„Agropuzzle 2” meeting in Poland June 2014 Presentation Day 2

Directions for creating of multimedia presentation by participants of Polish mobility within Leonardo da Vinci „Agropuzzle 2” project.

The aim of presentation: To show characteristic features of running a farm and agrobusiness enterprises in Poland on the basis of: 1) mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons" Each group (country) prepare its presentation in their mother tongue or in English for every visited place taking into account:  Characteristic features listed above  Personal remarks and feelings not included in the chart  Photos taken on the spot

1. Individual farms and specialization in terms of plants and animal production – main products The manufacter produce high quality straw substrate for growing mushrooms depends on the customer’s needs. Substrats mixed with mushroom spores and substrat with growing mycelium of mushroom which are available in blocks and loose. Secondary products include straw pellets. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

2. Family oriented business activity It is a family business. It all began in 1967 when Karol Kania began his adventure with mushrooms. He produced substrate for his own needs. He works with his two sons, one is the manager of the tehnological part and the other is the manager of the logistic department. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

3. Vocational education of company owners and their children connected to Agricultural School This company organize individual and group trainings in factory or at the customer’s site. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

4. Acquiring of funds from European projects aimed at development and modernization of farms and enterprises (in close relation to agricultural education) The company not receive European funds for the mushroom substrate production, only for the straw pellet factory (around 50%). 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

5. Cooperation with raw materials’ suppliers and recipients of farm goods, both animal and vegetable The manufactory cooperate with suppliers of the highest quality straw of wheat and with chicken farms for manure, farms located around 100 km of Piasek region. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

6. Any marketing activities aiming at acquiring raw material and cooperation with recipients of final product With the capacity to process pellets from straw it guaranted regular cooperation with the suppliers of straw and collection of the raw material regardless of quantity of crops. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

7. Showing significant production connections with foreign markets The company is one of the Europe’s largest manufactures and sell the products to national market and in the Czech Republic and Bielorusia. Also the straw pellets are sold for power station in Opole, Silesia and Pawlowiczki areas. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

8. Development of side activities such as agritourism and restaurants They don,t have any direct activities in this sector. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

9. The use of natural climatic and soil qualities in running a farming company within given area The factories are located in agricultural areas which made easy for them to procure the raw material with high quality for mushrooms substrates and straw pellets. In 2011 they opened the factory for ecological fuel in the form of granulate as reaction to the instability of straw market which can not be valorificated. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

10. The use of landscape qualities in running a farm and agricultural company Karol Kanya I synowie is not an agricultural company but they used in their production raw material produced in farms and other agricultural companies. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

11. The use of high quality products They are constantly improving the quality of services and focus on excellent product quality – the mushroom substrate produced meets the highest European standards. As a result, the number of satisfied customers is still growing. The technology of production and the equipment used are high-level. Each substrate is tested in modern chemical and microbiological laboratories. Technology specialists monitor the individual stages of production 24 hours/day. Also they use special trucks to transport the products. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

12. Reduction of unemployment in the local area due to creation of new workplaces (recently) The company has 248 employees most of which are people living in the region, and their activities sustain the reduction of unemployment in the local area. The most of them are used in the winter time because the condition of weather is more favorable to produce the substrate. They also have some advisors to consult the customers to help and obtain a feedback about mushrooms substrate. 1. Mushrooms farm "Kania and the Sons"

Your opinion about visited place Advantages: -Better valorification of local raw materials - Help reduce unemployment and retraining the local workforce - New ideas for small business in Romania -Eco-friendly technologies, ecological fuels in granulate form -Monitoring of quality in all stages of production -Very good cooperation with the suppliers of straw Disadvantages: -The substrate can not be stored for a long period -Big electricity consumer - Straw attacked by mould

Thank you