Shiitake mushrooms and logs are two peas in a pod. When talking to Ingrid and Paul West of Misty Dawn Farm in Stoughton, Wisconsin, you will understand why. Westerners kindly take care of the logs they harvest, which are planted with self-produced shiitake mushrooms. They are willing to share the magic of growing nutritious fungi, they are full of enthusiasm and knowledge.

Shiitake mushrooms grown on logs are a healthy staple food, versatile, nutritious, and rich in vitamins and minerals. With their rich meat quality, they embody a pleasant salty taste that many people cannot get.

More than 20 years ago, the Wests purchased 50 acres of land in Vernon County as a holiday space, hoping to create more biodiversity, improve watersheds, provide water quality protection, and create habitat and food for wildlife. With these goals in mind, Wests signed the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forest Management Act plan to plan how to actively manage their forests to achieve regeneration.

“We have 35 acres of forest and 15 acres of pasture. We participated in the program and planted 9,000 trees on the property immediately after purchase,” Ingrid explained. 

When Ingrid and Paul were arranged for their first planned forest thinning, they found that many times, loggers would leave treetops because they had little market value.

"We know that we have a lot of red maple leaf boards, and they will be scrap," Paul said.

Wests didn't want to have too much forest waste, so they started to research how to use wood and discovered the various benefits of growing shiitake mushrooms.

"Our family farm grows shiitake mushrooms because we want to do something meaningful with our trees, and growing mushrooms is a wonderful way to diversify our forests," Ingrid added. 

Westerners know that if it is not done well, forest thinning may cause losses to their land. This is where the US Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides assistance to Ingrid and Paul.

The landowner worked with Sam Skemp, a conservationist in the NRCS area of ​​Vernon County, to plan conservation practices to help them actively manage the forest. Through the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), Wests installed 1,000 feet of forest trails and platforms to gain better access to their property, protect frequently traveled areas, and select trees for harvesting. They also cooperated with NRCS to install a 1,800-foot long rocky beach, which is a river that crosses the water surface to stabilize the river while allowing the passage of equipment to minimize disturbance to the river's ecosystem.

"Our land is located at the source of the pine watershed; by installing Ford, we can help protect the downstream watershed," Ingrid said.

Wests continues to maintain all its protective measures with the technical assistance of NRCS.

"The continuing work in the west to improve forest land and protect watersheds is a good example of how landowners can benefit from multiple land uses through our EQIP program," Skemp added.

Once their property successfully thinned, West received a sustainable agricultural research and education grant to grow shiitake mushrooms on different types of wood harvested from their forest-covered land. They collected growth rate data on different substrates, including red maple, sugar maple, red oak, white oak, poplar and hickory logs. This allows them to find out which species and techniques are best for growing shiitake mushrooms locally.

"We did research and really like shiitake mushrooms; we want a high-quality product with added value. We are growing shiitake mushrooms grown on logs. This is an interesting niche market that restaurants and consumers want and love. "Ingrid said. Paul pointed out that the product is not only the mushrooms they produce, but also the value-added logs they grow mushrooms on their own land.

Ingrid and Paul produced 500 logs during the growing season from March to November.

"In the spring, we held an inoculation event, and we had friends who came out to help us prepare logs to grow mushrooms," Paul added.

Each log produces about half a pound of mushrooms during the fruiting period, and it may bear fruit one to three times throughout the season. The logs rest about eight weeks between results.

"Our mushrooms are really grown and grown outdoors, not indoors. We believe this ensures the robustness, deliciousness and high quality of the products," Ingrid explained.

Wests sells their shiitake mushrooms to local restaurants, direct consumers and farmers' markets.

"These mushrooms are grown and harvested locally, so they are super fresh from farm to table and provide the highest levels of vitamin D," Ingrid added.

Wests is also committed to sharing education and information about conservation practices and growing shiitake mushrooms with others.

"We signed a contract with our Amish neighbors to graze on our pastures, and they also grow maple syrup on top of our ridges; we have been talking with them about the benefits of conservation," Ingrid said.

Wests is also part of the Shiitake Mushroom Growers Association, helping new mushroom growers by providing seminars and holding field days on how to care for shiitake mushroom logs and fruits. Wests also provides logs and planting kits for new growers.

Ingrid also volunteered to participate in the Wisconsin NRCS State Technical Committee and Forestry Subcommittee, representing the Shiitake Mushroom Growers Association. She is interested in educating and sharing the great things NRCS has done to help woodland owners; especially because she and her husband have succeeded through the EQIP program.

“It’s great to be able to share resources with others and help formulate policies; it’s great to be able to express my views as a grower, we can do more together as a team,” Ingrid added.

The installed NRCS protection measures have been a huge success, and Wests looks forward to implementing more protection measures.

"The NRCS area conservationist Sam Skemp of Vernon County has been working with us; he is great. We talked to him about a lot of possibilities and look forward to helping our land more in the future; due to our steep land elevation, we There are goals to protect river banks and control erosion," Ingrid said. "We are also considering some invasive species control and planting to increase diversity through EQIP in the future."

Ingrid and Paul also hope to further improve their stand. They hope to continue to work to promote the diversified regeneration of forests. 

"Ingrid and Paul have always been great land managers and it is a pleasure to work with them," Skemp added.

Conservation is one of Paul's and Ingrid's primary goals in planting acreage.

"Protection is really important to me. I am the first generation of Americans; my parents are from Germany, where there are many long-term intensively managed forests. My grandfather and I collected a lot of mushrooms. My father wants to be a Forester, so the love of protection has been circulating in my home for a long time," Ingrid said. "When we bought this land, we wanted to live closer to this land and be part of it. It provides us with a way out and an opportunity to work with the land and protect it." 

"Seeing these changes is very worthwhile, and it makes us feel that we are doing something locally and in the watershed," Paul said.

Ingrid added: "Our family cares very much about our mushroom logs; we are very proud of the mushrooms we produce and are fortunate to share our passion, knowledge and magic in growing shiitake mushrooms with others."

Westerners realized that if they did not take care of their woodland to produce healthy logs, they would not be able to grow wonderful shiitake mushrooms.

"We are really working hard to improve our land to make it more sustainable and biologically diverse; to cultivate it into a more sustainable ecosystem, and the biodiversity of wildlife flourishes," said Ingrid .

Ingrid and Paul will continue to cultivate their land, their trees, and continue their love of growing shiitake mushrooms for customers to enjoy.