SCOTTVILLE, MI - Most everyone knows you can only get fresh morel mushrooms in the spring. Gary Mills is changing all of that. Using a patented scientific process, Mills can produce a new crop of morels in ten to twelve weeks from start to finish.

Mills and Kris Berglund are the founders and scientists behind Natural Products Inc., the company they formed to produce morels commercially. They also grow shiitake, oyster, Black Poplar (normally found in Europe), and Cinnamon Nameko (one of the most popular mushrooms in Japan) mushrooms.

Current production is around 3,000 pounds of mushrooms per week, but when they ramp it up to full capacity they will be harvesting 16,000 pounds per week with about 3,000 pounds being morels.

Natural Products Inc. sells their mushrooms under the name Woodland Exotics. You can find them at various locations around Michigan for about $5 for a 3-1/2 ounce package. That works out to more than $20 per pound. Mushroom lovers would probably say that is a small price to pay in order to have morel mushrooms any time of the year.

You can check out the full article at www.freep.com.