In the late 1950s George de Ruiter decided to get into the mushroom growing business and by 1963, Prairie Mushrooms was born. In the early '60s, production levels at most mushrooms farms was extremely low and the availability of fresh grown mushrooms was still considered a novelty. Mushroom production increased dramatically when Prairie Mushrooms moved into its new, state-of-the art growing facility in 1993. The new growing facility, which boasts some of the finest technological innovations in North America, paved the way for Prairie Mushrooms to make a serious commitment to growing specialty mushrooms for the consumer market. While Prairie Mushrooms success up until 1993 had been built on the success of its white mushroom program, Prairie capitalized on the growing trend towards specialty mushrooms early on. Today Prairie Mushrooms produces four lines of mushroom products including White, Brown, Oyster and Portabella. This product diversification opened the door for Prairie to enter new Canadian and U.S. markets. Having been one of the first Canadian mushroom farms to successfully grow Portabellas, Prairie has set the standard for quality and consistency that the retail and foodservice industries have come to depend on. As a family-owned business for nearly four decades, Prairie Mushrooms credits its success to hard work, customer attention and a desire to lead the industry in terms of growing knowledge, quality and the application of new technology.