Who Benefits From Worm Farming? Why on Earth would anyone like to 'grow worms' or make pets of worms? It is a decent question. After all, you cannot take them for a stroll and they will probably never recognize you, because they are blind. However, there are decent reasons for setting up a worm farm. Gardeners know that earthworms are useful for the soil. They also know that red worms will break down organic matter in the compost heap. Anglers know that worms are decent bait for freshwater fish and teachers will bear out the fact that children like to watch a small home worm farm. Environmentalists will also inform you that the worm population is declining in some places because of the excessive use of pesticides and other pollutants such as acid rain. Therefore, if you want more than one or two worms to put in a glass case for children to look at, the best place to get them is from a worm farm. And there is big money in it too. Of course, I am talking about two types of worm farms here. There is the small worm farm glass box, like an ant farm, used for educational purposes in the realm of natural science and the large-scale, industrial farms meant to supply worms to industries and stores. Who would invest in a worm farm and why? Well, schools, parents and small zoos may do so for educational purposes. After all, it does not cost a lot to feed worms with a couple of dead leaves and they are not violent. Health and safety is not an aspect that relates to a table-top glass worm farm. Industrial size worm farms do not have to be that big. You could have one in the back garden and produce millions of worms to sell. You could sell them to gardeners who have poor soil; to fishing bait shops; to a zoo for food and to apartment-owners with window boxes. Substantial zoos almost certainly already have their own worm farms to feed to lizards, snakes, birds and some mammals, but they would be pleased to know where there is a back-up supply should all their worms die for some reason or other. Someone who breeds birds, reptiles or amphibians would also benefit from a small worm farm. It is so much simpler and cheaper to 'grow your own' than have to purchase them from a pet shop, which almost certainly also has its own worm farm. Farmers who keep chickens would also benefit from a worm farm, because the chickens can get fed on organically fed worms and a nearby supply would deter the chickens from wandering far from home, which means a better harvest of eggs for the farmer. Once you are able to see the advantages of worm farming, you could lift your horizon from the modest earthworm and think about cultivating special worms like the red
ones in the compost bin or the ones that foreign birds and reptiles like. The more specialist you become, the more you are able to charge. Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on several subjects, but is at present involved with how to get rid of pests. If you would like to know more, visit our web site at Bugs Infestation.