"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