FYI 100,000 redworms is 100 pounds of worms, retail value between 950 to 3,000 bucks, wholesale around 700.
Buyback contracts in the worm biz are notorious for a host of good reasons. This has all been hashed out in excruciating detail at www.wormdigest.org and elsewhere. A typical example of what's wrong with these buyback contracts can be seen at http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Securities/actions/crs.html This is the sort of thing that got Gaddie shut down in the 70s. In my opinion, if someone has 5K to spend getting into the worm biz, the first thing to get is information. A set of back issues of Worm Digest, and also of Casting Call, will give you an inexpensive window into the worm industry. Casting Call is published by Vermico, www.vermico.com, Pete Bogdanov's worm company. Everyone in worms is familiar with Mary Appelhof's Worms Eat My Garbage, now in its second edition. Mary has organized two global meetings of worm scientists, the first in 1980, and the second in September of 2000 at Kalamazoo Michigan, which I attended. (Which is where I first met Elaine Ingham, for the record.) You can still get a set of abstracts from this meeting, called the Vermillennium, at Mary's website, www.wormwoman.com You can also get Dr Clive Edwards' books for more details on the science of worm growth and castings use. You need to understand how much work is involved in harvesting, packaging and shipping worms, as well as the day to day care and feeding. Raising worms is a livestock operation with labor costs. Quality control of feedstocks is not unimportant, and with this clopyralid problem emerging not only in turf situations, but also in manures, hay and straw, and in vegetable and small fruit wastes, if worm growers want to sell castings they will have to be particularly careful. I sell worms as a sideline here in Canada for $17.50 for a pound equivalent culture at wholesale. That's one half of one square foot of worm bin, six inches deep, and you get all the worms and cocoons of all ages, actively working worm bedding and feed, plus the commensal organisms in one package. I sell locally and don't ship across the planet; to ship worms you need to separate them, repackage in lighter bedding, and hope for the best from the shipping process. Worms retail here for up to $40 CDN a pound. We pass our savings in harvesting on to our clients, and offer a superior product for the home composters we serve to boot, at a lower price. It will be a cold day in July before I pay someone else thousands of dollars for the dubious privilege of selling them back worms at only 7 US dollars a pound! An alternative to the sorts of heavy metal harvesters that most worm shippers need, see www.kazarie.com for the Jet harvesters for example, is the attraction method of harvesting. see www.acmewormfarm.com where, incidentally, you can buy 100 pounds of worms (100,000) for $950 US, delivered. The other 4,000 dollars that the buybackers want is, I am sad to have to say, nothing more than a stupidity tax. Sorry to speak so frankly, but I really despise the buybackers and the influence they have had on vermiculture. Don't promulgate this sort of operation! Frank Teuton ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steven Mcfadden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, January 14, 2002 2:00 PM Subject: off: Vermiculture for sale > Hi - Hope this notice is ok for the list. Might be worth looking into for > folks in New Mexico or close by. > > Don't contact me, but rather Adrien whose e-mail is below. > > Best, Steven > > > Vermicluture Bussiness for sale.. > It is a very lucrative business and includes a 2 year contract with a worm > farm and a guaranteed buyback from them which includes their paying for all > shipping. Also includes 100,000 + Red Worms and two, two tied wooden bins. > The Worm Farm has multiple contracts and you would be a grower for them. > You > can also sell your worms to anyone else at any time. I am asking $5000. I > can be contacted at: > Adrien Gordon > 466-0371 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] >
