Chaga Cultivation Offers Potential, Environmentally Friendly, Income for Woodlot Owners By Jonathan Murray, Co-Founder, President, Forage Hyperfoods Inc., Lower Ottawa Valley Chapter
C
haga (Inonotus obliquus) is a type of mushroom that grows mainly on birch trees in northern Europe, Asia, Canada, and the northeastern United States. With a golden amber core, this mushroom could be an exciting new opportunity for cultivation by woodlot owners. Such an endeavour has the potential to provide sustainable income and at the same time be environmentally and ecologically friendly. With the consistent and prominent use of Chaga in Asian cultures, many of the natural reserves have been exhausted.* Unlike other medicinal mushrooms, a commercial practice to farm Chaga in a greenhouse or manufacturing facility is not feasible. Some companies have begun to market a chaga-like product that is
grown on rice or oats and put into a powder. This practice does not create the nutrient dense food that customers expect when consuming Chaga. Harvestable Chaga mushroom can take between five and seven years to grow making a sustainable harvesting practice critical. Forage Hyperfoods Inc. is an Ontario based company that is implementing a sustainable farming method for the Canadian Chaga industry; strict harvesting instructions and a method of seeding the forest. Strict Harvesting Forage is currently the largest Canadian supplier of wild Canadian Chaga, serving thousands of
White Birch in fall 30
The Ontario Woodlander—An Ontario Woodlot Association Quarterly. Issue 102, March 2021
