Farmer Lee Mei-ling (李美玲) has revived the mushroom industry in Changhua County’s Jhutang Township (竹塘) after adding modern facilities to her traditional mushroom farm.
The township had been Taiwan’s No. 1 producer of mushrooms until 20 years ago, when it fell behind other regions that were using improved techniques to grow larger mushrooms.
The township steadily declined as a producer until it was seen as a source of cheap agricultural products.
Photo: Chen Kuan-pei, Taipei Times
However, Lee 13 years ago set off on a path that would eventually make Jhutang Township a renowned producer of mushrooms once again.
She started by renovating an old warehouse used for growing mushroom by installing air-conditioning and an environmental management system.
Lee was soon able to grow mushrooms larger than any ever grown in the township, and began receiving orders from larger markets and wholesalers.
Today, she sells 400kg of mushrooms per day — more than any other Taiwanese producer.
“The characteristics of the land in Jhutang Township, as well as the wet conditions in winter, make it ideal for growing mushrooms,” Lee said.
In the 1980s, there were 400 mushroom farms in the township, each about 50 ping (165m2), but by 20 years ago most of them had closed.
After Lee installed the environmental control system and began seeing success with her new growing techniques, she shared those techniques with others in the township, and today there are 100 thriving farms.
“However, the technology has its limitations. A northeast monsoon can destroy the crop. There are also limits to production quality, which might call for a change to the fermentation process,” she said.
Newer techniques require only 21 days for fermentation, compared with 30 days for more traditional techniques, she said, adding that some growers have also experimented with separating fermentation beds, or using amino acids in the water.
Such techniques could speed up fermentation by another week, which lessens the chance of crop damage from disease or insects, she added.
Modern environmental control systems are more environmentally friendly than the oil heaters previously used by farms, but also consume a lot of power, she said, adding that she has tackled the problem by installing solar panels.
Her farm also recycles the water produced by the air-conditioning units, she added.
The farm would remain focused on ways to further improve production quality, Lee said.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS