Worm Farming USA

by Peter Bogdanov

©2013 Peter Bogdanov

Published by vermico.com Prescott Valley, AZ 86314

Table of Contents

Worm Farming USA

Introduction

Worm Farming USA

West Coast Operations—The Early Days

Vermicomposting Bio-Solids in Fallbrook, CA

Canyon Recycling Takes Over

Vermicomposting Organic Residuals from MRFs

Revised Legal Status of Vermicomposting in California

Rainbow Worm Farm, Davis, CA

Ecology Farms, Temecula, CA

Compost Site Sells Vermicompost before Producing It

Airline Pilot Raises Earthworms in Wine Country

The Largest Vermicomposting Operation in the US

Cocoon Production Holds Promise

Continuous Flow Reactor Processes Food Residuals

From Mushroom Farm to Earthworm Farm

Vermiculture in the Southern and Eastern United States

Tennessee Project Uses Disabled Workers

Vermicycle Organics, Inc.

Worms Deep in the Heart of Texas

References

Introduction

Worm farming? What’s that?

That’s a common reaction many people have when they first hear the term. Probably, it’s

because worm farming is not very common.

The concept of worm farming was new to me when I first heard of it in the mid 1990s and

developed an immediate interest in the subject. As I traveled about, visiting worm farms and

talking to worm farmers, I began to acquire knowledge that few possessed. In order to share that

information with others, I turned to the internet, which, at that time, was still in its early stages

for commercial use. I had a few books about worms and other items to sell and some folks were

actually offended that we dared to use the internet to sell our information and products.

Of course much on the internet has changed since then. And worm farming has changed too.

One of the most frequent questions we have been asked is, “How can I visit a worm farm?”

That’s not a bad question. In fact, after finding out about worm farming, that was what I set out

to do. I wanted to see a worm farm for myself. And I was fortunate to visit several and build

relationships with worm farmers along the way. Thankfully, they allowed me to tell their stories.

What is recorded in the following pages are stories of worm farms in the US. You’ll find they

are similar in many ways, yet each operation conducts its business in a little different manner

from the others. Today, you may not find it easy to visit a worm farm. After all, worm farming

is a business and many business owners are not too inclined to give up their valuable time to

conduct free tours to folks who just might become competitors! Books like this, then, actually

provide a reasonable substitute for the time, travel arrangements and expense one would incur in

trying to locate an operation that would be open to the idea of conducting a free tour. Many

worm farmers would actually prefer you read a book on the subject than contact them in person.

Worm farming seemed to take a dramatic turn at about the time I became involved. This was

largely due to increased environmental concerns about what to do with our waste. California and

a few other states began firming up their regulatory oversight of waste management. It was

widely reported by USEPA and other environmental agencies that up to 60% of what was thrown

away as garbage was organic. This meant that, rather than bear the cost of collecting,

transporting and burying organic waste in a landfill, these residuals could be recycled (closer to

the source—in some cases) by composting. And, yes, even worms could have a part in this

effort through what became known as vermicomposting.

And so, with titles like Mary Appelhof’s Worms Eat My Garbage, interest grew in earthworms

providing a remedy for our waste management problems. As it turned out, the answer had

always been directly under out feet!

In California, where municipalities were threatened by fines of up to $10,000 per day if they

failed to reduce their waste by 50%, vermicomposting sites sprang up, offering a way to turn

garbage into gold. The gold, of course, consisted of worm castings, also known as

vermicompost, nature’s best fertilizer. Now it was possible for these landfill diversion sites to

earn income from three possible streams: 1) Tip fees collected when organic residuals were

trucked to their sites (dump trucks “tipped” their contents on the ground and paid a fee to do so);

2) sales of earthworms, since they were reported to multiply rapidly; and 3) sales of earthworm

castings for use in agriculture and horticulture. While the forecast for these vermicomposting

operations seemed bright (regulatory agencies were pushing municipalities to find solutions

quickly, and income would come from both incoming raw materials and outgoing products!) the

management of several of these businesses failed miserably. Mismanagement showed up

variously through greed, disregarding regulations and best management practices, and outright

fraud. In short, it wasn’t through worm error that many of these businesses failed; it was due to

human error. But the demise of many of these larger operations shouldn’t discourage us.

Instead, it’s possible to learn from their mistakes. What you’ll find in the pages ahead is a

realistic portrayal of what the business of vermicomposting is all about.

Welcome to the world of worms! What started out in the US as vermiculture (raising

earthworms to increase their supply, largely for re-sale as bait), eventually became

vermicomposting—using earthworms to transform organic waste into worm castings.

This is the story of vermiculture and vermicomposting in the United States. Come take the tour

of some of the leading worm farms in the country.

Worm Farming USA

The origins of worm farming in the United States are unrecorded and largely unknown. It is

likely that anglers who initially had to dig up earthworms for bait became the first customers of

those who found a way to supply worms in quantity. In the 1950s, as angling began to flourish

as a leisure-time activity in the US, a market developed for earthworm sales.

Earthworms used for fish bait were, at first, harvested by hand. This is still the case in Canada

where immigrants, many from Asia, are employed to pick up earthworms (known as Canadian

Nightcrawlers) at night. Roaming in farmers’ fields, golf courses and orchards, harvesters tie

cans to their legs and, bending over, try to pick up whole earthworms without pulling so much as

to break them. Earthworms of this particular species (Lumbricus terrestris) do not reproduce

quickly in domesticated conditions. Since their availability “in the wild” is much greater than in

trying to breed them in containers, harvesting by hand has proven to be the most effective way of

securing large quantities. According to biologist and naturalist Doug Collicutt, earthworm sales

are a $100 million industry in Canada alone where half a billion Night Crawlers are collected

annually. (D. Collicutt, n.d.)

During the Depression years of the 1930s, Earl B. Shields wrote a chapter “Raising Earthworms”

in his book Making Money at Home. Over the next two decades, inspired by inquiries from his

readers, Shields researched the subject further and wrote Raising Earthworms for Profit. Since

founding his Wisconsin-based earthworm book publishing business in 1951, the Shields family

claims it has sold over one million earthworm books of its 22 titles. It is likely that from these

publications, interest in worm farming grew through the United States. An untold number of

backyard worms farmers began the practice of vermiculture-raising earthworms.

An entire cottage industry sprang up, the number of its membership not quantifiable, hence

unknown. Shields marketed a bi-annual directory, Earthworm Buyers Guide, offering

advertising space to worm farmers to help them sell their products. Since there was no

organization or association of worm growers, the Shields Guide served as the only means of

somehow measuring at least the breadth of worm farming in the U.S., since advertisers were

grouped by state. At its height, there were around 100 US advertisers in the Shields Guide.

Worm farmers created their own jargon, offering “breeders” as well as “bed-run” or “pit-run”

worms with unique names such as Alabama Jumper, African Nightcrawler, Tiger Worm,

California Golden Worm, Red Wiggler and others. It was believed that, in some cases, a few

growers gave their commodity unique names in an attempt to differentiate their stock from

competitors’ and, therefore, create the illusion that they were offering a better or special product

for sale. Worm farmers also spoke of “sour” conditions in their worm beds and called

earthworm cocoons “capsules.” Today greater precision in language is in use as scientific

nomenclature has been adopted by most worm workers thanks largely to university researchers

working with educators and practitioners. Thus Eisenia fetida appears more frequently than the

imprecise redworm or red wiggler and the overall vocabulary of worm workers reflects better

understanding of soil ecology and organic waste management.

West Coast Operations—The Early Days

Interest in vermiculture on the West Coast of the United States can be dated as early as 1936

when Thomas Barrett, physician and “Renaissance man” of many interests, established his

Earthmaster Farms in El Monte. California. Here he conducted experiments in raising

earthworms and recorded his recommendations in a book, Harvesting the Earthworm (Barrett,

1947).

In 1967, Ronald E. Gaddie, Sr. started a vermiculture business after a disabling back injury. By

1972, Gaddie’s North American Bait Farms in Ontario, California was approaching $100,000 in

gross sales and grew to over $600,000 in 1975. Gaddie co-authored Earthworms for Ecology

and Profit, Vols. I and II, along with Donald E. Douglas. Over 750,000 copies of the first

volume, subtitled Scientific Earthworm Farming (1975), were printed and some 250,000 copies

of Volume II, subtitled Earthworms and the Ecology (1977), were later published. Gaddie’s

vermiculture and book publishing business grew wildly throughout the second half of the 1970s,

and an extensive network of earthworm growers was established throughout the United States.

He reported that his network exceeded 1,100 growers in California alone. Earthworms were

shipped to Italy, France, Korea and Japan. His Bookworm Publishing Co. earned tremendous

profits from the sale of his writings and earthworm books written by others. His own books were

translated into Japanese, French and Spanish. Just as the foreign markets began to surge further

in sales (an order for $170,000 of earthworms to be sent to Italy was received), Gaddie was

forced to close his doors in early 1980 (Bogdanov, 1996a).

Figure 1 Ronald Gaddie's book started a revolution in vermiculture

The closure of North American Bait Farms was the result of costly litigation Gaddie faced as the

alleged “kingpin” of a pyramid scheme. In 1974 the Securities and Exchange Commission

began informing North American Bait Farms that a price guarantee offering to buy back

earthworms from potential investors could be construed as a sale of a security that would have to

be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (Gaddie and Douglas, 1975). In spite of all

attempts to warn away others from violating SEC regulations, Gaddie became caught in litigation

accusing him of participating in illegal “pyramid schemes.” The great cost of having to defend

himself and others eventually took its toll. The once million-dollar-per-year business in

earthworms alone (not counting book sales) collapsed. Along with it, perhaps tens of thousands

of other earthworm growers, by the estimate of one person who was active both then and now,

found themselves in an industry locked in a tailspin (Bogdanov, 1996a). Over thirty years later

the memory of this boom and bust cycle remains in the minds of those still associated with

vermiculture in California and throughout portions of the US Today this story’s almost mythic

proportions serves as a reminder of both the immense opportunity available in vermiculture as

well as the dire consequences that may befall even the most circumspect.

Vermicomposting Bio-Solids in Fallbrook, CA

In 1986, after conducting a successful pilot-scale vermicomposting program, the Fallbrook

Sanitary District embarked on a full-scale program to use earthworms (Eisenia fetida and

Lumbricus rubellus) for stabilization of bio-solids. The District produced approximately 0.6 dry

tons (544 kg) of sludge per day on its 43-acre site in a community of about 16,000 people located

in Northern San Diego County. The two-stage process included pre-composting the material to

comply with USEPA’s standards to reduce pathogens. After approximately 30 days in a static

pile, material was removed to vermicomposting beds where it was applied at the rate of four to

six inches (10-15 cm) per week to the 8-foot (2.4 m) wide windrows of varying length. To

maintain porosity, straw bulking material was added about once per month. In about six months,

windrows reached a height of approximately three feet (.9 m) and were ready for harvesting.

The top six to eight inches (15-20 cm) of material, containing the greatest concentration of

earthworms, was removed and used to establish new windrows. The remainder, stabilized

vermicompost, was screened and placed in storage where it was allowed to cure for an additional

30 days. The District sold its static pile compost for $15 per cubic yard (.76 m3) and its

vermicompost for $35 per cubic yard (.76 m3). It reported that it could not keep up with local

demand (Harris, et al., 1990).

In 1987, when the Fallbrook project was just getting underway, the LA Times reported that

Camarillo, a city in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles, trucked four tons of sludge to

Fallbrook in San Diego County (150 miles away) for vermicomposting research. Weldon Platt, a

“self-taught worm expert” and avid environmentalist with a bachelor’s degree in physical

education, was the “worm wizard” who ran Fallbrook’s vermicomposting project. He said the

three-year pilot program would cost the city $70,000 in equipment and manpower, but expected

the district would recoup its investment within two years and then begin making money.

(Hamilton, 1987)

Many aspects of this project were deemed successful. Fallbrook Sanitary District’s directors

reported evidence that vermicomposting could serve to remove heavy metals from bio-solids.

They were also encouraged by the plant growth potential of vermicompost stating that

“earthworm excreta (castings) are an excellent soil-conditioning material with a high water

holding capacity and ‘natural time release’ for releasing nitrogen into the soil” (Harris, et al.,

1990). But other factors, such as increased requirements for production and processing, an

increase in time required for vermicomposting, and an increase in surface area, meant that

vermicomposting made greater demands than conventional composting.

Canyon Recycling Takes Over

The Fallbrook vermicomposting project was forced to close as local residential development

increased. The once rural community became a suburban community. However, interest in

vermicomposting continued in San Diego County as Resource Conversion Corporation (RCC)

obtained some 5,000 lbs. (2,268 kg) of earthworms from Fallbrook and brought them to Canyon

Recycling in San Diego. On an eight-acre site, Canyon Recycling established twenty-two 250-

foot (76.2 m) long windrows, ten feet (3 m) in width. A landfill diversion site, Canyon received

tipping fees for municipal yard trimmings, manure from San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal

Park and the Del Mar Race Track, and construction and demolition (C&D) debris. In the early

1990s, Canyon concentrated on vermiculture, building up its earthworm population. Earthworm

beds were fed and split continuously until the time came to shift from vermiculture to a

vermicomposting operation (Bogdanov, 1996b). By March of 1996, John Beerman, General

Manager of the facility reported that he provided his 75,000 pounds (34,020 kg) of earthworms

about 15 to 20 tons (13.6 to 18.1 metric tons) of green waste every day (Barbour, 1996). Three

to four inches (8 to 10 cm) of feedstock were applied with manure spreaders twice a week to

each windrow. Water usage amounted to between 40,000 and 50,000 gallons per day.

Earthworms were sold only rarely.

Figure 2 Entrance and truck scales for Canyon Recycling, Home of Vermigro

After growing its earthworm inventory for about five years, harvesting vermicompost began in

earnest and sales of Vermigro™, a blend of earthworm castings with compost, were made to

nurseries, landscapers, organic farmers, and the general public. The blended product was sold in

bulk ($35/cu. yd.) and in bags ($7.00 retail for one cu. ft. (.028 m3). In one instance, Canyon

negotiated a contract to produce 5,000 bags per month for a large retailer, but the deal never

materialized.

Figure 3 Sacks of Vermigro earthworm castings blended with compost

Canyon Recycling also sold recycled wood-fiber products to particleboard manufacturers and co-

gen facilities, and produced compost and mulch used for roadside application by California’s

Department of Transportation (Cal-Trans). However, the early creation of burdensome and

unmanageable indebtedness pressured RCC’s directors to put Canyon Recycling up for sale in

1997. In spite of the fact that Canyon reported it could not make enough Vermigro™ to satisfy

the demand, other factors contributed toward the need for restructuring this facility.

Figure 4 Canyon Recycling's windrows measured 10 feet in width and 250 feet in length

Vermicomposting Organic Residuals from MRFs

Pacific Southwest Farms, a 54-acre vermicomposting facility in Ontario (San Bernardino

County), California began its operation in 1994 with eleven tons (10 metric tons) of earthworms

transported from the failed Worm Concern project in Simi Valley, California. Owner Barry

Meijer steadily built his operation into what may have been the largest project of its kind up until

its closure. PSF received the biodegradable fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW) or “green

material” (as defined by California’s compost regulations) from up to three different material

recovery facilities (MRFs) for a tipping fee. Initially, PSF took in about 75 tons (68 metric tons)

per day and increased that amount to approximately 100 tons (90.74 metric tons) per day.

Earthworm-stocked windrows measuring eight feet (2.4 m) in width and 100 feet (30.48 m) in

length were fed at the rate of four tons (3.63 metric tons) of material per row per week. Situated

east of Los Angeles in an arid climate, PSF’s water usage amounted to 120,000 gallons per day.

Sources for water included residential sprinkler runoff and barn water from local dairies. While

the water was abundant and free, pumps, irrigation lines and use of electricity added significant

expense. At it zenith, PSF estimated that more than 100 tons (90.74 metric tons) of earthworms

processed organic residuals in 360 windrows. Finished vermicompost was reportedly sold to

agricultural users in central California. Due to the mixed quality of feedstocks which contained a

significant portion of inert material (especially glass shards), the final product had to be screened

to 1/8 inch and was not acceptable for retail sales to the public (Bogdanov, 1997a).

Figure 5 Irrigated windrows at Pacific Southwest Farms measured 8 feet in width and 100 feet in length

PSF’s feedstocks were non-traditional in comparison to other vermicomposting sites. From the

beginning of its operation, MRFs in nearby Orange County processed the commingled material

they received and sent the biodegradable fraction to PSF. This material was approximately 95%

organic but contained enough bits of plastic to cause a problem with site and product appearance.

The particle size of the incoming product was later reduced from four inches to 1-1/4 inches,

which proved to work better and contained less visible and unsightly plastic. PSF also received

ground paper that had come into contact with food material or other green waste. That which

was fed to earthworms is specified as “green material,” defined by the California Integrated

Waste Management Board (CIWMB) as “any plant material that is either separated at the point

of generation, or separated at a centralized facility [a MRF] that employs methods to minimize

contamination. Green material includes, but is not limited to, manure, untreated wood wastes,

paper products, and natural fiber products. Green material does not include treated wood waste,

mixed demolition or mixed construction debris.” (California Integrated Waste Management

Board, 1997a). During the time of its operation, Meijer believed PSF was the only project using

MSW for vermicomposting in California.

Figure 6 PSF's feedstock from MRF's contained plastic and glass shards

Revised Legal Status of Vermicomposting in California

The San Bernardino Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) effectively shut down PSF in November,

1996 by issuing a Notice and Order requiring PSF to obtain a solid waste facilities permit as a

transfer/processing station. PSF was also told it could not “process” any of its incoming

feedstock. Processing would include either blending with manure or pre-composting the

incoming feedstock. PSF appealed this Notice and Order. In February, 1997 the San Bernardino

County Independent Hearing Panel issued a decision which specified that the earthworm bed

activity was excluded from regulation by the CIWMB’s compost regulations and that PSF was

not required to obtain a solid waste facilities permit.

But PSF’s problem continued. San Bernardino County attempted to close down PSF because of

its location in a dairy zone, saying that it needed a conditional use permit and did not possess

one. PSF filed an appeal of this ruling and, in April 1997, the Court of Appeal, State of

California, Fourth Appellate District, determined that PSF could continue its vermicomposting

operation. Citing California’s Food and Agricultural Code, the court agreed that vermiculture is

an “agricultural use” and that PSF was in operation for the purpose of producing an “animal

product.” (Bogdanov, 1997b)

At least two victories for PSF and the practice of vermiculture in the state of California were

won by these decisions. First, vermiculture continues to enjoy an agricultural exclusion from

California’s composting regulations by virtue of the fact that the Food and Agriculture Code

identifies vermiculture and its by-products as agriculture. And, secondly, pre-composting of

feedstock prior to application on earthworm beds does not fall under the CIWMB’s compost

regulations. Critics have complained that these exclusions do not allow for a “level playing

field” for composters and vermicomposters alike. Additionally, the exclusions open the door for

disguising a composting operation by allowing it to possess a small quantity of earthworms and

call it vermicomposting. To discourage the possible abuse of vermiculture exclusions, CIWMB

is amending its regulations to clarify what it will allow. In its Initial Statement of Reasons,

CIWMB wrote: “A revision of the term ‘vermicomposting’ is necessary to clarify that worm

castings, not compost, are the primary product of vermicomposting activities” (California

Integrated Waste Management Board, 1997b). CIWMB maintains that an enforcement agency

has the flexibility to determine whether an activity is or is not a vermicomposting activity.

Incidental earthworm activity, in which significant amounts of biological decomposition occurs

which is not related to earthworm activity, would not constitute “vermicomposting.” Therefore,

according to the CIWMB, the presence of a few earthworms in a compost pile would not qualify

the operation as a “vermicomposting activity.”

Meijer’s Pacific Southwest Farms won only a Pyrrhic victory, however, as time-consuming

litigation during the Cease and Desist order forced haulers to locate other sites to transport their

organic waste. Without tipping fees and feedstocks to continue his operation, Meijer was forced

into shutting down the facility.

Rainbow Worm Farm, Davis, CA

For twenty-one years Al Cardoza’s Rainbow Worm Farm has seen steady growth, largely due to

Cardoza’s talents and persistence in single-handedly creating a full-service operation. Cardoza

obtains dairy manure from Dixon, a small community located a few miles from his vermiculture

facility in Davis, west of Sacramento, California. In addition to the expense of trucking this

material to his own farm, Cardoza periodically visits the dairy farm to turn the manure, speeding

up the pre-composting phase of the feedstock. Four-foot wide windrows, called “ricks,” cover

some 3 acres of his twenty-acre farm. Sprinkler irrigation is used to spray a fine mist on the

unshaded beds where temperatures frequently hit triple digits in summer. The exclusively

outdoor vermiculture operation has 30 ricks approximately 200 feet (61 m) long. “That’s over

one mile (1.6 km) in length,” reports Al’s son Dan Cardoza, who took over Rainbow after Al’s

retirement.

The rows receive about one inch (2.54 cm) of material every two weeks, amounting to about 40-

50 cubic yards (30-38 m3) per row. Earthworms (Eisenia fetida) are harvested in a trommel

designed and built by Al. Custom-made earthworm harvesters and blueprints are available for

sale. Harvested earthworms are packaged in wax-coated cardboard boxes and shipped by ground

carrier and by air freight all over the world. Cardoza applies wax to the interior of the boxes,

perforates each one with enough holes to allow ventilation, and applies a red-ink stamped

warning: “Alive! Earthworms. Do not expose to heat or cold.” A specially blended bedding mix

of peat moss, shredded paper and oyster shell flour is used in packaging earthworms for

shipment. The senior Cardoza has designed a heavy-duty blender for mixing earthworm castings

with other ingredients to create custom potting soils for nurseries. He also has designed bagging

and sealing machines that are used for packaging Rainbow Worm Castings, available in one-

quarter and one cubic foot (.028 m3) bags. Cardoza’s how-to video thoroughly covers all aspects

of his operation: sprinkler set-up, creation of ricks, feeding, harvesting earthworms and

vermicompost, making wax-coated cardboard boxes, and shipping procedures that include

preparation of bedding and bagging. (Bogdanov, 1998).

Ecology Farms, Temecula, CA

Figure 7 Vermicomposting operations in arid regions such as Temecula, CA, use considerable water

In February 1995, George Bodlak, together with several partners, started Ecology Farms in

Temecula, California. The ten-acre site raises Eisenia fetida on pre-composted yard trimmings

adding 10-15% steer manure in the winter. Three different systems for raising earthworms are in

use. Shade-cloth covered breeding beds are used to raise earthworms in a closely monitored

environment. Moisture content of 80-85% and a temperature of 72° F (22° C) are maintained.

From these beds, earthworms are then moved to a second system, fully exposed windrows for

“conditioning” where the key process variables are not as ideal and earthworm reproductive

activity slows. A third system uses fiberglass bins that were formerly used in trucking

agricultural produce. A two-tier design in these bins allows for the collection of “earthworm tea”

which Bodlak claims has restorative properties when used as a foliar on plants, although this has

not been validated. Demonstration gardens showcasing the benefits of both vermicompost and

“earthworm tea” are in use at Ecology Farms as they are at several other vermiculture sites in

California.

Figure 8 George Bodlak recycled fiberglass produce bins hauled by trucks into irrigated worm bins with leachate collection

underneath

Earthworms have been shipped in large quantities of 5,000 lbs. (4.53 metric tons) or more.

Trucks equipped with a “walking floor” trailer expedite the shipping of entire windrows. But

this vermiculture operation has also put strong emphasis on its sales of vermicompost as well.

Under the “All-In-One” product label, earthworm castings are blended with compost, sea kelp,

gypsum, bat guano and saponin from yucca trees. Screening and bagging are done on site by

some of the ten employees. Expansion of Ecology Farms to include additional large-scale

vermicomposting projects has been reported (Riggle, 1996b).

Figure 9 Ecology Farms' exposed windrow sits astride a shadecloth-covered windrow

Compost Site Sells Vermicompost before Producing It

Joe Lundstrom, site manager for Cascade Forest Products in Novato, California, took the

experience he gained as site manager at Canyon Recycling in San Diego and added a

vermicomposting emphasis to the conventional composting performed at the Novato site. But in

this case, sales of vermicompost actually preceded the production of vermicompost. Initially,

since there was no on-site vermicomposting, Lundstrom searched his own Marin County as well

as adjoining counties in Northern California for earthworm castings that could be included in his

product blends. Knowing that the addition of vermicompost created a “value-added product,”

Lundstrom contacted vermiculture operations to purchase their earthworm castings. Once

obtained, castings became part of the several blends Cascade has created under its own name and

used in the custom blends it makes for others (Bogdanov, 1997c). Offering an extensive line of

soils, amendments and mulches, at least six products, appended with the words “with worm

castings,” are sold in bulk by Cascade: Super-Premium Planting & Container Mix, Planter Mix,

Amended Loam, Premium TopSoil, Super Compost, and Garden Compost. Within these blends,

and in addition to vermicompost, are found fir bark fines, perlite, peat moss, lava rock, poultry

manure, redwood fines, sand, bio-solids, composted yard trimmings, and forest humus. In

addition to their own bulk sales and the custom blends they prepare for local distributors such as

Shamrock Earth Blends, Cascade provides ingredients for the Gardner and Bloome line of retail

bagged products.

Figure 10 Joe Lundstrom examines composted bio-solids blended with earthworm castings

Soon after his arrival at the Novato site, Lundstrom inoculated five windrows, one hundred feet

(30.5 m) long and ten feet (3 m) wide, with approximately 5 tons (4.53 metric tons) of

earthworms. Cow manure and co-composted bio-solids were used as feedstocks. Situated next

to a lagoon that continues to accept bio-solids under a grandfathered arrangement made many

years ago, Cascade Forest Products finds that the compost made with bio-solids adds a darkness

of color to the finished products that their customers find appealing. Earthworms (Eisenia

fetida) thrive on the combination of co-compost and manure in the outdoor windrows.

Lundstrom finds he still cannot make enough vermicompost to satisfy the demand for his blends.

Cascade Forests Products continues to purchase earthworm castings from vermiculture

operations many miles away, but freight costs have made some transactions prohibitive.

Figure 11 Cascade's "Super Compost" and "Planting Mix" both prominently feature worm castings in labeling

Airline Pilot Raises Earthworms in Wine Country

In 1992, Jack Chambers, a commercial airline pilot purchased a five-acre farm in Sonoma,

California from a chicken rancher who also raised earthworms on poultry manure. Chambers

expanded his Sonoma Valley Worm Farm by adding outdoor windrows to the existing covered

row system, by obtaining dairy manure, by installing an irrigation system, and by purchasing

equipment (tractor, trommel screen). Today, earthworms and vermicompost are sold at

wholesale and retail prices. Earthworms (Eisenia fetida) are most commonly sold in 1,2,5, and

10-pound units, but larger amounts have been sold to bait dealers. Vermicompost is sold at $40

per cubic yard (.76 m3) (retail) and $30 per cubic yard wholesale.

Figure 12 Jack Chambers stands near straw-covered outdoor, irrigated windrows

Chambers has experimented with feedstocks such as alfalfa and has discovered variations in

earthworm activity according to the amount of moisture applied to earthworm beds (Riggle, 1996

b). Seasonal predators, robins, have caused problems by removing earthworms from windrows

over a period of a few weeks before migrating. To facilitate harvesting vermicompost,

Chambers covers a three-foot (.9m) section on one end of a windrow, (thereby withholding food

and water), which encourages earthworms to move laterally in search of food. The cover is

removed several days later to harvest vermicompost.

Figure 13 Sonoma Valley Worm Farm's covered windrows provide shade and protection from excessive rain

Chambers sold about 2,000 pounds (907 kg) of earthworms, most in one and two-pound (.45-

.9kg) orders, through a voucher program offered in the City of San Jose in 1996. This was in

connection with earthworm bin sales by another vendor in the municipally-sponsored program

and accounted for nearly one-half the entire amount of earthworms Sonoma Valley Worm Farm

sold for the year.

The seasonal nature of earthworm sales is clear to Chambers who speaks of a “bell-curve” in the

annual cycle. “The phone starts ringing in late March and [continues] fairly steadily in April.

Things really go until the Fourth of July, when there’s a little dip, then they start soaring up again

to the top of the bell-curve until about October, and that’s when it starts to cool down,” he says.

Sonoma Valley Worm Farm’s advertising is limited to a few listings in Bay Area Yellow Pages.

Having a toll-free number stimulates sales, Chambers says, and association with Master

Gardeners and Master Composters has also been advantageous. (Bogdanov, 1997d)

The Largest Vermicomposting Operation in the US

American Resource Recovery (ARR) is located in Vernalis, California, ideally situated along

Interstate 5 in California’s agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley, about 90 miles south of

Sacramento. Part of its 320 acres consists of two paved airplane landing strips covering 75 acres,

a remnant of the military air base once located there, providing an added benefit for its waste

management operations. Another 70 acres in used for vermicomposting. Non-hazarardous

commercial wastes (organic residues) totaling more than 75,000 tons are processed by

earthworms annually. Principal feedstocks consist of short fibers (paper pulp) generated from

recycling cardboard. Additional wastes are added, including tomato waste, green waste and

manure.

Figure 14 Water usage at ARR is measured by the acre foot where its 450 rows can stretch over a quarter mile in length

The earthworm inventory was steadily built beginning in 1993 with 50 pounds of earthworms

purchased from Al Cardoza’s Rainbow Worm Farm in Davis, CA. By 1999, ARR management

estimated it had half a million pounds of earthworms on its site that continue to multiply within

3-foot wide outdoor windrows, some of which stretch as far as one-quarter mile in length.

ARR obtains up to 300 tons per day of short fiber sludge from a cardboard recycling plant. It is

a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week account. The material is ready to apply to windrows when it arrives. It

is loaded on a spreader truck and laid on the rows about 8 inches in thickness. It arrives fluffy

and wet. The worms begin eating the material immediately. ARR applies this feed four or five

times a year, perhaps more often in the summer. Just before winter begins, ARR feeds the rows

heavily because of the difficulty of getting trucks to the rows in the winter. On the average,

ARR’s six “cells” contain about 75 rows, each row about 1,000 feet long.

Figure 15 Site Manager Mario Travalini demonstrates double trommel screens used to separate earthworms from castings

In 1997, ARR began processing and selling earthworm castings. During its busiest season, the

facility has shipped up to 100 tons of vermicompost per week. In the spring of 1998, ARR began

offering earthworms for sale, harvesting, packaging and shipping them throughout the US Later,

then began shipping earthworms outside the US (Bogdanov, 1999) ARR is the largest

vermicomposting site on the West Coast and may very likely be the largest vermicomposting

facility in North America.

Figure 16 Darkly pigmented earthworms after being separated from their bedding by trommel screen.

Cocoon Production Holds Promise

Figure 17 Environmental Recycling Systems' entrance

Environmental Recycling Systems (ERS) of Alpine, California is located on a five-acre parcel of

land east of San Diego. Founder Sherrel Hall has been an active proponent of vermiculture for

over twenty years and claims to have developed an intensive, mass production breeding system

whereby earthworm cocoons may be harvested and shipped in significant quantities for

inoculation of earthworm beds to produce a substantial number of hatchlings.

Figure 18 Sherrel Hall demonstrates trommel screen earthworm harvester

Hall claims that his earthworm breeding facility can produce 50 million baby earthworms every

30 days. After 75 days, the approximate weight of young earthworms would total 25 tons (22.68

metric tons). He says his building space allows for an earthworm population of up to 400 million

young hatchlings (200 tons) per month (White, 1996). Most of the earthworm production from

ERS as of Spring 1996 was going to a ten-acre site in East San Diego County that received 40

tons (36.3 metric tons) per day of municipal green waste along with dairy and horse manure.

ERS also reported that it would “provide earthworms of a different species” to be inoculated into

soil of a planting area in a land reclamation project in San Diego (Riggle, 1996a).

Continuous Flow Reactor Processes Food Residuals

Dan R. Holcombe is the founder of Oregon Soil Corporation, established in February 1988. His

continuous flow reactor, designed and developed by Dr. Clive Edwards of The Ohio State

University, has been in use in Clackamas County, just outside of Portland, Oregon since the early

1990s. The raised vermicomposting bed measures 128 feet (39 m) in length, 8 feet (2.4 m) in

width and is 3 feet (.9 m) deep. A manually operated, two-ton capacity gantry feeder, riding on

rails fixed to the top of the plywood sides, disburses up to six tons (5.4 metric tons) of blended

organic materials daily. About 80% of the feedstock is pre-consumer food waste picked up from

over 20 Portland-area supermarkets and food processors. Composted yard trimmings and

shredded paper are blended in as bulking agents along with the wet organics (Riggle and

Holmes, 1994). A chain-driven breaker bar mechanically scrapes vermicompost from the raised

mesh floor, allowing the finished material to fall to the floor under the unit. A recovery scraper

then moves the vermicompost from one end of the reactor for collection at the other end. One of

the advantages of the continuous bottom discharge is that few earthworms are lost from the

greater biomass working in the upper level.

Figure 19 Oregon Soil's Contiuous Flow Reactor

Daily applications of thin layers of organics allow earthworms to work in the upper level of the

reactor as earthworm-worked material descends toward the mesh floor. Total time from

feedstock application to harvesting vermicompost can take from three to four weeks.

Vermicompost is packaged in 1 lb. cardboard boxes and 1 cu. ft. (.0283 m3) bags and labeled as

Oregon Soil “Earthworm Castings.” The one-pound product is sold as plant food with directions

recommending that one-teaspoon of castings should be added to a quart of water and used with

every watering. One tablespoon of castings may also be mixed in for each quart of other potting

media. The one cubic food bag is described as an all-purpose planting mix. It contains the

admonition, “Use no concentrated plant food in conjunction. Our castings are a complete and

balanced plant food. The pH balance of this product is 6.8.”

Figure 20 Earthworm Castings are packaged in drums and 40-lb bags

In 1991, Oregon Soil Corporation received a grant for $93,300 from Portland Metro’s “1% for

Recycling” program which allowed Holcombe to put up a greenhouse-type structure and procure

some equipment to build a pilot reactor. In February 1993, Oregon Soil began doing business

with the Fred Meyer chain of “one-stop shopping” stores in the greater Portland area. Of the 20

stores with food departments, Fred Meyer’s estimates that each store produces an average of 45

tons (40.8 metric tons) of garbage per month. OSC’s staff continues to make daily pick-ups of

organics and delivers them to the vermicomposting site.

In 1997, Holcombe disassembled his unit from a farm in Clackamas County and moved it to an

existing compost facility within Portland’s city limits. The current plan is to continue to work in

conjunction with Metro on vermicomposting food residuals while also taking advantage of the

pre-composted yard trimmings available from the compost facility (Bogdanov, 1997e).

From Mushroom Farm to Earthworm Farm

The Yelm Earthworm & Casting Farm, formerly the site of a mushroom-producing operation,

was converted to an earthworm farm in 1991 under the ownership of Resource Conversion

Corporation (RCC) of San Diego, California. RCC used the Yelm farm for R&D experiments

with the hope of stocking other vermicomposting projects it had planned to start in addition to its

Canyon Recycling project. Earthworms bred in Yelm were sold in quantities of up to 5,000

pounds (2.26 metric tons) and were shipped as far as Texas. In 1997 the farm came under the

ownership of Sound Resource Management, an environmental consulting firm based in Seattle,

Washington (Bogdanov, 1997f).

Figure 21 Yelm Earthworm & Castings Farm's stackable bins under cover

Nestled in Smith prairie southwest of Mt. Rainier, the far is located approximately 20 miles

(33.86 km) east of Olympia, Washington. Jim Jensen, a principal and consultant with SRM,

oversees the Yelm project. No stranger to vermicomposting, Jensen provided planning,

development and implementation for the Food Lifeline Waste Reduction Demonstration Project

in Washington’s King County from the end of 1991 to the beginning of 1994. During the 18-

month active vermicomposting phase, Food Lifeline diverted nearly 50 tons (45.37 metric tons)

of food scraps and yard debris by utilizing earthworms in pallet-box bins. Unsalvageable food

collected by Food Lifeline that could not be vermicomposted was distributed to pig farms (Sound

Resource Management Group, 1992).

The Yelm operation uses two systems to grow earthworms and convert treated dairy manure to

vermicompost. The Yelm farm pays for delivery of manure that has been separated after sitting

in a lagoon. The solids are removed and the manure passes through a heating process. The

farm’s vermiculture system utilizes 4’x6’ (1.2 m by 1.8 m) wooden trays formerly used for

mushroom production. The fairly shallow trays (6 inches—15.24 cm—deep) are stackable and

maximize floor space in the covered portion of the facility estimated to be 33,000 square feet.

Periodically, perhaps every two months, half the contents of the trays (earthworms, castings and

manure) are removed and used to start a new tray or bin. The second system uses sprinkler-

irrigated windrows, located both indoors and outdoors. Typically, rows are fed until about 30

cubic yards of material is ready to be harvested. Jensen estimates each row contains about 1,500

pounds (.68 metric tons) of earthworms (Eisenia fetida). Overall, he figures his operation

currently has about 38,000 pounds (17.24 metric tons) of earthworms (Bogdanov, 1997f).

Managing one of the largest vermiculture operations of the West Coast, Jensen says the Yelm

farm is adequately prepared to make large, bulk sales of earthworms and vermicompost (Jensen,

1998). Smaller quantities of products are also packaged and sold. Earthworms are packaged for

shipment in wax-coated cardboard boxes, but Jensen has also experimented with shipping small

quantities of earthworms in breathable plastic bags. Vermicompost is sold in 8-quart and 1 cubic

foot (.0283 m3

) labeled “Earthworm All Purpose Potting Soil; Natural Castings and Bedding.”

With some ten acres available, Jensen anticipates using the extra land for processing leaves and

wood chips. By combining these materials with dairy manure, a darker-looking vermicompost

may be produced. Adding more windrows outdoors and using “floating” row covers will help

create additional indoor space for product development, packaging and warehousing. The

potential also exists, says Jensen, for establishing in-vessel systems and becoming a testing

ground demonstration center where people can come to see different technologies in operation.

Vermiculture in the Southern and Eastern United States

A search for earthworm-growing businesses in the United States will find the highest

concentration in the more temperate regions. In the southern US, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana,

and Texas are principal vermiculture locations with Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee also well

represented. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida predominate along the

Atlantic coast, but vermiculture is also practiced in parts of Pennsylvania, New York, and even

into some New England states. It appears that most growers in these regions use a business

name such as “XYZ Worm Farm” and advertise to those interested in using earthworms for bait.

Here are found many species of earthworms offered for sale, with scientific nomenclature

supplanted by descriptive or common names. African nightcrawlers, native nightcrawlers, gray

nightcrawlers, jumpers, red wigglers, brown nose worms, swamp worms, tiger worms, and a host

of other names are used promoting earthworms for sale.

In some instances, vermiculture in the southeastern United States differs from West Coast

operations in terms of feedstock and design. Today, reportedly hundreds of rabbit breeders

throughout the southeastern US use earthworms to convert manure dropped from rabbit hutches.

Vermiculture represents a secondary industry in many of these instances. The construction of

covered pits, both above ground and in-ground is fairly common. Earthworm growers speak in

terms of creating “bedding” and may use peat moss and topsoil mixed with manure. While

manure from herbivorous animals is a common feedstock, pulverized grain feeds are also in

popular use. Poultry mash, alfalfa meal, and other finely ground high-protein feeds are added in

thin layers or applied in trenches. Problems with “sour beds” occur when too much of this

material accumulates in the bed. Concern with developing “fatter,” larger earthworms for the

bait industry prompts earthworm growers to experiment with a variety of feedstocks. Bait

producers distinguish between large “breeder” or bait-size earthworms and a mixed variety they

call “bed-run,” consisting of a mixture of sizes that includes juveniles and hatchlings. Many

growers sell earthworms in Styrofoam cups to fishermen or may sell larger quantities to bait

dealers. Since the smallest unit (cup) usually contains a certain count of earthworms (e.g. one

dozen nightcrawlers), sales of larger quantities of earthworms have adopted the earthworm-count

system as well (e.g. 10,000 breeders for $80). Since earthworm counts are nearly always

converted to weight amounts (e.g. 1,000 breeders weigh approximately one pound), many farms

show their prices in earthworm weight as well. But this is less typical where a number of

different species are sold and earthworm weights differ according to the type and size of

earthworm sold.

Tennessee Project Uses Disabled Workers

In February 1995, Goodwill Industries of Chattanooga, Tennessee, along with consultant Larry

Martin, constructed two 50-foot (15.24 m) long earthworm beds placed on a concrete floor. The

6-foot (1.8 m) wide beds, 2 feet (61 cm) in height, each have a capacity for about 22 cubic yards

(16.8 m3) material, mostly cow and rabbit manure, along with some shredded paper and produce.

Also known as the “Goodworms” project, the system is tended by disabled workers who also

make bags for selling earthworms and vermicompost (Riggle, 1996a).

By heavily watering the earthworm beds, excess liquid percolates through the system and forms

puddles between the two beds. “Earthworm tea” is collected with a 10-gallon shop-vacuuming

device, strained twice and sold for $1 per two-liter plastic container. Larger quantities, such as

5-gallon buckets and 55-gallon drums are also planned to be sold.

Larry Martin of Vermitechnology Unlimited, Inc. in Orange Lake, Florida is chief consultant for

the project and has been involved in the vermiculture industry for over two decades. Martin

began experimenting with earthworms in 1974 from an initial 2-pound (.9 kg) purchase made

from Ronald Gaddie’s North American Bait Farms. Martin claims that since his original

purchase, made over 20 years earlier, he has never bought additional earthworms to expand his

operation (Martin, 1996). Martin’s company manufactures modular, insulated earthworm beds,

four feet (1.2m) wide by 18 inches (45.7cm) high with varying lengths from 45 to 65 feet (13.7

to 19.8m) These are prefabricated units and can be set up in about four man-hours. A unit set up

for a Chattanooga school used R-30 insulation, heavy duty shade cloth on the bottom of the bin

to keep out moles, and shade cloth as a cover (Bogdanov, 1997g).

Martin is also active on a vermicomposting project for a 2,500-acre hog farm in North Carolina.

Swine manure is flushed out of a hog barn twice a week and then passed through a solids

separator. The solids are applied to low technology earthworm beds and converted to

vermicompost (Riggle, 1996a).

US News & World Report wrote in September 1997 that Martin’s company “sells around 100

tons of worm droppings—also known as castings—to local organic growers” (Koerner, 1997).

Later Martin said, “what I’ve sold isn’t a drop in the bucket to what I could have sold”

(Bogdanov, 1997g).

Vermicycle Organics, Inc.

In 1994 Tom Christenberry, son Chris Christenberry, and partner Michael Edwards formed

Vermicycle Organics, Inc., based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Having experimented with

vermiculture for 20 years, the partners were ready to tackle large-scale projects vermicomposting

hog manure in eastern North Carolina. In this region of the state are located many huge

corporate hog farms with hundreds and even thousands of animals per acre. On most of these

farms, swine manure is usually flushed into open lagoons and the liquid fraction is later sprayed

on fields of Bermuda grass. Concern over the environmental impact of these long-in-use

practices is serving as motivation to explore alternative means of handling this wastestream.

After evaluating several pilot projects, the team settled on the use of an automated solids

separator installed between the swine house and the lagoon at a hog farm. After separation, the

material is placed on a concrete pad and the remaining effluent is piped into a lagoon.

Thereafter, the manure solids are taken to earthworm beds measuring 190 feet (58m) long by 2

feet (.6m) wide (Riggle, 1996b)

Vermicycle Organics, working with group of hog producers, is constructing a series of

greenhouses to accommodate more waste. Each 220-foot (67m) by 35-foot (10.7m) greenhouse

provides shelter for three earthworm beds. On one site alone a total of 16 greenhouses are

scheduled to process about 7,500 tons (6,806 metric tons) of manure per year (Riggle, 1997).

Another part of the operation is called the “nursery,” where earthworms (Eisenia fetida) are

grown prior to their introduction into the vermicomposting systems. Earthworm castings have

been sold in 2 lb. (.9kg), 10 lb. (4.5kg), and 25 lb. (11.3kg) bags since 1995 under the name

Vermicycle™. Local markets such as garden centers, supermarkets, and organic farmers have

been very receptive to the product that costs twice the price of compost. Vermicycle Organics is

also looking to export its vermicompost to foreign countries such as Japan, and is considering

vermicomposting feedstocks other than swine manure in order to market earthworm castings to

certain Muslim countries.

Figure 22 Vermicycle's Colorful bag touts Nature's Ultimate Plant Food

The principal focus of the company is to convert pig manure into earthworm castings to be sold

under the trademarked name Vermicycle™ (Nature’s Ultimate Plant Food). In the eastern portion

of North Carolina, it’s not unusual for hog farms to have 5,000 to 10,000 animals per acre, in a

state that is home to over nine million hogs. For the most part, manure from the swine houses is

sent to lagoons, a practice that results in odor complaints, groundwater contamination and other

environmental concerns. Hog farms usually flush droppings directly into lagoons where bacteria

consume many of the nutrients over time. The remaining liquid is then sprayed on fields, usually

of Bermuda grass, which is later harvested as cow feed. Vermicycle Organics’ program, while

not solving all the farmers’ problems, reduces nutrients in the liquid waste by as much as 50

percent. And it may reduce the number of acres farmers need for spraying the treated liquid.

“There’s no doubt that any type of technology that removes nutrients from the liquid manure

prior to the lagoon is going to have a positive impact on water quality…as well as odor,” said

Mike Williams, director of the Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center at N.C. State

University who also served on the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Study Commission of Animal Waste

in 1994-95. In an August 1996 article on Vermicycle Organics, published in The Charlotte

Observer, Williams called Vermicycle’s process one of the more promising among 500 or so

commercial hog-waste management proposals he has received.

Vermicycle Organics’ three partners obtained an $80,000 Small Business Administration loan in

1995, purchasing 8,000 pounds of earthworms and building test beds at Clover M Farm in

Wilson, North Carolina. There they refined their process for producing castings from hog waste.

As it exits the hog house, the waste is diverted to a machine called a separator that squeezes

liquids from the solids. The liquids flow into a lagoon and the solids are temporarily placed on a

concrete pad where the remaining effluent also runs off into the lagoon. Then the solids are

transferred to worm beds, measuring from 2-4 feet wide and 200 feet long. After several months

within the beds, the material is sifted, separating earthworms from their castings. The end

product is then packaged in 2-pound, 10-pound and 30-pound plastic bags imprinted with the

yellow-blue-and-green Vermicycle logo. Trucks then deliver the product to 30 garden centers,

grocery stores, farms and nurseries in the Carolinas. Stores sell a 2-pound bag for between $3

and $4, and the 10-pound bag for $15 or $16. The 30-lb. sack retails for $24.99.

Figure 23 Earthworm Castings from hog manure

The partners rejected using an open field method of vermicomposting as unsuitable due to

difficulties with weather and poor end product. So they tried enclosing the worm beds in 30-foot

by 200-foot greenhouses, each containing about six worm beds with wooden sides. A spreader

delivers manure to the beds while moisture and temperature are managed using shade cloth, an

automatic mister, fans and greenhouse curtains. Besides the beds at Clover M Farm, Vermicycle

Organics built 12 greenhouses and several dozen worm beds at another farm in Wilson. That

operation was scaled to produce 80,000 to 100,000 pounds of castings per year. At full capacity,

a centralized processing facility was planned to include 16 greenhouses that would handle

around 7,500 tons of manure per year.

After experiencing problems due to severe weather and eventual changes within the partnership,

Tom re-located his operation to yet another farm in eastern North Carolina. Greenhouses were

again constructed, designed to follow the patterns established earlier. Here, as Rhonda Sherman-

Huntoon, an Extension Solid Waste Specialist of North Carolina State University in Raleigh

reported in the November 2000 issue of BioCycle, “the beds that run the length of the greenhouse

extend nine-inches into the ground and eight inches above ground. The sides of each bed are

lined with high-density polyethylene reinforced with boards and steel pipes. A rubber hose that

runs along one side of each bed has nozzles that spray automatically for 15 minutes daily. There

is enough space between each bed to accommodate the wheels of a tractor with a manure

spreader driven over each bed to distribute the hog manure solids. Worms are fed daily,

averaging 1,000 pounds of manure per bed each week.”

At one time Christenberry experimented with the design of the Continuous Flow Reactor

developed by Dr. Clive Edwards and his colleagues at Rothamsted in the United Kingdom

during the 1980s. But Christenberry did not find the elevated-bed system compatible with his

own ideas of vermicomposting hog manure, preferring to accept the advantages and

disadvantages of setting up worm rows upon soil. Sherman-Huntoon writes, “One advantage of

this system is that if the worm beds get too hot, worms can burrow deeper into the bed where the

temperature remains below 75° Fahrenheit. Another advantage is the system can be left alone for

up to three days, as compared to automated reactors that need to be checked daily for moisture

and temperature levels. A disadvantage is that the worms and castings must be separated

manually. Migrant workers use pitchforks to remove the top 4 inches of the beds for use in

starting new beds. Pitchforks and shovels are used to harvest the finished castings, which are

then run through a trommel screen to separate the worms.”

The company engaged in market research that revealed that the public’s awareness of earthworm

castings and their benefits was low, but that interest in good quality organic fertilizers is

growing. From a market trial, Vermicycle Organics found that 70 percent of the targeted retailers

accepted an initial stocking of their product, despite a retail price that was more than twice that

of compost. The company also found that the largest potential markets were in foreign countries,

such as Japan.

How have customers responded to Vermicycle? “I was skeptical,” said Jerry Howard, a

wholesale plant producer. “Vermicycle overwhelmed me with its results. My plants had double

the foliage and buds over my control plots.”

Edwin Jordan, a greenhouse propagator said, “Propagation is a delicate procedure that fertilizers

can jeopardize. Vermicycle doubled my root growth without harming my plants.”

“We sold quite a bit of it this spring,” said Jesse Campbell, owner of Campbell’s Greenhouses, in

Charlotte, NC. Campbell said he tested the product before agreeing to carry it. “We used it on

bedding plants and we got remarkable growth on them.”

Consumers spent an estimated $22.2 billion on lawn and garden supplies in 1995 and that figure

is growing several percentage points a year, according to the Burlington, Vermont-based

National Gardening Association. Bruce Butterfield, the association’s research director

confirmed, “the interest in environmentally friendly products certainly is something that’s

particularly hot.”

Research performed at The Ohio State University with pig manure castings produced by

Vermicycle Organics showed that this earthworm feedstock usually outperformed castings from

cow manure, paper waste and food waste. In July 1998, Dr. Scott Subler, Dr. Clive Edwards, and

Dr. James Metzger published “Comparing Vermicomposts and Composts,” in BioCycle: The

Journal of Composting and Recycling. At the conclusion of their study, after testing 13 different

treatments of various composts and vermicomposts, the authors stated: “We have found that, just

like composts, vermicomposts have the potential for improving plant growth when added to soil

or container media. Furthermore, it appears that there may be important differences between

specific vermicomposts and composts: both in the nature of their microbial communities, and in

their effects on plant growth. From the studies that we have described here, and from others that

we have conducted, it is apparent that the pig solids vermicompost we tested consistently

outperformed the other vermicomposts and composts. (emphasis added) We are still

attempting to identify the biological mechanisms responsible for the consistent performance of

this material, as well as for the unique and remarkable plant growth responses that continue to be

widely observed and reported for other vermicomposts and earthworm castings.”

Worms Deep in the Heart of Texas

Jay Mertz started Rabbit Hill Worm Farm in 1990 in Corsicana, Texas with an unemployment

check and twenty pounds of earthworms. Today Mertz markets his line of over twenty products

within a 200-square mile area from Houston to Austin and into the Dallas-Fort Worth area as

well. He estimates the population in this area to be about 10,000,000 individuals.

“It’s really kind of comical how we got into business,” Mertz said. “For years I designed

commercial buildings, supermarkets in particular, around the country. I got tired of traveling and

decided to stay home. We decided we would like to grow commercial organic produce and

began studying the soil.” One valuable source of information Mertz recommends is the monthly

publication Acres USA.

“We’re all learning. “I’ve been in this industry for several years. Do I have all the answers?

Ain’t no way! We started the rabbits years ago as an FFA project with our son and we’ve

basically gone from there.”

Mertz reveals genuine transparency by his candor and shows a generous spirit in his willingness

to share financial aspects of his business in great detail. “The first thing people want to know

about is finances. We can talk about how to do this all day long, but if you don’t make any

money, what the heck are we doing it for? It’s a great hobby, but we really need more than a

hobby.”

Mertz revealed a detailed log of his sales and expenses for nine months of the 2003 calendar

year—a Profit and Loss statement from January 1st to October 3

rd.

Perhaps the most striking thing about this so-called “worm farmer” is that he really is not in

business to sell earthworms. “We’ve only sold $5,340 of earthworms for 2003. This has been

the worst year for earthworm sales we’ve ever had. But even last year, when we sold $14,000 of

earthworms, we didn’t have any competition. Competition is rising. When we first started, we

might have had the only ad for earthworms in Texas Gardener magazine. Now, in the spring,

you might find seven ads in the same magazine. Organic Gardening magazine is the same

situation. We could probably sell a lot more earthworms if we wanted to advertise a lot more.

One worm farm in Georgia probably spends about $1,500 a month in advertising. But you’d

better believe they’re making a lot more than that in sales if they’re willing to spend that much in

advertising. The worms are [merely] one of the ways for us to get there.”

Mertz reported that his sales of worm castings for the first 9 months of 2003 have amounted to

$23,471, which is 5.5% of his overall sales. However Rabbit Hill adds anywhere from 15-20%

earthworm castings to its complete line of Soil Products, and sales of its complete line of soil

products in the first three quarters of 2003 totaled $142,310, an amount representing 39.3% of its

total sales volume. “We concentrate on quality and production, not volume,” Mertz emphasized.

Judging by the figures Mertz presented, Rabbit Hill Farms finds its greatest volume of sales in

the soil products (i.e., soil blends) category, while sales of earthworms and earthworm castings

represent a smaller fraction of overall sales.

To make many of his products, Mertz spent $62,294.53 in compost and other soil products

ingredients. To produce the earthworm castings he sells, Mertz spent $10,387.40, an amount that

was more than doubled in castings sales. Another significant portion of Mertz’s castings were

added to his other soil products.

Rabbit Hill Worm Farm found nearly 16% of its sales in private labeling for Redenta’s Garden,

a chain of retail garden centers in Texas. Three of these stores rank within the top five in sales

volume in Mertz’s Top Ten list of Texas stores, averaging about $20,000 in product sales for

each of the three stores.

Rabbit Hill’s total sales for the first nine months of 2003 amount to $361.886.46. Total Cost Of

Goods Sold was $179,601.30, an amount that is 49.6% of total gross sales. After $84,917.58 in

expenses were deducted (23.5%), Mertz was left with $97,367.58 in net profit, 26.9% of total

sales.

“We don’t do newspaper advertising and we don’t do radio advertising,” Mertz reports. “We’ve

got Howard Garrett, the Doctor of Dirt. A one-minute commercial on his radio program is $430.

I’m at the point where I’m turning down new customers. Why do I want to give Howard Garrett

$430 of my net profit? Ain’t gonna happen! I don’t have to do it. But you’ve got to take all of

those things into consideration. What you do want to do, if you can, is become a guest on a radio

talk show. We also publish in little regional magazines. None of this ever hurts. We do a lot of

vermicomposting and soil lectures. Earlier this week I spent time with some Dallas area garden

club officers. We had 82 ladies there and we had the wildest time you’ve ever seen. And we

always donate products.”

“We don’t have our own website, but we have it reserved,” Mertz admits. “Other people

mention us on their websites. The Arlington Organic Garden Club www.aogc.org uses our

products in their raffles and our potting mix for their plant sales. They’ve been responsible for a

lot of business coming our way.”

Mertz cautioned that it was important to play by the rules. “It’s amazing to me how many folks

don’t think you have to pay payroll taxes, get a federal identification number, etcetera, etcetera.

You’d better have them or they’re going to get you. Our payroll expenses are over $35,000 this

year.” Of his $97,000 in net ordinary income out of $300,000 in sales, Mertz felt, “that ain’t bad.

Yeah,” he said, “I gripe about what I have to pay the government. They didn’t have to get out

there and shovel any manure to get that.”

This income represents the earnings of Mertz and his wife Joanne together. She is not on the

payroll, but works in the business. “Let’s face it,” he continued. “What she’s capable of doing

and the things I used to do, we could probably make more money than that together on an annual

basis. But I feel like, most importantly, we’re leaving this earth a lot better place than we found

it, and maybe, thank goodness, for whatever reason, I am not profit-motivated. When we come

up with a formula, I don’t look at it and see how much profit I’m going to make. I look at it and

ask, Am I doing the best thing for the soil and for the plant. Profit takes care of itself.”

Jay has a list of his Top Ten customers, stores throughout Texas that carry his products. Leading

the list is Green Mama’s, a store that waited eighteen months to get Mertz’s blends. So far, this

year, they have purchased $44,314.81 in Rabbit Hill Worm Farm inventory. Mertz has found

outlets from Austin to Dallas-Fort Worth, making deliveries himself and picking up payment in

full upon delivery.

“We’re delivering to about 55 nurseries, 15-20 farmers and 12-15 landscapers,” he reported.

“We will lose a couple old customers a year if they go out of business. The nurseries are not

raving about how great their overall business is in this present economy.”

Mertz returned to the issue of how he got started in the worm business. “When we started this,

we were going to do fishbait,” Mertz began. “But we figured out real quick, gasoline is

expensive to make that route around the lake. But, by the same token, fishbait might work for

you. But I could tell real quick that wasn’t going to be my thing. So we kept digging and

reading. Then we stumbled across a radio program one Sunday, Howard Garrett the Dirt

Doctor. He had a radio talk show on Saturday and one on Sunday mornings that lasted for four

hours. I’ll tell you what, if it wasn’t for Howard, we probably wouldn’t sell 25% of the total

products in the market that we sold. He has been tremendous for our growth.”

Then Mertz found he could favorably compete with another product by visiting a retail outlet one

day. “A friend of ours, Patty, had a store and we were talking to her about supplying her with

organic produce starts and organic herb starts,” Mertz said. “We looked over on her store shelf

and noticed a product, Wiggle Worm worm castings. “Patty, is that product any good?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, “but we sell quite a bit of it.” “Let’s look at it,” I said. So we opened

up the bag. We saw black peat and a little bit of grain added to it—they leave the worms in it for

about fourteen days, screen it off, bag it and call it pure worm castings. “Hey, we can do this. In

fact we can give you one that’s better.” So now, all of a sudden, with produce starts and herb

starts, we’ve got worm castings and potting mix. Today that has reached the point where we

have 24 products that we utilize in other products that we bag with the Rabbit Hill label on it.

We actually have 23 products that we blend at our facility in Corsicana. We have another 15

products that we distribute for other companies and we’re private-labeling for two companies.

And that gets us up to where we are today.”

Mertz then turned toward the issue of what to feed earthworms. “You’ve got to figure out what

you’re gonna feed them critters,” he began. “People who call me today who want to get into

this, the first thing I tell them to do is to look around to see what they can get to feed their worms

for free. Can I haul in horse manure or dairy cow manure? What can I get that’s not gonna cost

me a lot of money? In my case in Corsicana, you’d think I could get the slop from the

restaurants and the waste produce from the grocery stores. No. I’d get shot about the third day

by a hog farmer. We’ve got loads of hog farmers that pick up that stuff and feed it to their hogs,

even though they’re not supposed to. We purchase all our raw materials to feed our worms,

other than the free leaves we get every fall from the City of Corsicana. They will bring us out

about 60 large dumpster loads of leaves. We blend five manures: rabbit, horse, sheep & goats,

dairy cattle, and a little bit of poultry manure. Along with the five manures we include peanut

hull because it’s really good at growing fungi. We feed cotton waste material from the cotton

gins, oak leaves, some shredded cardboard, and some chopped hay. We add humate, we add

molasses, we add Agrispon, and we add Montmorillonite. That goes through about 5 heating

stages. Then we take it down, and it’ll usually heat up one more time when we move it, then we

let it cool, then it goes on the worm beds, six inches to start with, and then each week, a one-inch

layer. And then we leave it on the worms anywhere from 45 to 60 days. In the winter time we’ll

usually leave it on longer.”

Figure 24 Jay Mertz among his manure producers at Rabbit Hill Worm Farm

Mertz told about the requirements that various states have with respect to labeling. Due to the

differences in requirements, Mertz has decided not to export his products to nearby states, saving

himself the headache of dealing with the changing complexities of state codes.

Mertz recommended that folks start with a Business Plan, even though he did not. “Did I ever do

one?” he asked. “No, not really. We just took it a day at a time. When we first started this, we

could make our deliveries from the back of a Dodge minivan. From there we went to an old

1968 Dodge pickup and then to a pickup with a trailer. Then we went to a flatbed. Now we’re

using a one-ton Cummings diesel Dodge with a flatbed with a trailer that can handle 22,000

pounds. Typically we go out six days a week with 12,000 to 18,000 pounds on that trailer.”

Mertz also talked about screeners he uses as well as other equipment, including a tractor, front-

end loaders and forklifts. “We have a 15-acre site,” he said, “but only utilize about 5 acres for

the business.”

What kinds of things might help Rabbit Hill market its products in the future? “Right now,”

Mertz said, “what we’re getting requests for are Rabbit Hill Farm T-shirts. All the clerks in all

the stores want us to get them Rabbit Hill Farm T-shirts and they all tell me they’ll sell twice as

much of what they’re selling.”

For those just starting out in the business Mertz recommends, “Start slow, stick with the basics,

and K-I-S-S….Keep It Simple, Stupid. Go out and look at the nurseries in your area. What are

the organic opportunities? Do you have an intelligent radio talk-show host who knows what

organics are? Can you visit with him a little bit, maybe give him some product so that he can

promote you a little bit. Walk in that nursery, look on the shelves, see what they’ve got. Before

we started making rose fertilizer we manufactured for another company. Then we decided we

could do the same thing by changing the formula. We added worm castings and rabbit manure

and, by golly, we’ve got a winner. Observe. Be very observant. Don’t go in that store like

you’ve got all the answers, because you don’t. I still don’t. Know your product. If you need to

give a store owner a sample of your material, for goodness sake, don’t hesitate. Work with a

local garden club. Become a member of a local garden club. Get them to use some of your

products. We get more new customers from individuals walking into a store who say, “You

don’t have Rabbit Hill Farm? I want Rabbit Hill Farm!” I don’t make sales talks. I really don’t

know how to give a sales talk. I just don’t do it. I haven’t from Day One. They come to us.

We’ve built a name and a reputation and they come to us.”

Mertz refuses to submit his products to a soil laboratory for testing. “I don’t have my products

analyzed ,” he stated. “My laboratory is my customer. If my product wasn’t right and if it didn’t

work, would I still have Peggy Lancaster from Texas Blooms and Ruth from Redenta’s after 12

years? Now you might get asked for that, and you may have to go to a laboratory to get that

done. But I don’t do it. I’ve never done it and I don’t know that I ever plan to. I may be forced

into it someday, though.”

Shipping costs have kept Mertz in the wholesale side of the business that he prefers to being a

retailer. “If you ship a ten-gallon bag of worm castings to a customer, it will cost them as much

in shipping as the wholesale value of the product they’re buying. We sell a one-gallon bag of

worm castings wholesale for $2.20 a bag. They retail it for $3.95 a bag. We sell a 10-gallon bag

for $11.20. I guarantee you that to put it in a box, it’ll cost you $11.00 to ship. So we basically

try to stay in the wholesale business.”

Mertz has found that it pays to offer a wide variety of products. “We put our name on more than

20 different products,” he claims. “If we’re bringing in cottonseed meal to make products out of,

why not bag that cottonseed meal? Why not bag the soft-rock phosphate? Why not bag the

dried molasses? And so we do, and it really helps add to our sales volume. And we really are

not fancy. When we make our fertilizer blends, they are so alive, we have to let them go through

a curing period. When we mix the rose food, it has to go into larger sacks and it has to age for

about a week and a half before we can bag it. It’ll crank up to about 140 to 150 degrees.”

Mertz believes part of the secret to his success is that he doesn’t look like one of the Big Guys.

“Labels are made on a copy machine. We buy inexpensive but quality plastic bags that aren’t

easy to break. Those labels are laid on a special cellophane tape. A little glue is sprayed on the

back and then applied to the bag. We save a lot of money by doing our own labeling. We use

clear bags because the customer likes to see what is in the bag. We keep it as primitive and

simple as we can.”

And he insists that marketing a wide-range of products is the only way to go. “God help me if I

ever decide that all I’m going to do is market worm castings,” Mertz exclaimed. “How many

more stores do I have to call on, how much larger an area do I have to market to, if all I’ve got is

one or two products? That’s why we’ve got over 20 products! That’s why we’ll add another two

to three this next year. I want to keep adding products and increasing my individual customer’s

business.” (Bogdanov, 2003)

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