Working in a mushroom farm. You do not need a degree, just the desire to work. To pick mushrooms, you need to be skilled, work quickly but also carefully and concentrate on your work. You have to be able to combine quality and quantity, i.e. you have to harvest accurately but also quickly, performance is important, you can not waste time. But the mushroom is sensitive, so you have to treat it with care. The difficulty of the work lies in knowing how to recognise the mushrooms when they are ripe in order to maintain a certain size.
As mushrooms are living organisms, they have to be collected every day. Normally you work in shifts, and if you work the early shift, you start very early. You have two days off a week, but you also work shifts at the weekend. At times when production is particularly high, overtime may also be required. That’s normal, because the mushroom does not wait, it has to be harvested when it’s ready.
The mushroom harvest takes place in dark rooms illuminated by neon lights. In general, the employees work in both the upper and lower levels. The work takes place in a quiet and peaceful environment that allows people to concentrate on their work.
In this profession, it is easy to work side by side with people of different nationalities. This gives you the opportunity to learn about other people’s cultures or meet people from other cultures, languages and traditions.
Working in a mushroom farm in Ireland
Walsh Mushrooms Golden Limited is an Irish company looking for employees for its farm. Duties will include collecting, sorting, grading and packing mushrooms, cleaning and preparing areas for mushroom cultivation and similar tasks. Employees must work in compliance with health and safety standards and use the tools provided. All employees must meet the minimum production targets set. Weekly working hours may vary depending on production. Previous experience in similar positions is desirable. The employer will assist employees in finding nearby accommodation and provide them with the necessary training.
You can find current vacancies on the company’s website
Monaghan is another company that is not only present in Ireland but has 29 offices around the world (Ireland, UK, Germany, Holland and Canada).
You can submit your application via the company’s website
Working in a mushroom production plant in Belgium
The main mushroom-gathering areas in Belgium are the Ardennes, the Gaume region in the south of Belgium and Bavikhove in the north, all of which lie on the border with France.
Lesage Champignons specializes in mushroom cultivation and is usually looking for seasonal workers for the harvesting months.
The working hours are between 45 and 50 hours per week and the wage is around €10 gross per hour, from which around 20 to 25% tax must be deducted, so that you can earn around €1,500 per month.
This company offers workers the possibility of accommodation (in shared rooms) for about €8/day (about €240/month), which includes everything (internet, electricity, water, etc.).
The apartments are located about 2 km from the workplace, so you can get to the workplace on foot, by bike or by a minibus provided by the company.
In Belgium, French or Flemish is spoken (depending on the region), but for this type of work it is enough to know a little English to communicate.
A passport from a European Union country is essential.
You can submit your application via the website
Another Belgian mushroom cultivation company is FME
Other mushroom farms
Finally, I would like to mention a Dutch mushroom cultivation company, the Christiaens Group
And a French company based in Perpignan, Maison Vialade
