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User_Name: Matsiman
Date: Saturday February 28, 2015
Time: 07:40 PM

Messages

Mad morel, Looking for spring bolies may be a good idea. When I first talked to David Aurora he said the best money was in bollies. That was back in the early nineties. Matsi prices were in their height, yet he insisted more money was made in bollies. Good to see ya on the board and good hunting. Matsiman


User_Name: Dreads
Date: Saturday February 28, 2015
Time: 03:14 PM

Messages

Well I am heading to the big burns in Wa cause I live on the west side and can get time off to go picking. That's where the action will be. I have no interest in just waiting for boletes and passing up the morels. Actually I cant see how that makes any sense at all.


User_Name: Mad morel
Date: Saturday February 28, 2015
Time: 09:09 AM

Messages

If you do not know how to find blue chanterelles And like to learn I can teach you for a price Good luck to you all And this is not a year for the amateur pickers.


User_Name: Mad morel
Date: Saturday February 28, 2015
Time: 09:06 AM

Messages

Lobel nice to see you back on the board You're doing very good my friend. Andy keep up the board if you see Randy tell him I said hello hope you find a lot of them riddles fire opals that is. I'll be spending my spring looking for GOLD&Gem's Till my yellow chanterelles Already in July. Picking the eastern slopes of the Washington cascades And y es it is dry and hot Where I pick. Carla The games will begin On who finds the first yellow chanterelles


User_Name: Mad morel
Date: Saturday February 28, 2015
Time: 08:59 AM

Messages

Snow freezing temperatures just plain ass bad weather back east No different here in the West Hot dry weather come in April Don't count on the rails Look for spring bolets but then back to the bad weather hot dry and if I'm lucky I'll have another good year like I did last year" but it depends on only one thing " thunderstorms, thunderstorms, and thunderstorms" I had such a good year last year where's chanterelles I never could clean up the patch it finally froze with so many yellow chanterelles blue chanterelles hedgehogs rain drops in my eyes check out my videos on my facebook page " outdoors with August Steinborn sr"


User_Name: Handy J
Date: Tuesday February 24, 2015
Time: 03:17 PM

Messages

The northern cali and southern or areas should be starting soon if not already. maybe not commercial amounts at first but, for sure at some point. in the big burns i mean. hey when it come to illegal pickers it's hard to tell who is and who isn't. when I get asked to see my permit usually the next thing they want to know is if i've seen any other pickers. i tell them if I have and that way they, the cops, can check to see if the other pickers have permits or not. I'm not being a rat or snitch the way I see it I'm doing my civic duty!


User_Name: Swarmer
Date: Sunday February 22, 2015
Time: 12:36 PM

Messages

Has anybody checked out those big burns in southern Oregon from last year? Nice naturals can sometimes be found in a second year burn ya know.


User_Name: sPINNER cHICKS
Date: Saturday February 21, 2015
Time: 09:16 AM

Messages

oMG I am jonesing so hard right now to just get going!!! We have or permits, and our crew and buyer all lined up! We know where we're going first too. Now lets get this party started !!


User_Name: Lobo
Date: Friday February 20, 2015
Time: 09:24 PM

Messages

I met a white guy at a McCall area burn who had his wife and two or three youngsters and four Mexican Nationals crammed into a van. He sent the four up the trail while the family waited below. He alone was chewing on some expensive seafood, I never saw the others get any.


User_Name: Stone Cold
Date: Friday February 20, 2015
Time: 05:54 PM

Messages

Ya day laborers who mobbed the morels . Often illegals. The crew operations I talked about in my previous post, always run by the one who spoke English and usually had the permit. So the others had to deal with and were entirely dependent on him. A predatory situation actually, the one who knew what to do corralled and put to use the ones who wanted some work, any kind of work. Often they knew nothing about mushrooms but what they had been told by the crew boss. Not citizens, no id and therefore no mushroom permit, the ygot away with it all the time until recently. The same kind of people you used to see standing around on the street corner waiting for a contractor or homeowner to pick them up for a day job. You don't see that everywhere like you used to. More sent home and cant get back combined with lack of low end jobs in construction/landscaping or what have you. Any of those people going after mushrooms now risk deportation simply for not having a mushroom permit. You or I might get a ticket, they get sent back you where they came from and cant get back here. LOL.


User_Name: Lobo
Date: Friday February 20, 2015
Time: 11:09 AM

Messages

Yepper I recall a 2nd year burn near Fly Valley in Blue Mountains and the naturals were prolific. It was early enough for the morels to be frozen so I was sitting down waiting for them to thaw to avoid spoilage. Soon I could hear car doors closing down below and then the sounds of frozen morels thumping into buckets. I listened to the Asain chatter as this group came up the hill, they were spread out in a line picking as they talked but missing many mushrooms; they politely left me the immediate area around me. I could not keep ahead of them but they missed enough for me as I followed. I later discovered an area with lots of biguns and was happily taking my time when another group of a different heritage came from below. I knew that I could not pick all that was around me in time so I spread my rain poncho and sat down as if I was eating my lunch; that did not deter this group as they swarmed around me grabbing all the morels and saying, “you missed this one” every time the one who spoke some English found another one. I could hardly believe the rudeness of this group which spoke Mexican Spanish, compared to the others.


User_Name: Stone Cold
Date: Friday February 20, 2015
Time: 09:14 AM

Messages

I was just thinking about two years ago picking a big burn and it was really the first time I noticed I was fading. I was going along a hillside and having a nice day when over the ridge came a group of 6 or 7 young people. Well maybe 30 somethings or so. Anyhow they were moving in unison as though it was a carefully choreographed play. They were covering a huge area as they went. I tried to throw it into high gear to stay ahead of them and it worked a little bit but soon enough I tuckered out and they overtook me and passed me, while keeping a little distance so as not to be too rude I guess. That's when it hit me. I didn't have a high gear anymore and couldn't out run them. Not even to high grade, picking only the choicest morels and leaving the rest. Time..........


User_Name: Stone Cold
Date: Friday February 20, 2015
Time: 08:57 AM

Messages

Ok I've seen a lot of mushroom seasons in my time and am in agreement with others here and the weather forecast that it will be warmer and dryer. We just don't know how much. Ha old folks picking mushrooms indeed. Some of aging baby boomers, which I am one of, are still out and pickin. Some doing better than others. But they really are no match for the youngsters in they're prime when it comes to picking commercially and it can be a very sad thing to see those of us dragging themselves around in a burn seemingly oblivious to the passing of time. I'm not pathetic yet but will be withdrawing from this game and with my dignity soon enough, thank you very much.


User_Name: Lobo
Date: Friday February 20, 2015
Time: 08:43 AM

Messages

I recall in the Olive Lake burn about 20 years back seeing a hardy dude walking with his footed cane, just truckin along looking for morels.


User_Name: Iron Mike
Date: Friday February 20, 2015
Time: 08:03 AM

Messages

Oh ya the season down south should be starting right now and instead they're having record breaking low temperatures and snow. Need I say more. Lol.


User_Name: Ron
Date: Friday February 20, 2015
Time: 07:48 AM

Messages

I agree Mike. Hit the big burns and cover a LOT of ground is a good plan. You must get to them before they go wormy and don't kid yourselves, a good portion of the crop will go wormy no matter what. So don't waste time. Did anybody catch the weather report for the mid to southern regions this morning? Freezing temps in Ohio and Indiana - all the way down to Tampa and Miami Fl. !!!!! Bad news for them because as we all know a good freeze kills the morel pins in the ground and reduces the size of the harvest or destroys it entirely. But hey on the plus side at least we're gonna have some kind of season out west......Right??


User_Name: Iron Mike
Date: Friday February 20, 2015
Time: 06:13 AM

Messages

Howdy folks, All of the action for morels this year will be the big burns. California then Washington .....The weather doesn't matter. What kind of physical condition your in sure does though.


User_Name: Lobo
Date: Thursday February 19, 2015
Time: 08:35 PM

Messages

Ridgewalker; I used to hunt morels in Ashland first and then head a bit NE add follow the flow a far as Green Ridge and East slope of Hood; then the Blues and Idaho; but then I didn’t stay long in one area because of research. Sometimes I hit the SoCal orchards and related areas as morels came on, some years in Dec and others by Feb depending and the season sometimes runs into summer. I am taking the rest this to the Mad Morel board because Andy likes mushrooms discussed on this board and gold ect over there…


User_Name: Ridgewalker
Date: Thursday February 19, 2015
Time: 07:03 PM

Messages

Joe, some of us do depend largely on a good season. I have done well o'er the years but I hŕve several seasonal gigs that fortunately don't depend the weather to be successful. Personally, I wouldn't trade the lifestyle for any amount of money or status!


User_Name: JoDee
Date: Thursday February 19, 2015
Time: 06:36 PM

Messages

Seems like ya'll know the season is gonna be short. But what if there isn't a season?? Commercial one that is. Huh?? Depending on mushrooms for your income is just plain crazy. I mean why would anyone subject themselves to all that bs and be at the mercy or the weather too?? It makes no sense to me to make yourself subject to the whims of nature and the markets. I mean picking commercial that is. I pick too but don't do it for money..


User_Name: Ron
Date: Thursday February 19, 2015
Time: 02:02 PM

Messages

The weather forecast doesn't look great. It is what it is. There will be morels but maybe it isn't a great season. Nobody should be dependent on just mushrooms for their living. I know the people I work with aren't either. They all have other forms of income/self employment. So ya were just gonna git whatever we git.


User_Name: Spinner Chicks
Date: Thursday February 19, 2015
Time: 12:00 PM

Messages

Well, we don't care too much about the weather all over the place cuz we just wanna get some morels and porcini for a couple few weeks if thats ok??!! Winky winky! ;) So ya northern cali and southern Or look good! I have learned though you gotta work fast cuz they they will go wormy in a hurry if the weather gets too hot too fast, so ya theres that. but hey we'll take what we can get. I have a bartending gig I can sneak away from and Meg is a dancer so were down! -or is it up?- for whatever?!


User_Name: Ridgewalker
Date: Thursday February 19, 2015
Time: 11:21 AM

Messages

Thanks Lobo. I have spent many hours in that hot springs over the years, perfect temp and no sulfer smell! My wife and I spend a lot of our prospecting time on the Klamath. We're lifetime members of the New 49ers. There is a mention of us in their Dec newsletter and I hear there might be more in the Feb letter as well. Dave McCracken is talking about moving the group dig projects to where we were mining. I'm in S Oregon at this time for the crop of naturals that grow every year here. If the season is short we may go to central Idaho for elk sheds.


User_Name: Fapper
Date: Thursday February 19, 2015
Time: 09:46 AM

Messages

I dunno man. The US weather service forecast is out new today. If you combine that with The 30-90 day forecast for BC They say well above average temps and below normal precipitation will continue for all of the west coast from California up into BC. I don't feel this is a favorable forecast for a normal year at all. What's more, I feel more strongly than ever it will be a short season. Especially in the elevations with no snowpack or well below normal snowpack. much of those areas haven't even had a dormant cold winter season. Winter Chants and hedgehogs are still being found in some areas because they have had no real winter at all. I mean being optimistic is one thing and being deluded into thinking, against every indicator it will be a very good-normal season is another.


User_Name: kingmorel
Date: Wednesday February 18, 2015
Time: 06:54 PM

Messages

fapper.... hard to say... depends on what weather does... maybe it will be a wet spring and summer.. and elevation changes of course. does n BC have more snow pack?


User_Name: Stone Cold
Date: Wednesday February 18, 2015
Time: 05:46 PM

Messages

Back like 25-30 years ago it was mostly Asians and a smattering of hardy white folks who picked mushrooms and worked the burns for morels in the spring. Then the Asians started getting smart and began sending their kids to college so they got them out of mushrooms and the white folks dwindled to fewer numbers as well. Along about the same time hispanic people started really showing up especially in the spring going after morels. I always suspected the big mushroom companies of recruiting them. Back when the economy was good and the enforcement of the permit for mushrooms was more lax, Mexican crews got together and swarmed huge areas. Mostly unmolested by the law. Often they were undocumented and one crew boss drove the rig and ran the crew. He was the one with the permit and the crew of illegals was basically at his mercy for everything. I see less of that nowadays. For one thing it ain't nearly as easy as it used to be to sneak back and forth across the border like say as it was in the 90's. I know of people who had the illegals back then doing every kind of hard work dirty jobs you can imagine. Bucking and hauling hay, yard work, Christmas trees, berries, you name it the illegals who crossed fairly easily back and forth were everywhere in the low end hard labor occupations. But times have changed. Many can and do work steady jobs either under the table or mostly legit. My point is the mushroom companies cant depend on the large pool of Asians or the porous southern border anymore for the slave wage labor they got so used to....................................I think this coming season will be short due to weather. The flush across Oregon and Washington will probably all go at once or nearly so. If you want to do morels commercially it could be all over in just a few weeks for the most part. Who knows maybe Washington and BC will even go off at the same time making it real interesting!


User_Name: Lobo
Date: Wednesday February 18, 2015
Time: 01:05 PM

Messages

Welcome Ridgewalker; Sometimes it gets chaotic here during morel season and then during matsutake season with possibly the majority of postings coming from our friends in BC. Matsiman works hard to keep postings moderated; he is an excellent source for both matsi & gold. I used to hang out in the Quartsite area in winter, since getting married a few years ago I spend most of my time in Arizona. Since the stroke I am restricted to Yuma area, so if you are ever in the area come on over to talk mushrooms or gold. I’ve visited Horse Cr Hot Springs for many years; the only visit to the ranch area was parking and walking around to research the burn. That was the year that the Culp twins and Q were parking the refer trailer and staying while working the burns. The Mustang turned out excellent in many areas with a few from south of the border, they come every year with their connections and never get checked closely as some might. They were picking an average of perhaps 80 pounds per day in the Mustang; I saw pickers of Asian heritage with similar basket piled packs in that same burn. I have run into them for numerous years in several states, once even driving into a portion of the Frank Church wilderness area for the Laidlaw burn. I told them that their pickup tracks were visible going around the barrier and up where it was hidden; they acted like none of them understood English. I found out later that one was educated here in Yuma and speaks perfect English; he told me that in the Laidlaw they thought I was a Cop. I used to be a K-9 cop in a past life so it may still show. Could steer you to SoCal and local areas for morels.


User_Name: Ridgewalker
Date: Wednesday February 18, 2015
Time: 09:16 AM

Messages

I,m new here to this site. Looks like a great place for info from those who know. My wife and I are retired and travel around following the seasons.Morels/Antler in the spring, gold mining in the summer and guiding big game hunts in the fall. Curious how the Mustang burn panned out, as I guided for Horse creek Outfitters for 15 yrs in that country. Spent many seasons roaming around Roan Ridge and down into Bronco, Roan and Mustang creeks in search of elk.


User_Name: Fapper
Date: Wednesday February 18, 2015
Time: 08:57 AM

Messages

Thankfully we don't have a massive illegal immigrant problem here. There are no Mexicans or peoples from central America for the mushroom companies to recruit to work our burns.


User_Name: Fapper
Date: Wednesday February 18, 2015
Time: 08:52 AM

Messages

I think our morel season will be short this year because of the unusually warmer weather pattern going on and low or nonexistent snowpack. Not just here but in the US Northwest as well. Also it looks like the bitter cold and snow in the east even as far south as Tennessee and Georgia in the southern and eastern parts of the US will hurt their season. So all this combined with low snowpack makes me think it doesn't look too good overall. On the up side prices will probably be good as a result.


User_Name: Lobo
Date: Tuesday February 17, 2015
Time: 08:09 PM

Messages

Ron; I agree with you but am not familiar with all the current regulations. I got a permit for 2013 in Grangeville and had stopped near Golden when a LEO stopped to check me; I had not even gotten as far as the Elk City or the burn yet. He was a nice man and was pleasant to speak to. The next permit I purchased was in Salmon for the Mustang I believe. I purchased permits at Deschutes SO for matsutake and other mushrooms in September. The last one I purchased was at Trout Lake and then proceeded into the burn to do research along the south slope of Adams. Then over NW of Adams where I have been researching chanterelles and matsutake for many years. On my way back to Idaho to do some mining at my gold claim; I checked my research areas on White Pass and stopped for one last permit at Naches and spent some time at my research patches up the river of that name. My bodily system began acting up so I drove home and had the stroke; at least I made it home.


User_Name: sPINNER cHICKS
Date: Tuesday February 17, 2015
Time: 06:48 PM

Messages

Yo dudes!!! Spinner chicks here and we're ready to rock! Gonna crew up with the one and only Miles Standish and his gang this year! Woo Hoo! Not only is he the master finder of morels and A-number-one when it comes to guide, leader buyer, friend and all around good dude he's also king of the patch pirates so we're stoked! If you get with miles you get the mushrooms. If you can hang that is!


User_Name: mike
Date: Tuesday February 17, 2015
Time: 03:56 PM

Messages

Hi , crew of 9 mushrooms pickers from canada looking for europeen buyer , best price for 2015 lots of morels to come .email us free samples from 2014 undergroundmushroomsbc@gmail.com


User_Name: Ron
Date: Tuesday February 17, 2015
Time: 12:16 PM

Messages

One more thing, as a compationate human being I understand why people want to come here and I sympathize with their plight, be it poverty, war whatever.... As a citizen of this country I don't want people sneaking in, overstaying their visas, and especially don't want them sending their children running across the border in mass waves. Jesus Christ! Stay in your own country and fix your problems there! I'm not anti immigration but hey, we are not a refuge for every other countries problems.


User_Name: Ron
Date: Tuesday February 17, 2015
Time: 12:08 PM

Messages

Bottom line: Buy the permit and If your not here legally don't go mushroom picking!


User_Name: Ron
Date: Tuesday February 17, 2015
Time: 12:04 PM

Messages

With regards to any persons picking/transporting/selling mushrooms (or any other special forest products) with or without permits: I know it costs money and is a pain in the ass I hate it too! BUT, If your checked by ANY agency they WILL want to see valid ID as well as a valid permit permit. First and foremost they want to know who you are and if your in compliance with the law. If you have those (valid permit/id) your good to go. No problemo. If you don't have one or both (permit, or id) your gonna have a problem, maybe just a ticket or maybe a trip to jail depending...... No law enforcement agency including the Forest Service Cops will let you go until they figure out who you really are especially if your in violation of the law. If you do have identification, They will "run" the id you have through various databases for wants or warrants as well as legal status if that is a question. They will also search for an "order to detain" if they have doubts your in this country legally, or are wanted for ANY crime while not here legally, if there is question about that. This is now standard policy, and while things may have been a certain way 20 yrs ago or whatever, that was then and this is now. Since 2003 when the Bush administration began the deportation policy we have now it has been updated or reworked occasionally. Now under the new program, the portion that isn't being challenged in court, deportations will increase dramatically. The repubs are all for this and my guess is Obama threw them that bone in order to get some of the illegals an amnesty. Many, many more undocumented people will be deported under this new deal than the previous policy. Less than ever will be granted amnesty.


User_Name: Lobo
Date: Tuesday February 17, 2015
Time: 11:24 AM

Messages

I have known several pickers who said that they will never purchase a permit because it takes too much time. If they get busted they will mail in the fine and go back to picking in a different area. Some friends say they do drop-off picking in burns and in protected areas such as a National Park; I would not be able to sleep at night doing that but respected their right to choose. I personally did not like the permitting process because I felt that it discriminated against those wishing to be legal; I was rarely checked. I have written as much as $600.00 off on my taxes in one calendar year for USDA permits purchased. I believe that was the year they raised the price for the seasonal matsi permit from about $50.00 to $250.00 in Crescent about 1997, it was lowered later. I believe that in Cave Jct and Brookings it was $100.00, that year I would camp up on Snaketooth Mountain for about three days before driving to the Riverside Market to sell. One day the USFS had a roadblock checking for permits; I have seen a road block once during morel season possibly near Sisters, but don’t recall any others. I used to enjoy picking and researching mushrooms in many areas but now due to having the stroke in 2013 that is probably a thing of the past.


User_Name: Fapper
Date: Tuesday February 17, 2015
Time: 11:04 AM

Messages

Hay kingmorel, we don't have hardly any snow pack at most lower elevations here in BC so?


User_Name: Ron
Date: Tuesday February 17, 2015
Time: 08:08 AM

Messages

1. I plan to end up with 200 dry pounds at seasons end this time around. So I make some of my yearly income from morels but only part of it. The rest comes from other investments. I buy from the same harvesters/crews every year and they are what I would call part time pro's. Not migrants or field workers. I always sell all my inventory before the next season and have never had a problem with any buyer or transaction ever. I guess some people just have more problems than others. 2. The amnesty deal for illegals is on hold this am by order of a federal judge in Texas. But the portion of the package that increases deportations of people who have overstayed their visas or sneaked across the border will continue. Btw the American public including those on the left and right politically overwhelmingly support deportation of people who aren't here legally. 3. Kendra Sunderland. Omg. Check it. I'm seiousy considering texting her to see if she will meet with the do discuss mushrooms. Or wine. Or weeds. Or anything else....


User_Name: billy bob
Date: Tuesday February 17, 2015
Time: 06:30 AM

Messages

i don't understand why people who sneak into this country illegally think they are invisible if they go mushroom picking? the forest service cops and sheriff are the driving roads and checking permits where I go. plus the buyers wont buy your mushrooms unless you have a permit so.............ps I hate buying a permit and think its stupid but do it anyway.


User_Name: John Holmes, Lobo
Date: Monday February 16, 2015
Time: 09:40 PM

Messages

A word of caution might be in order for marketing of mushrooms. Theoretically if I sell my fresh morels to a store or restaurant for a price of $10.00 or even $20.00 per pound in the west I am doing quite well. If in the Midwest I might expect to get $40.00 per pound of fresh morels, further east in say New York possibly $60.00 or more. But then there is possible loss or spoilage and the shipping costs and unscrupulous people who might claim damage or spoilage even though it was not so. I prefer to sell direct in person but if the distance is cost prohibitive dried is of course necessary. So say you get $200.00 per pound for your dryers and it takes 80 lbs of fresh at $20.00 to make one lb of dried. If you sell them fresh you may have gotten $1,600.00. Some folks would usually sell their fresh for $4.00 or more per lb at a buy station in late summer so they would be ahead to dry, except lately fire morel price at buy stations might bring around $20 00. I personally have sold fresh natural blonds for $68.00 per pound on eBay but it is time consuming and perhaps more advantageous to sell to a buyer but then I was doing market research. I have also given morels away to those who had mobility or age challenges and could not forage for themselves. …………………. I have done extensive research on marketing wild gourmet mushrooms, one trip I drove high altitude fall porcini grown in a lodgepole forested area to a buyer whom I trusted and she gave me $18.00 per lb for my #1 grade. She said if I wanted to ship via air freight to PDX her partner would inspect them on arrival and she would pay the same price that very same day, I agreed and asked her to mail the check to my mother who was dying of cancer. When the partner inspected the next shipment at PDX he only downgraded one of my #2’s to a #3 and said my grading was very good. I was at the airport with the next load a few days later and called to see if my mother had received the check for almost $1,000.00, no check. I called the buyer and she said that she was still crunching the numbers and the grade was dropping. I said that I would drive the load I had to her partner’s huckleberry buy station and that he could pay me. When I arrived at Trout Lake I was only given a little more than $600.00 for the mushrooms that I was told a week earlier were worth almost $1,000.00. When I sold him my current load I only got a run around story of how the female partner wanted them all graded low and he paid me about the same. I drove the next load to Portland and sold them early on a Sunday morning to a competitor who was pleased to get them. He said that I was too hard on the grade and moved about 1/3 of the #2’s up to grade #1 and the same on my #3’s. I had treated the porcini exactly the same as the previous load that had been downgraded at Trout Lake and I had graded them the same. Needless to say I no longer deal with that buyer partnership and thus started driving my porcini to a town where usually three chefs purchase all that I had picked, if I had overage I would visit other restaurants and sell the rest and for more money.


User_Name: Stone Cold
Date: Monday February 16, 2015
Time: 06:55 PM

Messages

I know this isnt about mushrooms directly and I'll only comment once on it and you'll never hear about it from a righty and a lefty pretends it isn't happening...but....Obama has deported WAAAYYYY more illegals already than Bush did in 8 yrs. Many times more. And I don't mean just Mexicans. Jamaicans, Irish, Chinese you name it. Just he facts man.


User_Name: Ron
Date: Monday February 16, 2015
Time: 02:55 PM

Messages

Hey the revised deportation policy is part of the so called amnesty program. All you hear about from some of the rightwing screamers is the amnesty portion but actually a large part of the overall policy now is massively increased deportations. People who aren't here legally are now at risk of being deported for even minor criminal offenses like shoplifting, trespassing etc so it stands to reason they would be sent back where they came from for picking and selling mushrooms without a permit. Obama isn't just giving carte blanche to anybody who's here illegally like you may have been told on talk radio....Just sayin.


User_Name: Stone Cold
Date: Monday February 16, 2015
Time: 02:17 PM

Messages

I like the discussion about different buyers and changing times. I sell my own mushrooms but do sell to a field buyer on occasion. I don't know the guys you all are talking about but they sound easy to deal with and fair. OH BTW, I hear through the grapevine, anyone who is in this country ILLEGALLY, if they are found to be picking mushrooms without a permit anywhere or on any of the burns by Forest Service or Law Enforcement people they are at risk of BEING DEPORTED to their home country. The govt has really ramped up deportations lately and will continue to do so aggressively and yes even in California and Oregon. Everyone better have Id and a harvest permit. I know theres a lot of different opinions on this issue but the fact remains, if you are picking and selling mushrooms without a proper permit you are breaking the law. On another subject I sure hope the big burns are open up to commercial picking this year. I don't like the trend lately of locking us, the American public out of OUR FORESTS. Whatever happened to the "multiple use" USFS mandate anyhow?


User_Name: Ron
Date: Monday February 16, 2015
Time: 11:29 AM

Messages

Hey heres a bit of info for those who work in large groups or plan to pick and sell on the big burns - The inventory of dried morels is very low right now, globally speaking. Some small operators are holding but for the most part lrge inventories are gone. Don't be a sap and work the big burns for nothing!


User_Name: Ron
Date: Monday February 16, 2015
Time: 11:10 AM

Messages

I would also add that the big companies set a benchmark price we can all use and in doing so they establishes the going market, which for people like me ans smart harvesters, is easily undercut. I don't work off the big company model so I can sell for slightly less and still come out ahead. We were out of dried morels after Christmas. Also, I don't try to see how little I can get people to work for, the harvesters I deal with aren't the bottom of the wrung of the ladder, economically speaking, and just wouldn't sell to me below a certain point because they can and sometimes do sell them to the end consumer themselves.


User_Name: kingmorel
Date: Monday February 16, 2015
Time: 10:29 AM

Messages

Almost all buyers are simply agents for a wholesale/exporter company. Buyers don't set the price, they are given the price by the company. For the most part their attitude comes from the company who dictates what to pay&say. A few of the bigger companies do think they own you and in a way they do.... when pickers will sell for next to nothing and act so desperate then in a way they do own you. No disrespect intended but if you sell so cheap then they will pay so little... very simple really. Do you really blame them? Don't fall for this supply and demand BS... its simply they will pay as little as they can which is the lowest price you will sell for. If there are too many mushrooms they would just quota their buyers or stop buying what they cant sell. The bad attitudes flows down hill to the buyers and us. that all said their are a lot of wonderful buyers out there that do the best they can for pickers, many are or were pickers and really do care, there are some that are a waste of oxygen as well... doubt things will change anytime soon.


User_Name: Irene
Date: Sunday February 15, 2015
Time: 02:37 PM

Messages

Most people who harvest morels understand they are different to market than other mushrooms. You don't really need a 'buyer' as much as you would for other kinds like matsi's chanties etc..the reasons are pretty simple. For one dried morels retain their quality very well if properly handled and are accepted by the market the world over as dried. Unlike say dried matsi's who nobody seems to want. We only sell enough morels during the season to keep up with expenses and dry the rest so we get the lions share of the money not some middleman who we don't feel we need. If you've ever been in a commercial mushroom camp in the spring you've seen the tarp shacks with a stove pipe sticking out of them right. Whats going on in there is a drying operation. Asians especially dry large quantities of morels and porcini and market them themselves. That way they get more value from their hard earned mushroom hunting. And don't let anybody fool you, mushroom money is hard earned money.


User_Name: JDS
Date: Sunday February 15, 2015
Time: 07:24 AM

Messages

Stone Cold...That mutual benefit and respect is important in any business, and it sure is in the mushroom trade. The buyer I had done business with for years accused me of "playing games" over a few pounds of Matsi's last season. He didn't show me the respect that I deserved after years of bringing him a lot of mushrooms, so that relationship is over unless I get an apology. Good buyers are few and far between, and it sounds like there were a couple of nice guys in Florence.


User_Name: ol' gulch
Date: Friday February 13, 2015
Time: 07:56 PM

Messages

Hey, does anybody here go out for oregon black or white truffles in bc? I've run into guys here and there who say we have em around, and I found what I suspected was a white in manning park once- right after a huge rain it was un-burried and I spotted it on the ground while hiking.


User_Name: mushroomhippy
Date: Friday February 13, 2015
Time: 01:28 PM

Messages

I agree Stone Cold I also think a big issue is a lot of buyer's tend to wanna line their pockets. The young guys who bought in Florence were pickers as well so they were always educating puckers which was awesome of them. Plus always had food.and drink for us which was thoughtful of them. Matsihunter was it Hannah & Perry they sent you too? If so your correct Hannah is awesome as well always friendly environment and always seems to pay top dollar. Maybe they should become one of her buyer's.


User_Name: Stone Cold
Date: Friday February 13, 2015
Time: 09:48 AM

Messages

I think the problems with a few buyers in the past was related to their attitude. They had an unhealthy "us versus them" mentality. Or worse still a "me and what I want" mentality. It set up a bad vibe and was conflict and hassle oriented rather than based on mutual benefit and respect. I sell to anybody when the money's right but prefer to deal with my fav buyers when I can, since they are actually sorta friends. We have a mutual respect and honesty thing going on rather than some bullshit superior/inferior kind of relationship.


User_Name: Ron n Kelli
Date: Friday February 13, 2015
Time: 07:51 AM

Messages

Ya it's good to see new buyers coming into the mushroom game. A clearing out of the ol "dead wood" as it were. Too often in the past some buyers acted like they owned the market and the pickers! Just human nature I guess that some people behaved that way. Another prob was some of them got to thinking they were far more important than they actually were. Ya man it's gonna be one hell of a season IF the weather doesn't go bad on us. I'm a little worried about that...Don't quit your jobs to go mushroom hunting people. You can use your vacation time though!


User_Name: matsihunter
Date: Thursday February 12, 2015
Time: 11:55 AM

Messages

Sarah thank you for information you posted I also have been trying to get in contact with them. Everyone's so right them two guys were great people. Sent me to a good buyer in North Bend too sell my matsi hope they will be in Florence next year. If not I'm selling to H&P again the lady their was very nice as well was worth the gas to drive their great prices and spoke highly of them. Good luck this spring lots of fires.


User_Name: SarahYachats
Date: Wednesday February 11, 2015
Time: 03:34 PM

Messages

Mushroom Hippy and BerrypickenSam: Josh and Stacy the buyer's who were in Florence Oregon's contact information is is.specialty.mushrooms@gmail.com I emailed them last week they are not sure where they will be this spring if anywhere miss them too.


User_Name: Ron n Kelli
Date: Wednesday February 11, 2015
Time: 01:01 PM

Messages

Oh hey anywhere there is a real big big burn there will be morel buyers. In years like this one the buyers come from all over the country. Everybody wants our fire morels. We don't care who we sell to as long as the price is right.


User_Name: Ron n Kelli
Date: Wednesday February 11, 2015
Time: 12:54 PM

Messages

Sup dudes! Just stopped by to catch up. We Havent been out for shrooms since last spring. Hoping for a better season this year. Theres tons of fires all over the west for those of you inclined to pick commercially. Washington has many that should be good for morels including the one super big fire that burned over 260,000 acres. Ya that's right, over two hundred and sixty thousand acres. Thas a lot of ground! And that doesn't include at least a dozen or so other smaller fires that burned from 5,000 to 12,000 acres. So it's going to be a hum dinger of a season up there too. If the weather cooperates that is.......


User_Name: berrypickengirlsam
Date: Wednesday February 11, 2015
Time: 12:44 PM

Messages

Mushroomhippy: I think you are talking about Josh and Stacy I can get you their information but I am not at home right now. They are awesome guys and you are right they were fair honest and all around great guys I am not sure where they will be at this spring but if I find out I'll let you know I know they were shafted by the guy they were buying for a friend of theirs that is why they closed early. I hope they find a new buyer they were best buyers we have had in Florence in eons your so right.


User_Name: mushroomhippy
Date: Wednesday February 11, 2015
Time: 12:46 AM

Messages

I am curious if anyone knows or has contact information for the two young guy's who bought in Florence Oregon . Me and a couple buddies are looking to pick morels this spring and wanna ask them where is good area too pick and if they are buying. They were awesome guy's I'd say best buyer's we have had in Florence in a coons age. Friendly honest fair and always waited for us if we were running late if you know them and have their contact info please let me know.


User_Name: billy bob
Date: Tuesday February 10, 2015
Time: 01:19 PM

Messages

hey just found this site while looking into morel info for the coming season, seems like it's pretty dead here but seems all mushroom chat boards are that way, i spose people don't share info much and for good reason im sure. hey is anybody heading to the big burn up in nor cal? the happy camp fire is massive at over 134 thousand acres! I'm fairly new at morels and would like to get with a crew for the season there.


User_Name: bored tono end
Date: Thursday February 05, 2015
Time: 05:39 PM

Messages

I am looking for a salal buyer on vancouver island as I was wondering if there was someone to pick for


User_Name: kingmorel
Date: Thursday February 05, 2015
Time: 10:53 AM

Messages

Whats the ideas on this morel season? Prices? expectations? No snow pack in Calf/Oregon could make the US PNW flush fast and short. I expect we will see a big drop in prices but record volumes with so many fires in BC


User_Name: shroomkid
Date: Monday February 02, 2015
Time: 06:50 AM

Messages

good morning. local, Canadian and American basket makers: www.thunderbirdplastics.com I saw their farm versions for berries etc. at the Pacific Agriculture Show this past weekend. Their stuff looks really good. When you contact them, ask for Mario Bottazini and let him know you heard about them via this website (I told him I would post the website here). If they don't have exactly what you want, ASK FOR IT. they are manufacturers, and want to serve the customer base. good luck and full baskets!


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