US (MT): How SporeAttic grows mushrooms in Bozeman
You might picture a mushroom farm as a dark network of caves or tunnels underground. At SporeAttic in Bozeman, the reality is much more scientific. Ben Deuling started SporeAttic six years ago after stepping away from a Ph.D. program in microbiology. He said he was looking for something more fulfilling.
"I didn't feel that fire inside of me driving me to do anything particularly important with my life," Deuling said. "I essentially saw this as a way to do something much more fulfilling with my life."
As the business has grown, so has demand for the mushrooms SporeAttic produces. Deuling said about 38 restaurants in Bozeman, Big Sky and, more recently, Helena now buy mushrooms directly from the farm. But there is one thing that might surprise people about the person behind the operation: Deuling said he does not particularly like mushrooms.
"You're probably going to be shocked to hear this, but I don't really like mushrooms that much," he said. Even so, Deuling's background in microbiology has proven useful in developing the farm's growing process.
