"Worm production crawling along well 6 By LAUREL SCHAEFFER Staff Correspondent HAMBURG Earl Bailey, Ridge Avenue, Hamburg, is not a typical fanner in the sense that most people would imagine, but Bailey does raise a member of the animal kingdom as a commodity to be sold at a profit, as any farmer trys to do. These animals are not raised in a bam or feedlot but in wooden boxes in Bailey’s basement. Bailey produces worms. Only starting last Sep tember, this is a new en- deavor for the Baileys but one that is likely to expand. . Presently this worm producer has become a distributor for a worm company which got him started and he has been actively helping other people getstarted also. WHAT TAX AUDITORS ARE LOOKING AT Here’s timely advice about what tax auditors are looking for these days: A large accounting firm reports IRS tax auditors have been especially in terested lately in comparing taxpayers’ bank deposits with their reported income, in social security payments for domestic help, in amounts of interest earned, and in deductions for offices in the home A public service of the Pennsylvania Institue of Certified Public Ac countants. MESSICK FARM E ON THE OCCASION OFTHE GRAND OPENING OF THEIR NEW FACILITIES TURN THE PAGE FOR FULL DETAILS “Raising worms is becoming increasingly popular in this area,” Bailey told Lancaster Farming. “There were relatively few producers in this area when I started but more and more people are beginning to raise them,” he explained. Surprisingly, Bailey finds that many of the people interested in producing worms are women. There is very little work involved and women don't have to go out of the home to do it, he ex plained. The hardest thing to do is build the beds which are usually made of plywood and oak, fir or cypress. The boxes can be of any size but Bailey finds that 4 feet by 4 feet or 3 feet by 5 feet boxes seem to work best for his purposes. Mrs. Bailey also agreed about women’s interest in raising this unusual creature. “Before we started raising them I never wanted to come as close as stepping over a worm in the yard,” she exclaimed, “but now I too, find them interesting.” Once the worm beds are established, only several minutes per day are necessary to care for them. The worms are usually fed once per day or less, depending on how readily they consume the feed. Then, to keep the beds moist, they are sprinkled down with water every day. The material used for bedding can be manure or a commercially prepared b|Mc buildings THE INTELLIGENT ALTERNATIVE organic fiber. Bailey finds the fiber is more desirable in his operation since it does not have an offensive or toxic odor and it does not have to be monitored for pH or have tendencies to heat up. Once prepared, the beds are started with ap proximately 12,000 or 13,000 worms and are fed and watered daily. Worms are very prolific and multiply rapidly. The worm population can be expected to double every 60 days, but the beds should not be -harvested or split until after the first four months, ad vised Bailey. After the initial growing period of 120 days the beds can be harvested monthly, he explained. Bailey keeps lights on the worm beds continually to keep them from crawling. Another way to prohibit this tendency is to place a fine screen over the beds. The worm feed is a mix sasts&ssi ar for long of top «*.«** “Thedemandforwormsis very high which is causing a 111811 demand for growers,” Bailey stated. The company HAarooi 1° .* nd f 7o which this producer is af nnHnvin filiated with has recently ablhty ’ built a dehydration plant adwsed the worm grower. which will begin operation in There are several types of mid-Summer or Fall and will worms which are raised process all the worms it’s commercially. Bailey raises producers can raise. Once a red worm which is very dehydrated the worms will high in protein, about 70 per be used as protein additives cent, mid which is also very m livestock feed or as a good fishing bait since it protein source for human stays alive and active under consumption. nn UIPMENT INC. EPHRATA R-4, (FARMERSVILLE) PA. 17522 • (717) 354-4271 •alley of Hamburg is one of the pioneers in worm production Bailey emphasized that there are many other available markets for his produce as well. Worms are raised as fish bait, food for zoos, fish hatcheries and frog farms. They are used in research, organic fanning op gardening, soil con servation, and pet food. Once the beds are ready for harvesting, mechanical harvesters are available to do the work which would otherwise be a long and tedious process. DESIGNERS AND BUILDERS OF SYSTEMS Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 11,1978 Bailey noted that there are many companies which supply worms for com mercial production but warned that interested people should be careful before buying them or starting this endeavor. This producer suggested that the company be checked out first to see what services are available to the grower. Some companies supply a market for the worms and guarantee to buy them back while others do not he ex plained. 19
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