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Morels are found in great quantities following a wildfire. (Image Credit: ID 111373101 © Andrew Phelps | Dreamstime.com)
unique delicacy

Buyer expecting large morel crops in Northern Sask.

Jun 12, 2026 | 2:08 PM

A mushroom buyer is expecting a bumper crop year for morels near La Ronge and other parts of Northern Saskatchewan. 

Andrey Vinogradov of White Raven Foraging has set up a camp at the junction of Highways 165 and 912 in anticipation of the harvest.  

“This is the year which will be absolutely awesome,” he explained. 

“We haven’t had any pickers coming to us yet. Lots of people are curious. Just before the heatwave, we had an outcropping of muskeg morels … but they were not so good.” 

Morels are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and are known to bloom in large quantities following wildfires. The heat from fires triggers dormant underground networks, ensuring an abundant but temporary harvest typically lasting one to three years after a fire. 

Morels are particularly prized in French cuisine, which is where any mushrooms bought by Vinogradov will be headed.  

“This season is three or four weeks late, especially because of the last cold wave, but I am 100 per cent sure it is coming,” he said.  

“What is happening in La Loche and Dillon is just awesome because they grow really, really well. The thing is the harvest doesn’t just go south first and north second, but west because of chinook first, and then east because of the Hudson Bay cold front second.” 

Vinogradov is currently purchasing morels at $10 per pound. He will also be buying chanterelles and ceps later in the year, but prices have not yet been set for those mushrooms. Vinogradov hopes to still be buying mushrooms in August. 

“In the last several years, harvests were starting later and also ending very late. Usually it is mid-July, but I’m looking well into August,” he remarked.  

derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com