With Premier Li Keqiang's call for mass entrepreneurship and innovation, the development of the internet tech sector has been in full swing. Friends in the farming circle often ask me on WeChat: with no farming experience and not much capital, only the fine mountains and rivers of the rural hometown, while other friends live in the city and do not even have the necessary space, how does one start a business in farming? Starting today, I will put together some small farming projects one after another to make it easier for everyone to get started and operate. I want to stress in particular that we do not sell breeding insects, nor do we sell any equipment or feed, so please do not ask us about buying breeding stock. We are purely introducing business projects to everyone, and I hope those commenting below will be courteous.

Today I will talk about a very easy-to-operate small project -- yellow mealworm farming. Though small, if done well, it is no problem at all to let a family live a bit more comfortably. It can be done full-time, and in fact, once you have mastered the techniques, it can also be done as a side job. Friends who are interested can also sell through e-commerce channels such as WeChat and Taobao. You are welcome to communicate with us, WeChat (yzydt1).

Yellow mealworm family farming business project

I. The economic value of yellow mealworms

The yellow mealworm, commonly known as the breadworm, is a juicy soft-bodied animal whose fat and protein content reaches 50%. In addition, it also contains various trace elements such as potassium, iron, phosphorus, aluminum and sodium, as well as the 16 amino acids essential for animal growth. Per 100 grams of dried product, the amino acid content is as high as 874.9 mg, and its various nutritional components rank first among all kinds of feed. According to measurements, the nutritional value of 1 kg of yellow mealworms is equivalent to that of 25 kg of wheat bran, 20 kg of mixed feed and 1000 kg of green feed, and it is known as a "treasure house of protein feed."

The yellow mealworm is a rare and excellent feed for raising poultry and special livestock such as scorpions, centipedes, tilapia, rice field eels, turtles, bullfrogs, fish, Chinese giant salamanders and snakes.

Large-scale yellow mealworm farming workshop

II. Analysis of yellow mealworm farming costs and profits

Artificially farming yellow mealworms can be said to involve small capital and large returns. For one person who has mastered the techniques, using spare time, with an area of 20 sq m and an investment of 2500 yuan to buy 25 kg of breeding insects, with wheat bran at a market price of 2 yuan/kg, a feed-to-meat ratio for insect farming of 3:1, and a farming period of 3-6 months, 1 kg of breeding insects yields on average 50 kg of commercial insects; the current value of commercial insects is 10 yuan/kg, so 25 kg of breeding insects can produce 1250 kg of commercial insects. The total cost is:

Feed cost = 1250 kg × 3 × 2 = 7500 yuan (wheat bran)

Breeding insect cost = 25 kg × 100 yuan/kg = 2500 yuan

Tool cost = 30 wooden boxes and wooden shelves custom-made by a carpenter, with a total value of about 500 yuan

Total income = 1250 kg × 10 yuan/kg = 12500 yuan

Net income = 12500 - 2500 (breeding insects) - 7500 (wheat bran) - 500 (wooden boxes and shelves) = 2000 yuan (this profit forecast is a theoretical calculation; actual income depends on the feed cost level of the farmer and their mastery of techniques and management).

The 2500 yuan income is only the income after the first batch of farming. After the commercial insects are sold, the farmer still has a large number of adults continuously reproducing, so this is a one-time investment with long-term returns.

If discarded crop straw from rural areas is used to feed yellow mealworms, the cost is even lower. A bit more than 5 jin of straw powder plus a small amount of wheat bran, vegetable leaves, etc. can raise one jin of commercial insects.

In addition, the above selling price of commercial insects is the price at which dealers come to buy at your door. If the commercial insects are simply dried, simply packaged, labeled with your own trademark and sold online through Taobao, the price per kg can easily reach 30-60 yuan, and the profit multiplies several times over.

Note: dried yellow mealworms are excellent food for many exotic pets, such as hamsters, lizards and birds. This market is enormous; anyone interested can just search on Taobao and see.

Box-based yellow mealworm farming workshop

III. Conditions such as the environment for yellow mealworm farming

Farming equipment: the farming equipment is relatively simple -- wooden trays, sieve trays and wooden shelves.

Farming environment: yellow mealworm farming requires a rearing room, and the rearing room must be ventilated and let in light, with heating and insulation facilities in winter.

Requirements inside the rearing room: the temperature must be kept between 15°C-25°C in both winter and summer.

Feed sources: the main feed is wheat bran, which can also be supplemented with bran, crushed straw, etc.

Vegetables are mainly green leafy vegetables such as radish, Chinese cabbage and potato, used to supplement the need for vitamins, trace elements and moisture.

Other feed: add a small amount of glucose powder, fish meal, etc.

IV. Yellow mealworm farming methods

Box-based farming of yellow mealworms is the most commonly used farming method. Once this farming technique is mastered, both the reproduction rate and the output of yellow mealworms are very large. The equipment mainly includes rearing boxes, egg collection boxes and sieves. The commonly used equipment is introduced below (its dimensions etc. are for reference only).

Farming technique: basin-based yellow mealworm farming technique

1. Rearing box

The inner side is polished smooth with sandpaper, then lined all around with wide adhesive tape and pressed flat to prevent the insects from escaping. The sides use wooden boards 1-1.5 cm thick, and the bottom uses plywood or fiberboard.

Several sieves of different specifications are needed, with mesh sizes of 100 mesh, 60 mesh, 40 mesh and ordinary iron window screen. The sieves are used to sift out insect droppings of different instars and to separate the insects. The inner side of the sieve edges should also have a smooth band to prevent the insects from escaping.

2. Egg collection box

It consists of 1 rearing box and 1 egg sieve, and both inner sides should have a smooth band. The bottom of the egg sieve is nailed with iron window screen. To prevent the adults from eating the eggs after laying them and causing losses, the adults used for breeding can be kept in the egg sieve, and the egg sieve is then placed into the rearing box. In the egg sieve, the females can extend their ovipositors through the sieve mesh to lay eggs, so the eggs will not be harmed by the adults, and pollution of the eggs by feed, insect droppings, etc. is also reduced.

Further reading: Yellow mealworm breeding insect management techniques

V. Risk control

1. Diseases and pests of yellow mealworms basically did not exist before 2010, but in recent years they have developed quite seriously and have become a key factor in whether farming succeeds or not. Everyone must take this seriously. The content on disease and pest control is another topic; you can follow our WeChat account (yangzhiuu) and official website: Yangzhi Yidiantong, where several articles discuss it in detail.

Disease and pest control: five major ways to kill ant pests in yellow mealworm farming

2. When introducing breeding stock, do not be fooled by merchants (scammers) and let them select the breeding insects for you. Although breeding insects and commercial insects are raised mixed together, the difference is still very large. It is best to select and introduce breeding stock at the larval stage; generally choose large larvae with strong vitality and bright color as breeding insects.

3. Do not pin your sales hopes on a buyback contract from a merchant; there are far too many scammers of this kind. It is recommended that you find your own sales channels; Taobao is a good choice.

For more farming techniques and startup guides, please search Baidu for Yangzhi Yidiantong, or follow the WeChat public account: yangzhiuu; service account (mall): yangzhimall; personal WeChat: yzydt1.