Upper Similkameen Mushroom Composting (USMC)

Fabric Covered Buildings Ideal For Composting

When a BC mushroom grower continually ran into problems getting quality compost to grow their mushrooms, they decided to turn the problem into a business venture. The Bloome family in Princeton, BC is the owners and operators of Upper Similkameen Mushroom Composting (USMC) and had been growing mushrooms for over 50 years when they decided to switch gears and become a mushroom compost supplier.

“We always relied on numerous suppliers and the quality and delivery timelines were not always suitable,” says Ken Bloome, USMC, operations manager. “We soon recognized there was a market for a local supplier.”

Like any new business, finding the right equipment to start-up the operation was a top priority. USMC selected an 80’ wide x 300’ long fabric covered steel truss building to cover the windrow piles and produce a consistent quality product.

"The fabric building will provide us decades of use with minimal maintenance and the clear-span area is perfect

 for our windrow piles."
Ken Bloome

“The fabric covered building is ideal for composting,” says Bloome. “The corrosive ammonia gases do not affect the fabric cover. We never considered an all steel building because we heard about too many problems. Even with extensive ventilation, the ammonia gas hangs in the building and it is completely corroded within a few years. The fabric building will provide us decades of use with minimal maintenance and the clear-span area is perfect for our windrow piles.”

The fabric building was installed in just 11 days over existing compost piles. The building’s foundation is a 4-foot high by 12-inch wide concrete containment wall for extra clearance to allow the windrow turner to work close to the walls. There are no end walls and a center ridge vent runs along the entire ceiling to exhaust compost steam.

The result is 1,500 yards of quality mushroom compost a week supplied to 10 large mushroom growers. “We have no problems with ventilation; steam clears out of the building very well. The amount of natural light we have in this building is tremendous. We have no need for artificial lighting,” says Bloome.

The cover will never rust, even under the harshest conditions.

Open ends and a center ridge running along the ceiling

aid in the exhaust of compost steam.

4-foot high by 12-inch wide concrete containment walls provide extra clearance to allow the windrow turner

 to work close to the walls.

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Hy-Line International
Location: Dallas Center, IA Building Size: (2) 40' W x 60' L; 40' W x 80' L Application: Composting
Fabric Covered Building Ideal for Composting   Hy-Line International is a multi-million dollar company whose primary purpose is the sole production, multiplication and distribution of leghorn genetics.  At its Iowa facility in Dallas Center, Hy-Line chose to handle its hatchery by-product in a cost effective manner by combining it with field by-products, such as corn stocks and chicken manure, to create a compost product for resale.  The composting process takes place in three fabric covered buildings.   "The manure is moved from production at the end of the lay cycle and stored in three 40 foot wide fabric covered steel truss buildings," says Travis Slusher, Production Manager.  "The compost product is mixed and deposited in the buildings for a month-long heating process before being moved to an outside concrete storage facility.  The final product is then sold to landscapers, golf courses, and the agricultural industry for fertilizer."   "The fabric buildings are much more conducive as the fabric itself doesn't degrade like a steel building would." Travis Slusher, Production Manager Hy-Line discovered the fabric building technology from advertisements in various publications.  "The interest was generated from my experience with steel sided structures in the livestock industry and how much they sweat throughout the changes in our seasons.  Through our research we found that fabric covered steel truss buildings could be ventilated easier to eliminate the condensation factor.  The other reason for using the fabric buildings was this is a temporary site and the structures are easily re-locatable.  We are not locked into a long-term commitment on capital money here at this site," says Slusher.  "One of the other things we've been pleased with is the natural light that is inside the fabric buildings.  Because most of our work is done during the day, we have no other light in these facilities which reduces the cost and need for electrical services in the buildings. Two 40' wide x 60' long fabric buildings were positioned on six foot high pony walls, and a 40' wide x 80' long fabric building was positioned on eight foot high pony walls.  Each building was designed with two foot side curtain walls on each side for natural ventilation.  "The buildings are very airy.  With the composting process, we have a lot of natural gases coming off the process itself which can easily corrode galvanized steel:  The fabric covered buildings are much more conducive as the fabric itself doesn't degrade like a steel building would," says Slusher. It's been more than two years since they purchased their fabric buildings and Hy-Line remains pleased with the investment.  "Any concerns about wind load and snow load have been put to rest as they've seen the performance of the buildings under those conditions and have been very well reassured of the structures integrity," says Slusher.		Hy-Line's composting process takes place in two 40' wide x 60' long fabric covered buildings and one 40' wide x 80' long fabric covered building   The fabric cover is not affected by the corrosive environment.   2' side curtain walls provide natural ventilation and eliminate condensation inside the building.   The clear-span design of a fabric building allows ample room to operate machinery and establish compost windrows.