Potential Markets for Earthworms and Vermicompost

Several options are available for the sale of earthworms. Home vermicomposters, composters, and gardeners are interested in buying earthworms. Fish hatcheries, tropical fish stores, pet stores, zoos (with exotic fish and birds), game bird breeders, frog farmers, and poultry growers buy worms as feed for animals. Community educators, such as Extension agents or recycling coordinators, often need a steady supply of earthworms for setting up new worm bins. Private laboratories, universities, and high schools use worms for research and classroom needs.

Growers living near or on the way to fresh or salt water fishing resorts can sell earthworms directly to fishing enthusiasts (check with the local zoning authority to be sure such a business is permitted in the area). Placing advertisements in national magazines directed to fishing enthusiasts and home gardeners or advertising on the Internet may create sales for earthworms.

It may be possible to sell earthworms to locally owned sporting goods or fishing tackle stores, although most of the larger stores of this type rely on established wholesalers for their bait supplies. The bait market may not be the best choice for this enterprise because there is usually more interest in nightcrawlers (larger worms) than smaller compost worms, the market is often saturated, and the competition is stiff.

Other markets for earthworms include:

• 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 (including prisons, hospitals, schools, colleges and universities, restaurants, grocery stores, and office buildings).

• Farmers desiring to vermicompost animal manure (including livestock and poultry farms, rabbitries, and horse stables).

• Worm growers with orders too large to fill from their own stocks.

• Industries with organic wastes suitable as feedstock for worms, such as papermills, breweries, cardboard manufacturers, land reclamation sites, generators of sludge/biosolids, food processors, canneries, wineries, and cotton mills.

http://www.worms.com/raising-earthworms.html