Turning sawdust into food!?

[nybhh]

I had no idea this was a thing but as a mill owner, this is a nice text message to get from a new neighbor ...

"...Also, I heard you met with ...., he just helped me select oak trees for shiitake production. If you ever have any saw dust saved up, give it to me, and I will return the favor with blue/brown oyster or nameko mushrooms! For every 5 pounds I should be able to give you back 1 pound of mushroom. "

This guy has no idea what he's in for lol

[Old Greenhorn]

It is very definitely a thing. There is a small cottage industries of folks supplying white oak for shiitake mushroom growers and a bunch of folks here abouts that grow them. It's an interesting process and can generate some serious income on the side if you have the buyers. Very simple to do also.  Your neighbor will be particular about the type of sawdust (or should be). Do a little research on the net and you will see. I did after I got some exposure and saw a working shiitake cycle during the silviculture class back in September. For you Brandon, the best point of contact is Greene County Cornell Cooperative Extension. They have some employees there that are not only degreed experts in this field, but run their own growing operations.
The neat part about this is the logs they use. Most populate is white oak, about 4 inches in diameter, and about 3-4 feet long max. Most of us would consider that either sash or firewood at best. They put in some work to prep and 'seed' the logs, then there is a lot of waiting, but if you do several batches of logs on a rotating time schedule, you can have a new crop every few weeks. The only other thing you need is fresh cool water (like the streams that run through your property).
Very interesting stuff! 
[edit: here is a starting reference for you: https://www.mywoodlot.com/item/forest-farming-shiitake-mushrooms-video-series?category_id=73 )
(How did the grouting go?)

[nybhh]

That's very interesting.  Last thing I need right now is another hobby so I think I'll leave the mushroom growing to him but I can certainly hook a guy up with some sawdust and its great he has a use for it!  He didn't specify what type but I'll find out.  As you know, I have a 5-gallon bucket hanging off my sawdust chute so I was going to just start emptying that into contractor bags for him.