CENTRAL WORMWORX

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Central Wormworx was started in April 2000, when we purchased 500kg of tiger worms. These were installed in ten windrows, 30 metres long by 1.5 metres wide. These windrows were formed on a gravel surface, built up with layers of decayed straw, cardboard, paunch, (from the gut of sheep from the local Meat Processing Plant), fruit pulp, leaves, green waste, and stock manure. Worms can consume twice their own body-weight of food per day. We feed 20 tonnes of food per week. We now have thirty six rows, and increasing all the time.

            As worms thrive in moist, warm conditions, a soak hose made from re-cycled car tyres was put along the top of each windrow. We now have thirty-two rows.

            When conditions are ideal, the worms mate and lay egg capsules, which contain between five and twelve worms. These capsules can lie dormant for up to several years, hatching only when conditions and the temperature of the beds are favourable.

            Worms have an enormous potential in converting waste materials into an extremely useful and scientifically proven soil conditioner called Vermicast.

            It is obvious that in the near future a saturation point for dispersing dairy cow effluent from the milking shed area onto the paddocks must be reached. We know that worms could alleviate this problem in a cost effective and efficient way, by consuming and converting this waste to Vermicast. We know that worms can digest this material, as we have been using manure from the local truck-wash. The Vermicast could then be top-dressed onto paddocks when ground conditions were suitable. This would also increase the worm population in the paddocks, as some juvenile worms would be included in the top-dressing, and would travel over the paddocks, consuming cow manure. Worms are known to travel up to 1 kilometre in search of food.

            This year, a new truck-wash is to be built on our site, which will produce 3 � tonnes of manure per week, which will then be aged, and fed to the worms.

            As the Government is planning Zero waste by 2015, we see a great future in the use of worms for waste management. This has proved highly successful in numerous countries for many years.

            We extend an invitation to all dairy farmers to visit our Worm Farm in Cromwell. We are there seven days a week.

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