American Mushroom Institute calls for help to overcome challenges

Avondale, PA, August 19, 2026–The volume of sales for the 2025-2026 United States Agaricus mushroom crop totaled 620 million pounds, down 5 percent from the 2024-2025 season, according to the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) 2026 Report released today.

Pennsylvania accounted for 74 percent of the total volume of sales.

The value of the Agaricus crop was estimated at $847 million dollars, down 15 percent from a year ago.

Brown mushrooms, including Portabella and Cremini varieties, accounted for 170 million pounds, down 10 percent from last season. Brown mushrooms accounted for 27 percent of the total Agaricus volume sold and 38 percent of the total Agaricus value.

United States fresh market sales of Agaricus mushrooms totaled 559 million pounds, down 6 percent from the previous season, while processed sales, at 60.8 million pounds, increased 5 percent from the previous season. Growers reported United States fresh market production made up 90 percent of total sales volume, while processed production represented the remaining 10 percent.

The average price received by growers, at $1.45 per pound, is down $0.18 from the previous season estimate. Grower total filling intentions for the 2026-2027 crop are 94.7 million square feet, down 16 percent from the total fillings in the 2025-2026 season.

Value of sales for commercially grown specialty mushrooms in 2025-2026 totaled $75.0 million, down 21 percent from the 2024-2025 season. A specialty grower is defined as having some commercial indoor growing area or at least 200 natural wood logs in production and $200 or more in sales. The average price received by growers, at $4.56 per pound, was down $0.85 from the previous season estimate.

Growers produced 115 million pounds of mushrooms that were certified organic during the 2025-2026 growing season, 4 percent below 2024-2025. Fifty-four percent of the total, or 62.4 million pounds, were sold as certified organic mushrooms. Agaricus mushrooms accounted for 82 percent of the mushrooms sold as certified organic, while all specialty mushrooms made up the remainder.

American Mushroom Institute BB #:162412 President Rachel Roberts explained that mushroom growers continue to face headwinds.

“Lack of reliable farm labor and workforce shortages are an ongoing challenge, along with seasonal threats of weather and crop disease impacts, inputs shortages, and lasting inflation pressures affecting most produce. Shortages of any kind or increased pricing in the supply chain impact mushroom growing exponentially.”

AMI has long pushed for legislation and economic support programs that invest in industry durability and innovation.

“Mushrooms are unique in a variety of ways. The biome required for cultivated mushrooms is unlike any other crop. Mushroom growers use upwards of 30 other agricultural byproducts to formulate mushroom compost and grow and harvest mushrooms. Additionally, too perishable to import or export overseas, fresh mushrooms grown in the US are a true national commodity grown only for the domestic market,” Roberts explained.

Recently, House Agriculture Chair GT Thompson introduced H.R. 9535, the bipartisan Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act of 2026. This legislation makes key improvements to the accessibility and cost of agricultural labor through the H-2A visa program.

“Currently, like dairy, mushroom operations are not eligible for H-2A visas because mushroom production occurs year-round. We support this legislation and expanding H-2A access to year-round operations,” Roberts said.

AMI commended and supported bi-partisan legislators in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate with the introduction of the Protecting Mushroom Farmers Act, which would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct a study on the benefits of providing crop insurance for mushroom farmers. Currently, the bill sits in the Senate Ag Committee in the Farm Bill.

“We strongly encourage the Senate Ag Committee to vote it out of Committee when they return from their August recess,” Roberts said.

The USDA’s NASS provides an annual report of domestic mushroom production. This report covers domestic production of mushrooms from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, and can be found here.

About AMI
American Mushroom, headquartered in Avondale, Pennsylvania, is a national voluntary trade association representing the growers, processors, and marketers of cultivated mushrooms in the United States and industry suppliers worldwide. For more information, visit www.americanmushroom.org.