wriggle factor
The humble worm is worth a fortune to Ireland. Here's why
At first glance, Richard Odlum's enterprise at Baldwinstown, Bridgetown, is a fairly typical Co Wexford tillage farm. He grows 150ac of wheat and barley, as well as growing cabbage, carrots, turnips, parsnips and rhubarb for the vegetable market.
It's typical, that is, until you look at a 3ac corner of the farm that's laid out in eight long rows of raised beds. More vegetables?
No, the second enterprise on the Odlum farm is a wriggly one: four tonnes of worms are produced here every year.
The worm farm was first installed around four years ago after Richard's father, Michael, visited a similar enterprise in Norfolk, England. After much research, the father and son team decided to enlist the help of Welsh-based company ORM to set up their own worm farm at Baldwinstown.
Today the 4,000sqm worm farm produces around a tonne of worms per 1,000sqm every year.
Around 400t of horse manure was used to fill the worm beds in the beginning and these need to be topped up twice in the year with more dung sourced from local stables.
Underneath is a porous membrane that allows water to drain away, but which is impervious to the worms themselves.
The worm used is called Dendrobaena, sometimes known as Dendras, which is a fairly versatile worm with many uses, including live bait, wormeries, worm composting, and bird and wildlife feed.
Around half of Richard's worms are supplied to the Irish market, mainly for fishing, while the other 50pc are bought by ORM in Brecon, Wales.
Worms are harvested from the beds at a rate of one bed per week, using a tractor-driven harvester. The worms are fed on one side of the bed to draw them all to the edge and the contents of the bed are shovelled into the harvester.
A large barrel sorter separates the worms from the worm cast that they have been living in and digesting.
The worms are then packaged and either sold here or transported to the Britain.
Feeding is done on a weekly basis, using an extremely finely ground wheat and mineral mix that is supplied by Bretts. They eat a tonne of feed per week over the eight beds.
The worms are sold for around €10/kg for large bulk orders of 200kg or more, but prices vary for smaller orders.
While it may all sound very simple, Richard insists me it is not. The atrociously wet summer has flooded many of the worm beds and there are ongoing issues with maintaining the correct soil conditions.
However, Richard plans to follow Holland's lead and try indoor worm production this winter, where the climate can be completely controlled.
The potential market for worm cast as another product from the farm is huge, he says.
"The winning garden in Chelsea last year was made from worm cast. It's been through the worm's stomach eight times and is full of nutrients," he explains.
Worm digestors and composters are set to explode onto the waste disposal market, Richard predicts.
"They turn a useless by-product, like food waste from a hotel, into a valuable horticultural product without ever leaving the site or needing any waste disposal licence," he explains.
Studies have shown that the humble earthworm is worth more than €700m to Ireland for the services it provides in removing dead matter and releasing nutrients back to the soil.
If Richard's predictions come true, chances are that figure will grow in a few short years.
- Caitriona Murphy
