College Student Has Big Plans For Her Family Farm’s Waste Mushrooms

A British university student with a passion for profitably managing family-owned farms is pushing forward her idea to turn waste woodland mushrooms into a premium beer. Harriet Livesey, whose family's farm grows the mushrooms, recently won a scholarship she will use to start a business that – in addition to making beer – will train farmers to be “business-minded:” specifically, how to diversify, develop, progress, and make the most of their resources profitably. The scholarship will support her financially as she launches her own enterprise brewing artisan shiitake beer from waste mushrooms. She will need to carry out primary market research, attend brewery courses, research micro-brewing processes, identify market trends, and design and develop her brand. [ Image credit: © Pam Brophy  ]