From jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.orgSat Feb 11 10:25:50 1995 Date: Thu, 09 Feb 1995 23:03:00 +0600 From: Jim Mcnelly To: london@calypso-2.oit.unc.edu Subject: 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. ------------------============<>=============----------------- Granite City Connection (612) 654-8372 28.8K 3 Lines Email: jim.mcnelly@granite.mn.org (Jim Mcnelly) ------------------============<>=============-----------------