check this semi abandoned rail road track that travels trough the mountain., just to see if it was a potential matsutake habitat ., you know how much matsies love ridges and cliffs , unfortunately not many good places, however my wife was with me and she loved it , we had to cross long bridges and such ., it was fun, I dubbed it the Hobo trail ., (since I found and old hobo campsite)., now that I am thinking of it I should have named it Garf's trail , hope everything it's well with you., sincerely Leo.
MessagesAugust.. what you doing picking 2's? lol Any bets on weither A"'s report has the price @ $1/lb by tonight? A' you flooded the market in Japan man. w2g dude........... lol
MessagesSteve, you must be low if you found chant's!
MessagesYes but in eastern Washington like around yakima
MessagesWell pretty good day got a little over 10 pounds of Chanterelles in just 2 hours. August were the pines in Washington? I thought it would be a little early here in Oregon. I guess if I get time I will have to go higher on Hood. Sundancekid I sent an email about the Chanties.
MessagesA good day picking, I picked 38lb's of yellow's and 9lb's of blue's with 15lb's bolete's and 6lb's of hen of the wood's and now for the best part of the day,two basket's of pine's are 42lb's of one's and two's and not a worm in them. I may not even have time to pick on the other side of the hill's tell the end of the month. I seen a lot of baby's popping up where I have never seen them before. I'll just have to pick more soon to keep thing's clean.
MessagesNo Chuck... lol Funny thing is I'm letting them rot in the woods. If I cant make 1k a day I have other more important things to do. Was fun for a few weeks though.... You guys should be loading soon!!! km
MessagesFresh Pines with my t-bone steak tonight!! yahoo.. happy hunting everyone.
MessagesNice Pickin Randy... You aiming to change your nickname to KingoftheShrooms?? lol Great job!
MessagesTWITCH im at tantric9@yahoo.com let me know how its going and how much your pullin out maybe i can help
MessagesA few people were asking for lobster mushroom photos!!! Plz give photo credit if you use... thx... km
MessagesI have updated my summer mushroom blog. http://www.myspace.com/kingmorel
MessagesMoe, Three buyers.Very little volume coming in.
MessagesSorry there marin, you and your half know more then I do . They must have been your basket's you said someone left. By the way we know pitchzilla is your other name, have you foregot that I know where the ip come's from and who you are?!!.
MessagesThanks Morris, where would Peter be? goodluck and goodpicking
MessagesSo...... after the dust and spores settled...how did the Rattlesnake Rape go?
Messageshey moe look for peter,the only one that will pay more than the cartel
MessagesMarin, I'm not lol but the only worm's found well be in what you pick and not in my patch's and maybe what I well leave you if I decide to leave you any at all lol.
Messagesanyone buying in Kitwanga yet, patches are waiting. Goodluck everyone
MessagesAny buyers in the Comox Valley? What are the prices at?
MessagesGood job August, but maybe the worms will come back! lol
MessagesWell said Keith! Happy new mushroom year everyone!
MessagesWell hello shroomdogs! Hope everyone is amazing! I need some Chantys for Monday ....anybody have any...please email me at : whistlerskibum@gmail.com include price and how many pounds you have...i will take atleast 100lbs... Thanks!! asap replies appreciated...cheers to all!
MessagesA Great job pickin. You know what happens if the matsi year is good........?? more complaining from us pickers! I hope this year, we can keep this sight friendly and have a great time to post and communicate information on the season.....
MessagesGreat to see board running again; thankyou. Im in Terrace area and wandering what prices for pines are and who should I sell too? can't wait to see my first of the season. Goodluck and goodpicking
MessagesGreat to see board running again; thankyou. Im in Terrace area and wandering what prices for pines are and who should I sell too? can't wait to see my first of the season. Goodluck and goodpicking
MessagesJust got home 30 min's ago after picking 38 lb's of chant's on the west of the hill's, look's like a really super year for chant's but not for lob's. The ground is super wet and needs to dry out for the lob's but I still have not looked at my bolete patch's and no need to with the ground so wet. It really look's to be a very,very good year for pine's as well and one we have not seen in mine year's. buckittogo to you all...................Madmorel
Messagescranberrydawg, i posted a couple of months ago when this forum came back up. remember where we met near horne lake. that spot that an old picker showed me... he had picked for nearly 25 yrs.... all clear cut. i was camping with my boys in may and you could see the whole hillside... dam i hate Island timberlands and timber west... i know i sound like a broken record... they are locking all thier gates... i guess i have to rig up the mountain bike... are you still interested in scouting out some pine (or chantrelle) country mid island? post back or e-mail me at tzabo@shaw.ca.....zed.
Messagesgot $27 for # 1`s (pines) good luck finding pickers as your at 12 ,give it a couple a day`s you`ll be down to 6 or 8 bucks,if that,if it flushs 2 or 3 again as you alllllllllllll did. now you can blow some more smoke up everyone`s azz.no wonder the pickers are pissed.its only the start .KARMA
MessagesMushroom season looking very good for Nakusp. Pine prices $12.00 per pound for 1's, $8.00 per pound for 2's, $4.00 per pound for 3's and $2.00 per pound for 4's and $1.00 per pound for 5's. Chantrel's and Lobster's just starting. Picker's needed.
MessagesI for one..... will be holding up the Chanterelle price this year. ---Price of Fuel---Loss of Patches due to logging---Gated Roads, something new under Bill 30--- add up to min $12.00LB to my customers. Pines are another story --- most likely $12.00 across the board for all grades except #1. C
Messageswell its rained days straight here now,the chantys i saw the other day are loving it,oughta be a great season:)
MessagesI want to thank all of you who have posted what you have about our small operation we have tried to get going here. I am deeply touched by the compliments and recommendations you have given. And you are right CD, no one is above criticism in the ntfp industry (or life in general) and there is always room to improve. Being an independent has its advantages but also has its limitations as we too are impacted by the price structures (and in many instances price fixing) that are in place not only in mushrooms but also in the salal and evergreen industry. We also get undercut and in some cases back stabbled by some of the smaller distributors. There is a limit to what we can do to maintain the prices we would like to see at the scales due to a lot of things totally beyond our control. In this area the prices for chanties are dropping now and I am trying to find a consensus among our pickers at what price point this year the buying should end. At some point we need to learn to say no more below this price. All of our costs of living and cost of picking and operating have gone up and somehow the inflation that we all live with day to day have to be adjusted for. At the end of the season, whatever that season of ntfp may be, we all carry into the next year the knowledge of how we treated each other as human beings. Some of the larger companies we deal with understand that and those are the ones we try and work with. To some companies we have tried to deal with all that matters is the bottom line and those ones we will not do business with. I truly believe, and I know many of you do as well, that in the end of it all it is relationships we build along this journey of life that give our unique way of life the quality of living that we all desire for our love of the forest and providing a beautiful product that end users can find adds to their quality of life as well. Money is important but when people are treated as a commodity in someone's spreadsheet, and when the dignity of human relationships become a non value in business practices, things do need to move beyond what it is now and I think we all in this discussion agree on that.
MessagesPickers opinions one way or another concerning field buyers have always confounded me. Buyers that I find to be decent folks with honesty and integrity, invariably get blasted and dissed by others - these preferences are extremely subjective. On the subject of Kieth Hunter, I've no doubt even he is not immune to these types of criticism, however, I will say that I have sold to him on numerous occasions and not only do I find him to be a very honest and decent person to do business with, but also a very fine human being also. It's not really my style to blow smoke, but I do agree wholeheartedly with KM - - - - when in Alberni, the choice is KH. Enough, CD
MessagesThanks King Morel, you just made my day!!! :-)
MessagesGarf.... I have been busy at the store.. not picking , but may go grab another bunch of pines this week... km
Messagesrain again today and my pile of firewood logs seems to get bigger and i gotta get out to the woods .... course i am right there but its not an early spot.... i know now for sure that theres a few around .... i hope not an early flush all over and then they are over by mid october.... i've picked here til 11th of december one year.... and that was from about sept.11th .... thats how many different little ecosystems there are.... i always get a yearning to see the seven sisters and maybe hit the harper this time of year but with gas and mushroom prices think i'll stick with the picking here and doing the firewood shake thing .... randy still picking??? ger
Messagestest@
MessagesA" just phone me then.... dont have to type... btw I cant keep up to myself sometimes lol
MessagesVG.... Joe and Joe will not talk to me anymore..... lol... and thats very fine by me. Tell me which buyers round up to the nearest hundred and I'll show you a whole lotta pissed off pickers. I have sold to the vast majority of buyers in Canada and the USA over the last 25 yrs. I also pick quality, clean product, and I might add volume!!!! Nvr yet have I seen a buyer round up to the nearest hundred in the last 10 or more yrs. I have paid $2.00 a lb with $35 a lb under the table though.... At least till the other buyers at the Zoo ratted me out to Tony... Even with your rounding 30lbs would still be 1 hundred with the exporter pocketing the extra $50.00. BTW mushroom picking was a real job for over 20 yrs. a dang hard job at that....... whats a real job IYO? km
MessagesKingmoral..obviously you are not selling to the right buyer..If a buyer offered me an extra $.50 for my mushrooms... I wouldn't be back..I'm talking about rounding up to the nearest hundred dollar...I've been around this circuit too many times and for too long..to think that the pickers are going to change the price of the mushrooms..Trust me the Buyers can't change the price..Talk to Joe & Joe..if you want the price to change....Good Luck...
MessagesHey, danielofthewoods. got an email or contact number thanks twitch.
MessagesKingmorel, slow down dud I can't keep up with you and your writeing but I can side with you at what you are saying!. Pick your word's and spell the them your way loll!. By the way just picked ten lb's of Matsi today and not one worm. It look's to be a good year and the eastside of the hill and still no sign for the westside. Marin eat your heart.
MessagesVG... most of the good pickers are not picking right now......... round up does not make any dif. For example: If you sell 29.5 lbs of mushrooms @ $1.00/lb thats $29.50 rounded up to $30.00. WOW thats an extra 50 cents. Compared to the $5.00/lb you should have recieved ($150.00) Dont blame the pickers for bringing in product like they do when they are being paid garbage prices. If you pay garbage prices they you must expect garbage product. Whats silly is, the fact that people even bother to sell at low prices and perpetulate the problem. I will save my primo for buyers that respect me and pay me fairly. To each thier own. km
Messagesheart transplant indeed.... I was more thinking of cutting out the cancer, then a little chemo..... lolI agree on not wanting the same old thing to happen once the change happens. For me I think it will be after my shift...... little steps for now and alot of public awareness. Carla you are an exception. thats why we respect you!!!! For those that live on the island I would respectfully suggest you sell to Keith as he like Carla care about u... Keith is also an independant so you supporting him helps in the big picture... Keith its time to hit the resturants in Whistler!!! maybe even give them some free product!! km
MessagesI also want to say once again that the buyer in the buy station does not have control over the price and there are many times that if they do round u up it is coming out of their pocket... Not the companies
MessagesAs a buyer i can truthfully say that part of my time is spent keeping my price a secret from the other buyers... It may sound silly but it keeps them so busy trying to figure out what i am doing that they don't have time to concentrate on their pickers ...
MessagesPerception is an interesting thing. Some view things with the perception of a fish or a mouse. There are few with the perception of the bear or eagle.
MessagesIt all seems so silly...a good mushroom picker always cleans and takes care of their mushrooms...and a good buyer usually rounds the price up for a good picker to keep them coming back..if you like mushroom picking then pick mushrooms..if you want a steady income then get a real job..and pick mushrooms because you enjoy it...HAPPY SHROOM PICKING TO ALL...
Messageshey kieth looks like some sunshine for kennedy lake is in the forecast.... whats the volume like commin out..... just waiting to get in there.. safe season everyone!
Messagesjc,how the hell are you ice man.?
MessagesIf those's picker's that pick clean where not to sale to those that buy unclean mushroon's and make a point of it to them ( the buyer's) then maybe one wound stop buying the durt and pay a better price for clean. Only the picker can decide what he won'ts from the buyer's and the buyer's must stop buying unclean shroom. I have alway's clean as I pick and still bring in as much as the picker with unclean mushroon's. It's not all that hard to do and you get in and out fast. The buyer's should post a sigh for all those to read and decide if it would pay more to have people to clean for him are pay more to the picker's whom pick clean, and the more the buyer pay's the better picker's well come his way.
MessagesWhen a hurricane threatens a very small percentage of oil production on the Gulf Coast what happens to the price of oil. When weather threatens the yield of any food commodity the price immediately goes up. When weather threatens the crop of wild mushrooms the price incredibly still drops with the same BS fed from the buyers of a bumper crop somewhere else. Dig deeper into the BS stories you are fed and you will find their stories are just that. The whole mushroom industry smells of it. No offense to you Keith. You are one of the few honest ones out there.
MessagesKingmorel, Matsiman and Garf. Great interpretations of your ideas of wild mushroom pricing dilemma. Wouldn't it be interesting if each mushroom had a futures pricing on the stock market the way wheat, corn and soy do???... The whole issue of wild mushroom picking needs to be raised to the surface, with world market and climate conditions studied on a broader scale. To look at the daily price fluctuations of let's look at oil per say... A wormy crop should price Matsi higher. As with morels.. a lack of rain and poor growing conditions should affect the futures price. As should a wet summer with few or no forest fires. Commodity pricing needs to exist for wild mushrooms in order for the picker to make what they deserve. In order for this to happen the industry itself need to be on the table with no underground cash transactions. Do any of you know any market traders that could raise the issue?? Good Luck. I will remain retired to picking until I can make what I am worth picking (as much as I love walking through the woods)... unhappily retired, but I will survive.
Messageskingmorel, Sounds like your talking about a heart transplant, replace the buying sector with a new one. That has a very good chance, but the right heart, new buyers, must be a strong perfect match and timing of the transplant appropriate. Don't want to run into the same problem in a year or two. Later, Matsiman
MessagesMatsiman..... very good job I.M.O. that you have done trying to explain a complex problem. I hear ya on being careful not to distroy future markets. I beleave that must happen so that the big players move on to other "exploits" Pickers are already facing times of "unfair" trade and the majority of pro pickers are doing other things. I know many that have the talent and knowledge to take over exporting when the time comes..... There is a dif between one company setting the days starting price to "ALL" companies fixing the days price....... Such a practice is not market driven and is classic price fixing. Its very hard for pickers to bring in quality, clean product for "sweat shop" prices and thus support the exporters with an even larger windfall as they dont even make enough to fill the gas tank for tomorrows pick. km
MessagesStormy, how do we get in touch with you regarding mushroom baskets?
Messageskingmorel, garf, Thanks for helping out with price explanation. I do believe price fixing is a practice, but did it effect today's prices?? Before all of hit the roof, remember who I am. I'm not an authority, but I do know something about the industry. I'm not trying to convince anybody anything. I'm just offering an optional explanation of the same situation, prices. A mentioned before about the evening calls. Those of us who picked in the early 90's remember the buyers evening calls and cut throat habits. Dumping lower grades on another buyer was a good one. Any way, the point is this habit has always been there. The price was good during this period. So we have price fixing with a fair price and price fixing where pickers get almost nothing for their product. I'm just asking you step back and look at what has changed in the industry which might have effected price to the picker. We all want prices to improve, but if we focus on the incorrect cause, then the effect will continue. It's like treating an Illness by treating the effect of the illness. Diagnose and treat the illness incorrectly, and the disease will continue. Most everybody has come up with a general treatment, starve the illnes affecting us. Meaning don't supply buyers with mushrooms. Certainly this will work, but this treatment may have an unwanted effect. Starve the whole body, mushroom industry, and each part will suffer. We as individual pickers cannot function without nurisment, picking and selling. Who do you think will survive longer? Once again, I am not the one with the solution, only providing another explaination for the state of prices. Later, Matsiman
Messagessure are getting a lot of rain here.... feels like fall and i know there are mushrooms out there.... the meadow mushrooms popped in less than a week in the horse field.... other mushrooms are all over the grassy areas....i will go look at my chantrelle patch and maybe go look at the early matsu sunday or so .... just for the pleassure of being in the woods.... if i find a bunch great,but i won't sell to a mushroom station unless its a good price... simple as that.... eventually with the gas prices and that less and less people will pick... suits me.... i love the solitude... i can always sell my mushrooms without depending on the big exporters ... watch what happens if their volumes go way down..... and eventually they will.... ger
Messagesstormy, i am looking for 5k baskets. if you do have them contact me and we can talk. kingbolete@hotmail.com
MessagesTHEY PRICE FIX... Thats not a secret to anyone that has bought or still buys, or the pickers that listens to their ph calls on thier scanners. Prices in Japan have not changed, infact on avg. they have increased. Field prices have dropped on avg. off the scale.... What has led to this is there are few importers in Japan and those that are left have found a way to cooperate in thier price fixing...... with-out a few renegade exporters like Beever they can control what they pay out, add in some of the things that Matsiman mentioned like poor quality, dirty mushrooms and shipping junk and then hiring 100 cleaners in Vancouver. Subsidizing thier fish plant operations on the back of thier mushroom operations. Everyone forgets about the other grades of matsutake........... imagine the profit line on the lower grades. Remember when they would buy the # ones at higher price and make thier bucks on the lower grades?....... even when the Japan price was lower than we now see today... Its all about greed..... if you dont like the price just dont pick or better yet pick but dont sell to the export buyers. thats what I do... km
MessagesThanks Tommy..Have you heard how the picking is going? I just talked to someone that had found a few buttons and was wondering...
Messagesare there any buyer stations in the nakusp area?
Messageshey vg , jan and dan are opening this weekend. tommy
MessagesAre there any Buyers in the Nakusp area?
MessagesAndy, When you have sometime call 509-594-1397
MessagesHi stormy. Depends on the size and if u have lids with them or not. With lids 5k's go for 2.00-2.50 each used, 3k's go for about .60-.75 used with lids.
Messageshave couple hundred mushroom baskets anyone have an idea what the going price is
MessagesMatsiman thank you for sharing your historical perspective and I would think that the same scenarios would apply to other ntfp products as well. I think this discussion taking place is good to have and brings up many factors relating to our evolving industry. The increase of harvesting pressure in areas that previously were more local in nature not only impacts the markets but also the local uses of some of these same species. The adverse impacts of some of the commerical activities with the more mobile commercial harvesting activities, such as sundanzkid posted about wild berries, raises many challenges from a pure sustainable resource management point of view. At times, as a buyer that operates with various ntfp in addition to wild foods, I am very hesitant to try and market some products due to the pandora's box that opens when word gets out that an area is producing a marketable resource. Once the genie is out of the bottle it is impossible to put it back in. I agree OBVIOUS that each area, and each product, has its own unique situation and I think the commonality exists when the products enter into the larger global brokerage markets. We deal mainly with chanterelles where we are at and are influenced by production and pricing from other areas. Last year for example we were able to maintain a somewhat decent price structure on berries until Oregon started producing, and the same thing happened later in the season with Oregon's late flush and the prices that were being paid in Oregon to pickers being lower than what we were paying here. And this doesn't even begin to account for the market influences of products coming from other countries such as Russia or Europe. I think also what affects us today is the internet which I don't think as small producers we have been able to fully develop. I know we have tried to work with smaller companies who sell wild foods at farmers markets to provide them a niche market product with varying degrees of success. What is occuring on the smaller scale of that type of market development that I have seen is that there are many people trying to buy and sell mushrooms that are doing so without making any money what so ever. The drive to the bottom on pricing to undercut competition has created a situation where some of the smaller brokers are buying and selling products knowing they are undercuting prices without making any money which results in driving the prices down. There seems to be this race to be the cheapest which makes no sense at all from a business point of view and does not do the industry itself any good as far as I can see when business basically try and compete by giving away products at cost. Sport3 also brought up a very valid point about contamination issues with wild foods. As we know here in BC, the forest companies are using pesticides for brush control. The Ministry of Forests has also encouraged timber companies to use a more intense fertilizer regime to speed the growth of timber. These forest practices increase the risk of contamination areas due to the arial application of some of these chemicals being done by boom spraying or helicopters. Although some of the packing plants and distributors have a HAACP based operation in their processing plants there is no industry standard of HAACP based harvesting or buying stations that occurs downstream from their plants. The potentials for contaminated products to enter the food markets in the wild foods sector is just a matter of time for almost every wild food product since most buyers and wholesale distributors operate on a "don't ask don't tell" basis of harvesting practices. Food tracibility is something that is required in every other sector of food products and is something I strongly believe should be incorporated into the wild foods sector as well to protect our customers but also to prevent situations where products from BC or the Northwest in general are stigmatized when a contamination issue does happen, which it will at some point in time. Our business has invested literally thousands of dollars this past year into developing the GIS capability to begin to track the areas of forest operation contamination in an effort to do our due diligence to begin to assist our pickers in developing their own tracibility records so that we can market our products knowing that food safe issues are incorporated in the picking practices. I know this is a long post and I want to thank all of you who contribute to this board in the discussions and networking I deeply appreciate. And thank you Matsiman for putting this site up and congratulations on the 300K hits. That is awesome.
MessagesI just want to make the point that the Terrace/Hazelton/Cranberry/Nass pine market was destined to decline - it had to. I was one of the lucky ones who enjoyed the good times, but, along with many others, I saw the writing on the wall. The industry in this neck of the woods was doomed. It's like the oil sands in Northern Alberta - enjoy the good times while you can folks because this prohibitively expensive sector will soon be on the decline too. What it boils down to is the REAL cost of getting our prized BC pine out of the bush and into the hands of the final consumer - there is no way we can compete with China or Korea or for that matter the USA. We are just too many backroads, highways and flight paths removed from the middleman to have a fair shake. And, generally speaking, we will not work for peanuts either - as is evidenced by the conspicuous absense of the majority of the old time pickers in this area - we are simply not coming to pick anymore. The only way to make our industry up here economically viable again would be to implement a subsidised or two tiered system, which we know will never happen. It used to be that we did enjoy higher prices than our US friends, but alas, that is no longer the case. And, from a pure business standpoint, I agree with OBVIOUS - why on earth would Chung or any of the others want to pay more for OUR product when they can get the same thing down the road for half the price? I'll hop off my soap box in a second, but just a quick comment on supply and demand - up here it is a moot point, because like I said, the picker force has dropped off so dramatically in the last several years that there really is no supply anymore anyway. I suspect even last year, which was a bumper crop - maybe TC or someone can correct me if I am wrong - the volumes were down considerably, and yet all the cartel could manage was $2/lb. I suspect I'll catch some flack from the purists here, but it is a sad day in my books when a matsutake fetches less than practically every other mushroom in the forest. End of speech - CD
MessagesNot gonna banty back and forth. We are not talking about the effect of the price change. I tried to explain the cause. As for the evening calls and uping the price, that's been going on since I started picking in 1990. Later, Matsiman
MessagesSport 3, your bang on, I too have watched that price game in buyer stations here numerous times.
MessagesI too appreciate you taking the time to respond to my entry Matsiman, and am able to wrap my head around most of that concerning a certain % of the type of mushrooms picked for commercial sale. I cannot agree when it comes to Pines, they still demand and get a decent price, but the picker only receives a half decent price at the beginning and end of the season. This "I believe" is due to the buyers just trying to get people to come to the area early, then they have to pick all season just to make enough money to pay expenses and buy gas to get home. Late in the season many have gotten tired of picking for peanuts and the price is raised in order to get pickers back in the bush and increase volume, but by then the majority of Pines have started to open below ground, and it's even tougher to make a buck. As most are aware, prices in Japan were posted here many times in previous seasons, and when it's $50lb in Japan, and $2lb in British Columbia, someone's getting bent over without the simple benifit of a reach around. The question of cleaning and picking a decent product is somewhat like the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg, when being paid so poorly people tend to take less pride in their work, this is OBVIOUS in almost every industry in Canada these days. I won't bother trying to influence anyone on whether to sell or not, that boat sailed about 6yrs ago, I am simply stating "my take on things". One other thing that most should realize on this board, certain comments apply to certain area's, I'm speaking of the Terrace B.C. area. I have no idea of what goes on in other area's, let alone the good ole U.S.A. Hope everyone has an enjoyable and safe season regardless, I would simply encourage all to treat the bush with respect.
MessagesThe price of pines are fixed in a conference call usually around 3 pm Pacific.I was in the front office....heard with my own ears !They book their shippping together too.And buyers squeal on one another if one raises their price.Company called other company.....buyer that raised price is called and told to go back to the agreed price !Heard this too.Other shrooms...there is more competition....but not with pines !We used to get another dollar a pound for "clean" pines,companies stopped doing that....so why clean them while the next guy in line is getting paid for a couple pounds of dirt ?The price of North American and Swedish pines was "high" in Japan last year due to insecticide found on China pines.....the field price was low here !Price fixing !
MessagesMatsiman...Thank you for your clear and concise explanation of the prices paid for mushrooms. I agree with everything you stated. It has always been my contention that supply and demand was the main reason for low prices. That holds true for any kind of product, not just mushrooms.
MessagesGreetings All, I apologize for not posting my views on the state of prices to the picker. Had to deal with campers coming in until 11PM last night. I still hesitate cause I'm not a buyer and have almost no input from the buyers and brokers. The subject is not easy for me to discuss without input from those who buy from pickers. We have 3 buyers who regularly read and post on the board. All have offered good explanations. Didn't do much good to explain cause they weren't believed. I assume I'll receive the same response. Any way, here we go with a few factual influences to field price. Supply and demand is almost always the primary influence to prices. Take a look back to the mid and early 90's. Picker force significantly increased between 91 and 97. 97 was the best year ever in the Oregon Cascades. By the end of the season, prices fell to 5 for buttons. This was probably the beginning of low prices. Supply was greater then ever, but markets were on the decline. Decline likely associated with Japanese economy. Now there is a work force collecting more than the market can absorb and keep the price up. This was the beginning, but not the end. This situation may not have had a perminate influence cause every year is not a 97. However, the next influence embedded a change in supply. The same time period was tough for pickers established in patches for many years. The patches they picked were over run buy the new picking force. They solution was to find new patches. We did just that. Didn't take long before we were found by others. The competition was so great, we looked further and further from traditional areas. Still we were found. You could keep areas secrete for, at best, 2 years. Then found again. Now we have a large picking force with all the area needed to keep volumes hi regardless of production in 1 area. The 3rd influence was quality on top of quantity. The industry insisted on clean quality product. New pickers were not successfully trained in handling mushrooms brought in. Many pickers would not clean and brought in anything matsi found. It became evident buying practices needed to change to buy quantities and quality brought in. Buyers and brokers elected to buy everything at a low price, and sort through for the quality. The remainder was sold cheap, made into soup, or discarded. An investigation by agencies of the US government in about 99 concluded no price fixing. I was personally involved in the investigation. Price fluctuation was attributed to supply/demand and broker expenses. Ok that's a brief explanation. Maybe Carla, Tom or Keith can correct me if I'm wrong. As I said, I'm not a buyer. Later, Matsiman
Messageshey steve was wondering if you went back to the car prowler zone yet ----- had a chance to preview some of the grand canyon footages from a couple of the boaters, radical stuff, they missed the flood by 5 days at havasu creek - still many hours of tape 2 go, not sure when the party is,after all the trips - next weekend is the thompson river in canada and sept 13 tieton river, the rogue river permit is up also, not sure of that date.
MessagesThanks Keith. Leave the crap in the bush pickers.
Messagesdaniel of the woods, it wil need a week to make it worth while. know any bamfield patch? leave me your email and I'll let you know how it goes. no buyers in tofino just hungry pickers with baby bottons
Messageschecked 7 water sheds August, drove 350 miles, east side is 5x drier than the west side, what counted was long term wetness and not random cloud bursts, most all places i visited only had 1 inch of total moisture penatration in the duff and no mycelium present between the dirt and duff, it is setting up but im goina wait a week or 2 and let things grow, patches seem late and smaller than usual, i was eating and giving away lots of chantys by this time last year
MessagesHey Sundanz, Had a few free hours on Saturday found about 2 or 3 pounds of Chanterelles also lots of hucks. We should hit some old spots soon.
Messagessundanzkidd, Maybe you need to look on the eastside for I picked 20 lb's today of peach chant's.
Messagesmountains are slow, checked many patches not much to look for, got 4 lobsters and 8 baby chantys, was a real waste of gas for 3 days of checking patches, best hunting we did was 56 lbs of fresh sturgeon from the nez perce clan, they wanted to trade fish for our berries, naw, berries about gone commercial guys bout raped it all off, got lucky at a few of my off the beaten path spots but still hammered, illegal berry camp eye sores, cant wait to see the garbage them jokers leave behind woods still need a few more weeks to set up for mushrooms - not seeing any mycelium in great quantities yet
MessagesOBVIOUS, you called me out LOL. Well Keith said it all, but his explanation may be hard for some to understand. I don't have time at the moment to clarify, campers are coming in, but I'll find time tonight. Basically buy large quantities low, pick out the good stuff and sell the rest cheap or throw it away. What's interesting is how it got this way. Hey everybody, 300,000 on the home page!!!! All of you made it happen. Later,Matsiman
Messagescarla, did didn`t say all, was directed to certain buyers in the north west.like i said ,it was a cut-thoat business.ps been telling pickers for years that a clean produce will get the better $$$$$$$$$ as weeeeeeeee do . buckets to all
MessagesChuck I have no idea what the other stations are offering now. We are paying $5.00 per pound for yellow chanterelles at this point in time.
MessagesSo what would I be getting per pound of Chanties today at the buying stations On the Island?? If you cannot pick clean you should not bother picking. Everything the picker can do to keep a high price should be done. That is until the price hits the bottom. Then just quit picking. Good picking to you all
MessagesHi keith, thanks for the good wishes! I also have a helpful bunch around my buy station, our soda machine would not work and sure enough one of the pickers knew how to fix it and went right to it, so it was fixed almost before i knew it was broke...lol I didnt even understand what was broke even after he told me... ;-)
MessagesThanks Carla. We have started to get chanties in and today I feel like it does when standing in the calm before the storm. I hope things are going good for you and that you have a great season.
MessagesWhy argue about the price again, it's simple and obvious. If there were two large screen TV's for sale, even though they were both worth 2k, if one was for sale for $100, or 5% of it's worth, which one would you buy. Oh yeah right, we as a species are so honourable we would all buy the 2k tv, yeah. For years pickers have been willing to sell for 5% of the products value, who's fault is that. Would love to have Matsiman clarify his entry about prices, since this topic usually dominates the board. My only entry this year, will read from now on, maybe.
MessagesHi Keith, good to see you. :-) It feels good to see the regulars all coming back!
MessagesCarla you are right that many of our best pickers just come in too tired to do the cleaning of the mushrooms that needs to occur. When they bring in good quality mushrooms that makes the grading faster and easier it makes the cleaning process go better which helps keep the cost down for our station. That allows us to keep the prices we can pay higher because one way or the other the products have to be picked, cleaned and accepted by the point of sale customer as being something they want to spend their hard earned money to buy. At time when we have been in a crunch some of our pickers have stayed around to give us a hand in getting caught up. The relationships formed and the willingness to work together to make it work for everyone is awesome to see happen.
MessagesMatsiman you bring up a very good point about cleaning of mushrooms. At some point along the line from bucket to plate the product has to be cleaned. Last year we tried a tiered pricing system to where we paid one price for cleaned product and another price for product we had to hire people to clean. These people working for us cleaning also need a fair wage for their labor. What we found was that most pickers we bought from seemed to prefer the lower price due to the length of time it took to clean the mushrooms. Some brought their products in ready to go directly into the end use point of sale market distribution but those individuals were the exception. What I see as hurting the wild food industry in general is that the industry standards for quality control are very lax and due to that the prices are kept low due to the cost recovery factors of low standards. Some of the distributors are set up to do their own cleaning but then they have the freight costs associated with paying for shipping of discards and waste. From a business economic point of view their prices are based lower to account for these costs that are not recoverable in the market place so the cost recovery occurs by lowering their field prices. One way or the other the products have to be cleaned and that adds value to the product. It comes down to where in the value chain that value is added and where in that value chain it makes more sense for that to occur. We have chosen to try our best to only market products that we add the value of clean products to and not engage in the bulk volume markets that have driven lower prices due to the waste cost recovery that occurs from the larger companies and their poor quality based buying strategies. Somewhere along the line these companies recover their costs and that is one reason I think that there is such a difference seen between the picker price and the end price.
MessagesHi Matsiman. As for the cleaning in the buy station, i luv it when most of the guys clean their stuff for me but there are some that will devalue their product due to lack of knowledge of the proper way to clean and retain the veil properly, so i tell them not to...lol There are also times when i have a really good picker who is just trashed after his or her day in the woods and need a hand to get home to the family so i help them out. ;-)
MessagesHi RJ. I am a mushroom buyer and if i do say so, a darn good one. I have a very happy and helpful bunch that sell to me. I am not sure why u seem to hate us buyers so much... but not all are as u described...
Messageshey twitch whos buying in ucluelet right now and whats the price thanks see you in a week
Messageshey does anybody know if butch is still buying in ucluelet
MessagesEvening all !! well we're sure gettin our rain now !! south coast BC. went out for a couple of strolls... cibarius are lookin good...http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3041.jpg http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3042.jpg and the black bears were plentiful .... http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z96/samder007/DSCN3044.jpg drove right up to them, they were gorging themselves in blackberries. beautiful creatures to admire from a safe distance :) full buckets to everybody !!! Sam in BBY.
MessagesAmen Keith. I rarely sell commercially, as I said, but I do go to the buying station. Quality picked and picker handling is very poor. Those who do pick good quality, rarely clean. Taking pride in your product is rarely seen where I've been. I've been asked many times why do you clean them, you don't have to. Pride in my product is the answer. Later, Matsiman
MessagesMushroom Doom it will be interesting to see how the market forces work out this year. Not only are the picker expenses higher as you mentioned, but so are the costs of hydro for running our cooler, the freight costs for things like baskets and shipping of products, the ferry costs, and now even text messaging of all things. In the end of it all I am thinking that it comes down to whether or not the prices at the point of sale to the end users can increase to absorb these additional costs. It seems other food sectors have been able to pass the cost increases along to the end user and hopefully the wild food sector will find a market that is willing to absorb these costs as well. In the crunch to cut costs and increase efficiencies to reduce costs I would think that the quality of product factors are going to become even more strict due to trying to reduce the costs associated with waste and discards. That is just my guess and I hope things work out for everyone along the value chain to where everyone`s increased costs can be met.
MessagesBlaze2 hopefully this will help answer your question about how we operate our business. You are right, that mushroom season is a seasonal product, just as is christmas greenery and salal seasons, moss and berries. We operate a four season business and buy products when the market conditions, as well as the growing seasons and abundance of resources makes sense to do so. We ran seven days a week for over a year and what I learned the hard way doing that is there is a need (at least in my own life) to have a life outside of running a business. Small things like being a grandpa, working around the house, giving our shed employees time off so they can have a life, you know all those other things that go into running a business other than just trying to see how much of something we can buy. I suppose there are more than one ways of looking at a ntfp business. Are we in business to provide a service to pickers or or we just one of many potential customers of the pickers i try and see the pickers as being self-employed people who have a product that they are wanting to sell and that I am a customer, just as I sale products to our customers. With that thought in mind, I don`t make demands upon our customers as to when they should be open to suit my schedule. In fact, it is up to me to try and meet the quality standards and provide a product that fits in with the operations of our customers. Most of the pickers we buy from understand that and we don`t have a problem with it. If they do, then of course they can sell their products to whomever they want to. I am not trying to buy every mushroom I can or trying to build our business based upon volumes. We are not a commission based buyer. Hopefully this answered your question.
MessagesHey all, i'm back on the board again looking forward to another exciting season of pickin'... Lookin' forward to watching all the dramas unfold here too, almost as much as i'm looking forward to the actual picking ;-) Last year I couldn't even find a buyer in Victoria but at $3/lb (or less) offered by commercial buyers for worm free #1 pines and a buck a pound with picky grading for chanties it wouldn't have been worth selling what I picked anyways. I ended up eating most of my picks last year and selling the rest to some of my mycophilic neighbors and a chef friend of mine. With the price of gas being almost 30% higher than it was last year at this time, it will be interesting to see if we have finally reached the breaking point this year? I just can't see picking actually making anyone any money anymore, if the prices keep going the way they've been for the last half decade. Will the bottom finally fall out of the market?!?!? Stay tuned!
Messagesraining cats n dogs here :),went out with the wife n i think 2 more wees n a picker can turn a buck at this around here n hey Tory! get a grip on the spam eh !
MessagesKeith Hunter...Mushroom season is just that...a season. Closing on sunday??? Whats up with that? People pick every day, not just the days you are open. Its up to you but i would think that the pickers would sell to a station thats open 24X7 considering that most real pickers pick every day of the week
Messagesjust goes to show... for all...that the internet...creates the marketing benefits...that were not available 10-20 yrs ago which has diminished the SALAD (GOOD-OLD) Days when the Shrooms were like the price of GOLD!!! It's a CUT-THROAT...MONEY HUNGRY WORLD WE LIVE IN....and the lowest offer gets the sale...cheers T.C.
Messageshows kennedy lake doing looks cold and too wet . damn pines are prob poppin out there cold enough hey
MessagesGreetings All, went to the study yesterday. Very few fungi coming up. Found 1 baby matsi, and almost nothing else, No chanties. I see name calling is back. "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me." Remember that saying when you were a kid? Well names do hurt and are inappropriate here. Some day I'll try to explain why we are where we are with prices. It has nothing to do with individuals, picking crews or any one country. It's simply brokers change in buying practices around the world. All I'll say for now cause I don't want to add fuel to the fire. I rarely sell commercially for the last 5 years. Guess what, I'm still having fun, but picking costs me 1500 to 2000 US dollars a year. Can't find better entertainment or exercise for the same price. Later, Matsiman
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MessagesGreetings: I wanted to let the West Coast Vancouver Island pickers know we have opened our buying station on the Tseshaht Indian Reserve near Port Alberni (where our shop and office is located. We are NOT buying out of the old sproat school this year.) We will have the buying station open for buying between 4pm and 8pm Monday thru Saturday (Closed Sundays) When the volume picks up from Uclulet and Tofino we will be opening a station down that way. I will post that location when that happens. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at our office 250-720-8907 or my cell phone 250-731-3998 or my email at FirstNationsWildcrafters at shaw.ca Take care and I hope everyone has a good and safe season.
MessagesBuckit's to you rj
Messagessorry but many people getting screwed over the shrooming business. my apologies for the remarks.not directed to you or any other pickers.just stating the facts,as those buyers know who they are.back stabbers,two faced,Lairs. hope you all find someone to do business with and if i can help just ask.garanteed the true.glad to help. Sorry A' no t directed to you. happy pick`En
MessagesSorry there rj, but I'am retired because of P.T.S.D do to being in Nam and I'am 57 and an hep-C and more. I love to pick becase it give's me a peace of mine and freedom and it's a good exersize. Yes I have been a small time buyer but those that know know that I'am for the picker and not the joe's.
MessagesSorry how some of you feel but most of you buyers think only of your selfs,the poor pickers trying to make ends meat,while you fill your pockets ,on the backs o |
