Missouri resident is morel mushroom hunting expert
Missouri resident Thomas Weipert hunts morel and other types of mushrooms in an average of 14 states each year. He's known as The Mushroom King to visitors to the Topeka Boat, RV and Outdoor Show. He's been in Kansas recently and during his last trip he and five friends found nearly 80 pounds of morel mushrooms.
Spring is a time when morel mushroom hunters come out of the woodwork and descend upon their favorite river bottom or other drainage in search of the tasty fungus.
Many will go home with a handful or even a couple sacks filled to the top. That’s plenty for the average person or family to enjoy their delicate flavor. However, if you’re looking to make a living off of morels and other fungi, you better diversify and have a plan to find mushrooms on a regular basis.
“I’m a full-time mushroom hunter,” said Thomas Weipert, 45, of Savannah, Mo. “I’ve hunted mushrooms for 43 years and started hunting mushrooms before I could tie my shoes.”
Northeast Kansas outdoor enthusiasts may know him better as The Mushroom King. Weipert has been at the Topeka Boat, RV and Outdoor Show the last several years. He enjoys visiting with people about mushroom hunting and is full of knowledge concerning mushroom species and their pursuit.
“I like visiting with people about mushroom hunting,” Weipert said. “The more people who are out there doing it, the more people know about them, and they gain a wider appeal.”
In an average year, Weipert will visit about 14 different states to hunt mushrooms.
“I hit Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana in most years,” Weipert said. “Then I’ll go hit a burn or two out west which might mean I pick in Idaho, Oregon or even California.”
Come tax time Weipert files his returns and pays taxes on his mushroom sales. However, he files under the “Non-Timber Forest Products” category of the IRS.
“Basically, I’m a forager,” he said.
While there are numerous species of edible mushrooms, the morel is the one getting the most attention now in Kansas and the Midwest. Weipert says there are morels in every state except Florida.
“The consensus is it’s not cold enough there,” Weipert said.
In an average year, Weipert might pick anywhere from 800 to 1,000 pounds of morels.
He drives one vehicle while hunting all kinds of mushrooms and will log about 40,000 miles each year. Of this total he estimates about 6,000 miles logged just on morels. Over the years he knows what type of habitat will produce morels and can walk into an area and likely find them.
