HomeMy WebLinkAboutSaluting Huron County's Agricultural Industry, 1987-03-25, Page 13THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 1987. PAGE A13.
Most worms end up on hooks in States
depots at Mansfield (near Shel
burne), Woodbridge or North Bav:
They also offer to buy back all the
worm castings (or manure) that the
worms produce, a volume which is
exactly related to the amount of
feed the creatures consume; how
ever, since worm castings are now
the hottest item on the home
garden market, some worm ranch-
ersareabletosell much of their
castings directly to gardeners
looking for an excellent soil
conditioner, or else wholesale the
stuff to garden centres, where it is
snapped up at the start of every
garden season.
And what about the cement
mixer - where on earth does it come
in to the operation? Simple. You
take two 10-litre pails of special
pH-balanced and salt-free black
loam, two ice-cream buckets of old
newspapers shredded in a ham
mer-mill, a margarine-tub full of
Early Bird's “secret formula
grains’’, just the right amount of
good water, mix it all together in
‘ 'Secret form ula promotes
worm growth.
the cement mixer, then dump it in
special bins to “compost’’ for 10
days - and there you are: a feast fit
for the king of worms!
After a year in the business, the
Nichols have sold more than 10,000
bait worms, and soon hope to have
a shipment ready to go out at least
every two months from now on in.
Obviously, more worms could be
produced and more income deriv
ed from a larger labour input, but
the Nichols are content with their
operation as it is right now, for the
present. If all goes well they may
look to expansion, but not just yet.
“I sure wouldn’t want to carry
any more of this stuff up and down
those cellar stairs every few days, ’ ’
says Barb.
If you want to see how a worm
ranch runs, or just want to buy a
bag of the best soil conditioner on
the market to perk up your garden
or your potted plants, give Barb
and Ross a call at 887-9235. They
are busy people, but if you can
catch them at home, you'll be in for
an altogether new experience!
Any worm over 2 inches long, or3grams in weight, can be sold
as a bait worm. The supplier guarantees to buy back all bait
worms and worm castings that a contract worm rancher can
produce. After a year in the business, the Nichols have sold
about 10.000 worms, at 3 cents apiece.
Continued from page A12
One of Ontario’s
largest Westeel Dealers
HURON FEEDING SYSTEMS
WE ARE
WESTEEL
DEALERS FOR:
-Rosco Grain Bins & Feed
Bins
-Side Draw Feed Bins
Flex Auger Systems
3”, 4”,5”
-Grain and Corn Rollers
-Aeration & Drying
Equipment
CALDWELL
Dealerfor Universal Products
in the Huron County Area
Call early for your quote on delivery or installation
forttie 1987season
Come out & visit our new Plant
One block east of McDonald Bulldall
at the North end of Brussels
Look for The Rod Steel Building
JOSEPH & DEBBIE SEILI
produce 150 to 200 egg capsules or
“cocoons” every two weeks; while
each capsule will produce from one
to five baby worms within the next
two weeks.
Worm ranching consists of
keeping up with all this frantic
production, sorting the worms of
different sizes into different pails
so that they don’t become so
overcrowded they eat themselves
out of house and home, or simply
become so “stressed” from lack of
space that they don’t grow.
Sorting is accomplished by
running each pail through the
“segregator” every two weeks or
so: a device built along the lines of a
potato grading machine, which
drops the worm “castings” into
one box, the egg capsules into
another, and the worm themselves
into a third.
At this point worms that are two
inches long or more can be sorted
out and packed into pails of fresh
feed at 250 worms each, to be sold
as “bait worms,” at three cents per
worm, or 36 cents per dozen. Most
ofthese eventually go to the USA as
actual bait worms for sports
fishermen, although some work is
now being done on using dehydra
ted and ground up worms as a
high-protein supplement in feeds
for beef cattle, chickens, pets and
farm-raised fish.
Worms smaller than two inches
are put back into pails of fresh feed
andallowedtogrow until they, too,
can go to glory on the end of some
fisherman’s line. Early Bird Bait
Farms guarantees to buy back all
the bait worms a farmer can
produce, eitherthrough the Smith
ville office or through satellite
Retool now with special values on CASE IH Tillage Parts.
PRICE BREAKER
Save on SWEEPS. SHOVELS, POINTS, BLADES . . .
BUY NOW, SALE ENDS MARCH 31 87
CASE IH 7'/," SWEEP with bolts $4’°
Cash And Carry - Minimum Quantity 25
C.A. BECKER
_ EQUIPMENT LIMITED
LUCKNOW 529-7993