Businesses mushrooming for Kitsaki

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A year ago, when Ray McKay, the head of Kitsaki Management, was talking about the company's expansion into mushroom wholesaling, he remarked that some day wild mushrooms may be a larger industry than wild rice is today. Now, it looks like some day is nearer than he thought.

As of May 30, the mushroom plant in La Ronge's industrial park had accepted nearly 5,000 pounds of morel mushrooms, and the season was only five days old. When morel season came to a close at the end of June, the total harvest tallied 26,000 pounds.

"We're quite pleased with that," said Terry Helary, manager of Northern Lights Wild Rice, which is owned by Kitsaki Management and in turn by the Lac La Ronge Indian band. Northern Lights has collected and packaged wild rice and produced beef jerky for many years, but mushrooms are a relatively new venture for the firm.

There were about 250 pickers scouring the burned out areas of the northern forest this spring, gathering morels by the bucket. They're worth $5 per pound now, a dollar more than last year because competition has started up for Northern Lights.

"Competition is good for the pickers," shrugs Helary, noting that it's extra money for many more northern residents.

The venture has also created employment for 15 band members, who work in the mushroom plant in two separate shifts.

Last year, Northern Lights' first year in the industry, was disappointing because weather and the previous fire season combined to create a poor crop. Morels favour new burn areas, and this year growing conditions were much improved. "It's what we were hoping for, with the fires last year," said Helary.

As soon as the mushrooms come in, they are stored in a cooler to preserve their moisture and flavour. White-coated staff pick over the mushrooms, removing debris and grading them into a number of size categories and discarding those that don't meet standards.

Many of the mushrooms are dried, but there are also buyers for fresh mushrooms at a premium price. The catch is that the delivery service must be premium, too.

"There's a van leaving every day. You've got to keep them fresh," said David Ratt, a long-time mushroom picker who now works for Northern Lights.

The majority of the morels are heading to the U.S. right now-one shipment of 1,000 pounds was headed for Boston-but Helary expects that eventually, most of Kitsaki's mushrooms will end up in Europe. The company already has a distribution deal with a Swiss co-operative.

While the morel season is now over, there are still other varieties for Northern Lights to harvest this year. By mid-July, chanterelles will be in season, and when those give out in August, pine mushrooms will be popping up in the forest.