NORTH LIMA Mushroom farm is forced to close

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
Nearly 90 people will lose their jobs when the farm closes Dec. 1.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
NORTH LIMA -- Ohio Valley Mushroom Farms, which has been struggling for a few years, is closing because the effects of the Sept. 11 attacks have further damaged its business.
Nearly 90 people will lose their jobs when the South Avenue farm closes Dec. 1, but eight or so workers will be transferred to a new warehouse operation that will be set up in Austintown, said Steve Makowicki, farm manager.
The company is looking for warehouse space in order to continue serving its customers, he said. It will distribute mushrooms that are grown at another farm.
Makowicki said the local farm has been struggling for three years and he was brought in 18 months ago to turn the operation around.
He said he tried to save the farm by signing a marketing agreement with another farm and by changing how the farm buys compost.
Reason: Any gains that were made were wiped out by this year's weakening economy and the Sept. 11 attacks, he said. He started to see a slackening demand for mushrooms in June, but demand has fallen even more since the attacks.
For most people, mushrooms are an impulse buy and they are watching those purchases, he said.
"They are just not spending that extra $5 or $10," he said.
Also, farms on the East Coast are having trouble selling their mushrooms in the New York area so they are selling them here, which has created too much supply, he said.
At the same time, costs have gone up, he said. Last winter, natural gas was expensive. This year, insurance costs have more than doubled, which insurance companies are attributing to the Sept. 11 attacks, Makowicki said.
The farm sells its mushrooms mostly to distributors in northern Ohio. Most of the mushrooms are sold to restaurants. The farm is owned by an Oklahoma man and a Missouri man, who have other business interests, Makowicki said. They bought the farm in 1989.
shilling@vindy.com