Organic mushroom farm Heereco has almost the entire mushroom chain under its own control. For instance, Heereco has its own organic composting facility, the company has three nurseries in Uden in Brabant, which collectively produce around 45-50 tonnes per week, and it also has its own certified (FSSC and organic) drying facility where it can dry large volumes of organic mushrooms.
"This allows us to serve our customers year-round with white mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms and portabellas, both fresh and dried," says Dorus Heeren. Suppliers in the immediate area complete the package with organic oyster mushrooms, shiitake and other organic mushrooms. Sales are made to wholesalers and retailers in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Scandinavia.
New nursery opened
Heereco is 52 years old this year and started as a traditional nursery, but soon Jos Heeren - the father of current owners Jeffrey and Dorus - sought opportunities to serve specific markets. For example, white flats were grown for the English market in the late 1990s and then portabellas. in 2005, the brothers switched to organic mushroom cultivation. "Over the years, when demand came in, we always added production. Last year, we opened the newest nursery."
Still, marketing organic mushrooms does not always come naturally. Situations such as Covid and the energy crises have caused big swings in consumption. The energy crises in particular have made some consumers less likely to choose organic produce. "This is understandable, but at the same time also very unfortunate, because organic products have hardly kept up with the price hikes we have faced in the last year. Fortunately, we do currently see more stability in demand again compared to a year ago. In the longer term, we do remain confident about organic sales."
Certified drying plant
Since the end of 2016, Heereco has also had its own certified drying plant where large volumes of organic mushrooms can be processed. These long-life products can be used in soups or sauces, for example. "This is a sustainable solution because it means mushrooms in which a lot of time, energy and raw materials have been invested are eventually consumed. Transport and storage of dried mushrooms is also more sustainable because they take up several times less space than fresh or otherwise preserved mushrooms. Drying also allows you to reduce the cost of mushrooms, which at times you cannot sell. This in turn benefits the final price at which organic mushrooms can be sold to consumers."
The number of Dutch mushroom growers has declined rapidly in recent years. "I think there are only about 75 to 100 growers and don't be shocked if only half of them remain within a few years. Many growers are already a bit older and don't have a successor, so it's also a shame that a lot of knowledge and experience is disappearing from the sector with this," says Dorus. With more than 50 years of experience and with young growth within the family business, Heereco is confident that it can continue to supply the market with good organic mushrooms in the future.
Harvesting system suitable for robots
Heereco has its sights set on the future. Automation is an important spearhead here. "In the nursery we built last year, we work with the new harvesting system of the Christiaens Group from Horst. This was a big investment, but we expect to make significant labour savings with it. We have great confidence in this innovative technology, partly due to positive results realised in the past period. Automation and robotisation are necessary to cope with the ever-increasing labour costs and thus give as many people as possible the opportunity to (continue to) eat organic mushrooms in the future."
For more information:
Dorus Heeren
Heereco BV 
Goordonksedijk 26
5406 NX Uden
Tel.: +31 (0)6 27 02 60 78
info@heereco.nl
www.heereco.nl