2019 Morel Mushroom Certification Registration Open

Morel mushroom photo

To legally sell morel mushrooms in Iowa, sellers must complete a certification workshop that covers identifying morels and false morels. People can be poisoned by eating mushrooms that are misidentified as morels. By the end of the workshops, participants will recognize true morels from false morels.

Morel certification lasts for three years. Iowans who have not certified for three or more years must recertify this year. Registration is open to out-of-state individuals that hunt and sell in Iowa. 

The two workshops will be held on the Iowa State campus in room 1302 Advanced Teaching and research Building (ATRB- located at 2213 Pammel Dr, Ames, Iowa) from 2-5 p.m.

The trainings will be on Saturday, March 30 and April 6, 2019. Choose one of the two training dates, and please arrive by 1:45pm for checking as class starts promptly at 2:00 p.m.

Make sure to save your seat, register online at http://bit.ly/MorelWorkshop19. Once on the page click on new user sign up. Registration cost is $50 per person. If you are experiencing difficulty with the online registration process, please contact Registration Services at registrations@iastate.edu for assistance. Registration deadline is March 26, 2018. 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. See the online campus map, select parking layer on the top right corner.

Transcript or Alternate URL: 

 ​​​​​​Hi my name is Lina Rodriguez-Salamanca.  I'm a plant pathology diagnostician with the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic.  Are you interested in selling morel mushrooms to the public? In order to sell mushrooms morel mushrooms legally within the state of Iowa everyone is to receive a certification. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach hosts a three-hour class held on Saturdays on Iowa State University campus in the spring.

Properly identifying morel mushrooms can mean the difference between finding something tasty or finding something potentially poisonous. Location, fees and registration details for the workshops can be found at the ISU Extension and

Outreach website and at the Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic mushroom page.

Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Horticulture and Home Pest News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on February 15, 2019. The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.