Interested in a Commercial Worm Farm Operation?
Let's Make Soil Great Again
Worms are cool now.
With the move towards regenerative agriculture, vastly increased synthetic fertilizer costs, and the growing number of states and countries that have legalized cannabis, the world of vermiculture and vermicomposting is enjoying renewed attention.
There is huge opportunity but also a huge risk if you don't know what's in front of you. We created this page to help arm you with the best information as you explore vermiculture or vermicomposting as a business.
Use this Page Like a Toolbox
Take what you need. Leave what you don’t.
Some of you are just exploring. Others are ready to take the plunge. I want to help you reach a situation where you are investing rather than risking your time and money.
In no case should you be putting your financial security at risk on a whim.
Note: While I may financially benefit if you choose some of the paid tools on this page like books, memberships, or product sales, I pledge to NOT lead you into a situation for which I believe you are unprepared.
What's in This Worm Farm Business Resource Guide
What is Your Worm Farming Objective?
What Do You Want to Do?
- Small-scale worm castings sales
- Castings sales for soil blenders
- Make castings for self-use
- Serve the cannabis industry
- Grow worms for sale
- Promote environmental stewardship
- Create products for the vermicomposting industry
The Worm Farmer's To Do List
Books you have to read and conferences you need to attend!
Steve wrote this helpful article to give you the real poop on the vermiculture and vermicomposting industry.
Bottom line, he'll give you food for thought on examining your motivations and what to consider if you charge ahead with your plans.
The On Farm Manual of Vermicomposting is an extremely valuable free resource, detailing the various methods of vermicomposting, sources of feedstocks and bedding, efficacy of vermicompost and more.
Full of academic citation, familiarity with this work by Glenn Munroe of the Organic Agriculture Center of Canada is a must!
The Manual of On Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture covers the following topics:
- The Basics of Working With Worms
- An Overview of Vermicomposting Systems
- On Farm Vermiculture
- The Value of Vermicompost
- Potential Income Diversification
I consider this to be one of the most valuable free resources for the vermicomposter looking to scale up a hobby-level operation or explore which vermicomposting method is appropriate to your situation.
Don't invent the wheel! Rather, learn about the practical experience of others with The Worm Farmer's Handbook written by North Carolina State University Extension Specialist Rhonda Sherman.
Rhonda's book was released in late-2018 and is already considered a must-read among those who strive for a larger-scale vermicomposting operation.
Packed with information, yet very readable, The Worm Farmer's Handbook is a practical guide to starting and operating a vermicomposting and vermiculture operation beyond the hobby level.
Drawing on interviews with dozens of mid- to large-scale operators around the world, Rhonda details how to
- find the right production system
- choose the right feedstock
- avoid common pitfalls
- find and grow markets for your products & more
Reseller & Affiliate Programs
Earn a profit now with good margins and fast, free shipping.
Get reseller discounts on the Urban Worm Bag, coco coir, jute blankets, and bundles. Most of our resellers use our drop ship program to allow you to grow your business without holding any of our inventory.
Bulk and wholesale purchases are available too if you want to carry our products locally!
Online store owners using Shopify can also synchronize our products via a Shopify app called Syncio. When an order is created on your store, we fulfill it automatically and bill you at the beginning of the next month.
Perfect for social media influencers or business owners who do not want to conduct transactions on their own websites. We offer a 10% commission on most of our products to exclude bulk worm castings and a few select items.
Steve will cover vermiculture & vermicomposting, precomposting, online marketing, search engine optimization, profit-boosting strategies, bookkeeping, legal basics, shipping, & more
Steve will do deeper dives on various topics like Continuous Flow and deliver immensely useful "nuggets" of wisdom he used to grow the Urban Worm Company to revenues of over $1,000,000 the last 3 years.
Do you need project design services? Your Advanced Plan course fee gets you our best reseller prices and you can apply your course fee to the large-scale project design package offered by Francisco Niembro of Aldea Verde, designer and project manager of some of the world's largest composting & vermicomposting operations.
We have our own worm breeding lesson, but our Advanced Plan members also get 45% off Larry Shier's Elite Worm Breeding Course plus 15% off Compost Packages sold by our friends at O2 Compost.
I'll hold monthly "Office Hours" Zoom calls where Advanced Plan members can ask questions and get specific help with problems they have. Calls will be recorded and uploaded to the course for Advanced Plan students to review
Buy Bulk Worms at a Discount
Resell or Grow Your Own Stock
Some worm customers may only be looking for a few dozen at a time.
Buying in bulk and reselling in smaller quantities can be a very profitable business strategy. For bait worms, European Nightcrawlers are a great choice.
You may also be trying to grow your own vermicomposting operation. If so, buying in bulk can help you leap months forward in terms of vermicomposting ability instead of trying to get your existing worms to reproduce faster.
Which Breed Should You Choose?
Buy bulk Red Wigglers if your only objective is vermicomposting or if your customers want a smaller composting worm.
Buy European Nightcrawlers if you want a dual-purpose composting and bait worm. These will also have much better species purity.
Buy Bulk Worm Castings at a Discount
Maybe you want to start selling but you don't have a big operation. And maybe you're selling more than you can produce yourself.
If so, we can supply you with inexpensive worm castings without sacrificing quality. These worm castings come with standard compost tests from A&L Great Lakes Laboratory and biological analysis results from Earthfort that show excellent germination results with balanced biomass between bacteria and fungi.
Bulk worm castings are available from single totes (1000 to 2250 lbs) or full truckloads with over 20 tons of rich worm castings.
This isn't meant to take away from your dreams of creating your own worm castings.
Rather, consider our castings a bridge until you can sell your own.
Start Breeding Worms Yourself
Start breeding worms yourself with our newly-launched Urban Worm U Worm Breeding & Sales Course.
Find out how our supplier of pure red wigglers breeds them and learn the time-saving lessons I learned selling worms since 2014.
The Worm Farming Alliance is a knowledge-sharing group.
Via our secret Facebook Group, we discuss topics that normally go beyond the hobby level, seeking and offering business help. It's a friendlygroup and membership allows for a higher-level conversation than you might get with free Facebook Groups or forums.
Started by Red Worm Composting's Bentley Christie, WFA is a wonderful networking resources for current or future "vermi-preneurs!"
Join the Worm Farming Alliance
