KSU spinout Mycologic pitches containerized mushroom modules to Georgia growers

Chris Cornelison, identified in the meeting as a professor of microbiology and co‑founder of Mycologic, told the Small Business Development Committee that his company has developed a containerized, data‑driven system to grow specialty mushrooms.

Mycologic’s product is a converted 40‑foot shipping container with embedded sensors and software to control humidity, CO2 and temperature tailored to specific mushroom varieties. Cornelison said the company currently supports “over 23 varieties of choice edible medicinal mushrooms” and that the unit is “optimized for mushrooms.”

The company pitched the system as a way for Georgia growers to add a high‑margin crop without arable land and to reuse abundant agricultural byproducts. Cornelison said his team can use spent cotton gin byproducts and peanut shells as substrate inputs and that the approach can “recycle bulk, residues” while adding value to existing farm outputs.

Cornelison described a Georgia pilot with Gowan Valley Farms in Dalton. He said the farm deployed one unit, now operates two employees, grows 23 varieties, and produces more than 15,000 pounds a year in a roughly 320‑square‑foot production area. Cornelison reported the grower now records “over $200,000 a year in revenue based off of just mushroom sales” and that the farm purchased its pilot unit after the study ended.

He described Mycologic’s technical approach as coupling laboratory biological data with automated hardware and software to reduce labor and contamination risk, including automated clean‑in‑place sanitation. Cornelison said the 40‑foot unit is currently offered at $127,000 and that financing interest has come from agricultural lenders such as Georgia Farm Credit.

Cornelison traced the company’s development to grant and partnership support. He said initial funding came from the Georgia Department of Agriculture through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant program and that the team also received help from the Georgia Research Alliance and the Georgia Centers of Innovation. He noted an out‑of‑state award as well: Mycologic placed third in Grow New York and received a $250,000 SAFE note administered by Cornell University, a prize that has required some New York‑based economic activity to qualify.

Cornelison said Mycologic provides onboarding and training, ranging from basic cultivation instruction to troubleshooting contamination and yield issues, and that the company offers spawn supply and a licensed culture library originating in his university research. He emphasized that the system is intended to lower the labor and facility barriers that Cornell research identified as common obstacles for mushroom growers.

The Small Business Development Committee asked about location and logistics. Committee members confirmed Gowan Valley Farms is in the Dalton area (Rocky Face), asked whether mushrooms are grown entirely inside the module (Cornelison: yes), and discussed typical crop cycles (e.g., lion’s mane can be harvested 7–10 days after entering fruiting). Cornelison also said larger wholesale production models show potential annual production values that can make the unit profitable if run at capacity.

Cornelison declined to make regulatory claims beyond the presented pilot and grant history; the committee did not take any formal action on the presentation.

The committee's discussion focused on potential benefits for family farms pivoting from low‑margin produce to specialty mushrooms, financing options and the training needed for growers to scale while protecting product quality.