(Updated March 16, 2020: Event canceled.)
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will offer two, two-hour workshops March 21 and April 4 for anyone interested in being certified to sell morel and oyster mushrooms within Iowa. The workshops are held every year during the spring on the Iowa State campus.
To legally sell morel and oyster mushrooms in Iowa, sellers must complete a certification workshop that covers identifying morels and oyster, and distinguishing between true and false morels. Consumers can be poisoned by eating misidentified mushrooms.
By the end of the workshops, participants will recognize true edible morel and oyster mushrooms.
In 2020, oyster mushrooms were added to the training certification. Certification lasts for three years; therefore, Iowans who have not been certified since 2017 should re-certify this year if they want to legally sell in Iowa. Registration is also open to out-of-state individuals who hunt and sell these products in Iowa.
Two workshops will be held on the Iowa State University campus in room 1330 at the Advanced Teaching and Research Building, located at 2213 Pammel Drive in Ames.
The workshops will be on March 21 and April 4, from 2-4 p.m. Participants should arrive by 1:45 p.m. for check-in, as the sessions start promptly at 2 p.m.
Register online at http://bit.ly/MorelOyster20. Once on the page, click new user sign-up. Registration is $50 per person. If you are having trouble with the online registration process, contact Registration Services at registrations@iastate.edu for assistance with your account setup, or call the Iowa State University Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic on Tuesdays or Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 515-294-0581.
The deadline to register is March 18. Pre-registration is important so that adequate materials can be arranged.
Free parking is available near ATRB in Lot 35 on the west side of Stange Road. To view the location, access the online campus map and select the parking layer on the top right corner.