Potential Markets for Vermiculture and Vermicomposting Operations
Markets for earthworms and vermicompost are growing, reflecting a worldwide increased interest in vermiculture and vermicomposting.
Vermiculture defined:
Vermiculture is the process of breeding worms. Growers usually pay for their worm feed, and the worm castings (manure) are often considered a waste product.
Vermicomposting defined:
Vermicomposting is the process of turning organic debris into vermicompost. Operators use a wider variety of feedstocks and make money on tipping fees and sales of castings or vermicompost. The earthworm population usually remains stable.
Applications of Vermiculture – Earthworms can be sold to the following markets:
- Bait and tackle shops
- Large-scale vermicomposting facilities
- Worm growers just entering the business
- Institutions and businesses that do on-site vermicomposting of their food scraps and other organic materials (includes prisons, hospitals, schools, colleges and universities, restaurants, grocery stores, office buildings, etc.)
- Farmers desiring to vermicompost animal manure (including livestock and poultry farms, rabbitries and horse stables)
- Composters, organic gardeners or fisherpeople wanting to raise worms for their own use
- Growers with orders too large to fill from their own stocks
- Private laboratories, universities, and high schools for research and classroom needs
Businesses that need worms as food for animals:
- Fish hatcheries
- Tropical fish stores
- Pet stores
- Zoos (w/ exotic fish and birds)
- Gamebird breeders
- Frog farmers
- Poultry growers
Industries with organic wastes suitable as feedstock for worms:
- Composting facilities
- Papermills
- Breweries
- Cardboard manufacturers
- Land reclamation sites
- Generators of sludge/biosolids
- Food processors
- Canneries
- Wineries
- Cotton mills
Application for Vermicomposting – Sell vermicompost in bulk (by cubic yard) or bagged in a variety of compost and soil blends to the following:
- Home improvement centers
- Nurseries
- Landscape contractors
- Greenhouses
- Garden supply stores
- Grocery chains
- Flower shops
- Discount houses
- General public