How much economic benefit can earthworm farming bring?

Although earthworm farming started relatively late in China, it received great attention from the very beginning of its development. In recent years, animal protein has been in short supply, and feed prices have soared. Most farms have poor economic returns, or even losses year after year, seriously affecting the development of the farming industry. Earthworms are saprophagous invertebrates that feed on organic waste. Numerous studies have proven that earthworms (meal) have high nutritional value and can fully replace fishmeal as feed. At the same time, the rich amino acids and special components contained in earthworms also make them an excellent feeding attractant needed by fish and many other farming industries. Farms using manure from their own operations or nearby farms to mass-produce earthworms for feeding other animals can not only reduce farming costs but also significantly improve farming results.

In recent years, due to the rapid rise of special aquatic species farming such as rice field eel, combined with the rise of leisure agriculture (especially fishing ponds), there is an urgent need for large quantities of earthworms. Below, the editor will briefly analyze the economic benefits of earthworm farming for everyone.

Annual input and expenditure for farming 1 mu of earthworms

1. Feed (cow manure, pig manure, chicken manure, spent mushroom substrate are all acceptable) 100 cubic meters, at 20 yuan per cubic meter, totaling 2000 yuan.

2. Self-bred earthworm seed 100 kg, at a cost of 20 yuan per kg, totaling 2000 yuan.

3. Land occupation fee for 1 mu, at 600 yuan per mu, totaling 600 yuan.

4. Water, electricity and tools totaling 500 yuan.

5. Total: 5100 yuan.

Annual income from farming 1 mu of earthworms

1. Earthworms: generally the annual yield per mu is 2 to 3 tons of fresh earthworms, and can reach as high as 5 tons. Calculated at the lowest 2 tons, the current market price is above 10000 yuan per ton (when sold as fishing bait, it can reach above 30000 yuan per ton). Calculated at the lowest 10000 yuan per ton, the income can still be 20000 yuan.  

2. Vermicompost: 40 tons, at 150 yuan per ton, totaling 6000 yuan.

3. Total: 26000 yuan.

Net profit from farming 1 mu of earthworms

26000 yuan - 5100 yuan = 20900 yuan. If workers are hired for large-scale farming, workers' wages also need to be paid. Generally, one laborer can manage 2 mu of earthworm farming. Calculated at a monthly wage of 1000 yuan, about 6000 yuan in wages needs to be paid per mu, and the actual profit available is about 15000 yuan.

Practice has proven that the manure produced by 30 cows per day can support farming 1 mu of earthworms, and each mu can produce 2 to 3 tons of earthworms and 40 tons of vermicompost per year, increasing income by 15000 yuan. Each cow can increase income by 500 yuan. In a county, if the manure produced by 15000 cows is used to farm earthworms, income can be increased by more than 7 million yuan. This can form an industry and promote local economic development. It can enable 2000 farming households to each increase income by nearly 4000 yuan. The development of the earthworm farming industry can drive the development of many industries such as cattle farming, pig farming and chicken farming, with both sides promoting each other and developing together.