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WORMFARMS




Larry, my mail reader and "gateway" do not provide for follow up 
replies. I am sending this to alt.agriculture.misc and 
alt.sustainable.agriculture. Could you please forward it for me? Thanks.



Brian MacLaine writes on several newsgroups:
References: <3go83s$4ur@ixnews3.ix.netcom.com> 

BM> This is a marketing research post to determine the level demand for
BM> commercial worms of different types to be delivered by the pound to
BM> any location worldwide. These worms will be suitable for use as
BM> bait, composting, commercial applications in recycling biodegradable
BM> waste and all other applications worms are normally used for.

First off Brian, none of the worms suitable for bait are also very good 
vermicomposters or vermistabilizers. Lumbricus terrestris, the common 
nightcrawler, is the preferred bait worm, capturing over 90% of the bait 
market. Government statistics, which I am certain you have already 
investigated, show this worm to capture a market around $100 million per 
year (to the grower) for bait. This worm lives in permanent burrows in 
the soil and has a complex symbiotic relationship with soil tilth, 
available organic matter on the surface, temperature, and precipitation. 
All attempts to remove them from permanent burrows for intensive 
cultivation have failed, however. Perhaps you considering the 
exotic species Perionix Excavatus or one of the several species of 
Pheretima for bait? I might be interested in making a market for them if 
you are ready to raise them.

The two worms suited for vermistabilization or vermicomposting, of which 
I am assured that you know the regulatory difference, are eisenia 
foetida and lumbricus rubella. Neither have shown themselves to be good 
bait worms, with the national market estimated at a few million dollars 
per year spread over hundreds of worm growers. These people make their 
market based on service in warm water panfish markets. Five other 
species of worms have been identified as potential organic matter 
stabilizers, but are quite temperamental as regards temperature, 
feedstock, and other environmental factors. Of these, only eudrillus 
eugenia is a decent bait worm, but its temperature specifications over 
70F and finicky feed requirements make it a poor candidate for managing 
organics residuals.

As far as the value of redworms as a protein source, they are comparable 
to fish meal which sells for $400+ per ton on the commodities market. 
To meet this specification, they must be dried to over 90% moisture and 
sold by the box car or train load. They must also be free of 
contaminants and pathogens. At 80% moisture live, this equates to a 
price between $.05 and $.10 per lb. I am prepared to pay $.10 per pound 
for live redworms by the ton.

If you are producing earthworm castings, worm egesta as a result of 
vermistabilization, not vermicomposting, I am prepared to enter into a 
marketing agreement to purchase worm castings at $15 per ton in 
quantities of at least twenty tons per day, freight on board, within 200 
miles of the twenty USA metropolitan areas. They must be dried to at 
least 35% moisture and screened at 3/8" mesh. They must also pass the 
fusarium suppression test in order to be certified.

BM> To help defray costs of the research center we are establishing, we
BM> are considering a large wormfarm that will be used partly for
BM> research into recycling biodegradable waste and for the commercial
BM> production of several types of worms.

Have you read the available literature on the subject, particularly 
Edwards and Neuhauser's "Earthworms in Environmental and Waste 
Management"? What about the EPA's report on the role of earthworms in 
the stabilization of Sewage Sludge 1985? Have you attended any of the 
five international symposiums on Earthworms and the Environment? Which 
professors and universities are you working with? What is the extent of 
your experience in working in the organics residuals management 
industry? Can you name the top companies currently using terrestrial 
invertebrates in organics management in the USA?  In the world?

BM> Any individual, organization, business or government which may be
BM> interested in using worms in the future to promote the effective
BM> breakdown of all types of biodegradable materials and may be
BM> interested in purchasing worms from a commercial grower, please let
BM> me know what demand you may have in about twelve months time. This
BM> will assist us in our plans for the research center.

As a person who has worked with earthworms and organics management for 
over twenty years, I can state with certainty that no serious enterprise 
in the vermistabilization, vermiculture, or vermicomposting 
industry would ever consider purchasing more than a few hundred pounds 
of earthworms. Someone entering the industry would surely know how to 
manage their environmental conditions such that they could achieve 
exponential reproductive rates in a matter of months, making a few 
hundred pounds convert into thousands of tons within a year. Why would 
they purchase worms if they knew what they are doing? If they do not 
know what they are doing, they will be "one time" buyers and not the 
sort of client you will want to base a profitable enterprise upon. 

Now if you have a means of producing Lumbricus Terrestris, the common 
nightcrawler, I am prepared to enter into contracts to purchase them in 
quantities of tons per week during the months of July through September 
at the rate of $.03 each weighing approximately 300 worms to the pound.

Do you need a consultant? How much money have you raised? Do you have 
any contracts to process organic residuals? How much per ton and what 
type of materials?

BM> Please e-mail responses to maclaine@ix.netcom.com

Best of luck,

Mr Compost~~~

Jim~ McNelly
jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.org


Jim~ McNelly
jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.org



Jim~ McNelly
jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.org


 * RM 1.3 02460 * Nitrate:  Lower than the day rate.

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