Ben Heick Appointed President of
DOLE^® Mushrooms

        Ben Heick, a 29 year veteran of the mushroom industry, has been appointed as the President of DOLE Mushrooms/Oakshire Mushroom Sales, LLC.
        “We are very excited to have someone with such a wealth of experience and knowledge coming on board to help grow and lead the Dole/Oakshire team,” stated Gary Schroeder, President and Founder of Oakshire Mushroom Farms, Inc.  “Ben is looking forward to making Dole the consumer’s preferred brand of mushrooms in North America.”
        Ben will remain in Atlanta, where he will lead the Dole Mushroom sales team in all sales related activities.  Ben can be reached at bheick@oakshire.com and at 706-816-8940.  Full Press Release.

Oakshire® Exclusive Marketer of
DOLE Mushrooms

Oakshire Mushrooms is pleased to announce it has been selected as the exclusive U.S. marketer and distributor of DOLE brand mushrooms.  Dole has long been known for the highest quality, freshest, most flavorful produce.   DOLE brand white mushrooms, portobello mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms are now available to retailers.  Consumers have demonstrated a clear preference for DOLE products.  Now retailers can take advantage of this preference by providing DOLE mushrooms to their consumers.  Contact Ben Heick by e-mail, or call 706-816-8940, for information on how DOLE Mushrooms can improve your retail sales.  Click here to read The Packer article announcing Oakshire's DOLE program.  DOLE Mushrooms are distributed by Oakshire Mushroom Sales, LLC, under license.

Donna Garrett, Sales Manager
 Donna Garrett, Sales Manager, is pictured on right.  Donna has over 20 years experience in mushroom sales and customer support including 16 years at Oakshire. Contact Donna by e-mail and or at 1-800-255-2077.

Paradigm Award Received

Gary Schroeder, President and founder of Oakshire Mushroom Farm, Inc. has been awarded the 2000 Paradigm Award.  He received the 2000 Paradigm Award from the South Eastern Economic Development Co. - the first mushroom business owner so honored. It is presented to an entrepreneur who is a model of success in a competitive business environment, and the latest in a line of achievements for Schroeder.  Click here to read the full article on the award.

Oakshire Announces
Expansion to New Facility

Oakshire Mushroom Farm, Inc. President Gary M. Schroeder has announced expansion to a new packing, cooler, office and warehouse facility in Kennett Square, PA. The building is conveniently located at the intersection of W. Cypress Street and Thompson Road. The 10 loading bays and smooth material handling flow lead to fast loading and short turn around times for trucks. The expanded packing room capacity has improved efficiency with the addition of a new highly automated retail over wrap packing line. Two new bulk packing lines were also added. The vacuum cooler and larger cooler has improved product quality by shortening cooling times. "The expanded packing and cooler space allow us to meet our customers needs even better than before," states Sales Manager Donna Garrett.  Office functions from all four Oakshire plants are now consolidated at the new location.

Blue Ribbon Portobellos

At this year's National Mushroom Festival Oakshire won first place Blue Ribbons for our Portobello Retail Package and 5 lb. Bulk Portobello. The National Mushroom Festival is held in Kennett Square, PA in September each year during National Mushroom Month. In addition to the mushroom judging contest, there is a parade, street festival and other events. Thank you to the judges for again showing that Oakshire grows the best Portobello mushrooms in the country!

 Shiitake Mushroom
Home Growing Kits Available

    Oakshire is pleased to announce that our popular Golden Oak shiitake growing kits are now available for growing mushrooms in your own home.  Click here for details and to order.   These kits allow you to enjoy fresh shiitake mushrooms grown right in your home!   Kits come complete with all the materials and instructions you need to grow your own shiitake mushrooms.

Oakshire Now Selling Golden OakTM Shiitake Logs

Oakshire is now selling Golden Oak shiitake growing media, nicknamed "logs", to commercial mushroom growers. Long recognized as the best shiitake logs in the business, our logs were previously only grown in our own farm.  Golden Oak Spawn General Manager Stephen Anania explains, "We have improved our shiitake log process to the point where we can now manufacture more logs than the growing needs of our own farm."

Portobello and Shiitake Production Expanded

In the past year Oakshire has doubled its Portobello mushroom production to meet rising demand. The added production came from adding a second portobello growing facility in Delaware to the farm. Farm Manager Stephen Anania notes, "The second facility gives us improved consistency in addition to doubling production of our high quality Portobello and Crimini mushrooms." The expanded space has also permitted an increase in shiitake production.

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