Rural Missouri - August 2023 - 39

and my shop wasn't insulated and didn't even have a door
on it. So, I dug a big pit, because I knew the ground would
be great insulation, and moved all the worms into the pit. "
Though the Stricklands had a slow start to their business,
that drastically changed with the outbreak of COVID19.
Since more people were staying at home during quarantine,
more self-sustaining gardens were popping up and
more families were considering ways to supplement their
food sources with homegrown agriculture. As a result, the
demand for worms and worm castings shot up. As Kyle
and Jen's customer base grew, they saw an opportunity to
educate Missouri gardeners and farmers on the potential
benefits of consistently using worms and their castings in
soil-based agriculture.
However, as a business, growing worms can be a task
easier said than done. Temperature, soil conditions and
space must all be taken into consideration to raise healthy
worms that will benefit customers. Crafting Kyle's food
mixes also involve a balancing act to meet an exact ratio of
protein to carbon.
The Stricklands must raise specific worm breeds to
fulfill customers' needs, and sometimes a worm is not so
easy to keep alive in Missouri's seasonal environments.
European nightcrawlers, a worm favored by local anglers
and bait companies, need to stay in temperatures over 60
degrees, which is a difficult task to accomplish during Missouri's
cold winters. Fortunately, this difficulty is offset by
the worm breed's ability to multiply quickly and how easily
they can be raised.
Eventually, the husband-and-wife duo's efforts are
rewarded with a bounty of worms, but like any agricultural
product, they must be harvested. To harvest worms,
Kyle scoops them out of their enclosure and takes them to
a trommel that separates the castings and worms so that
he can ship orders to his customers for $31 to $45 per
pound. Even the worm cocoons bring some value to new
farmers hoping to start composting at home. Overall, he
believes the process of running and harvesting from his
worm farm is relatively low maintenance, considering the
valuable products it gives homesteaders and gardeners.
" There are a few important things that you have to
learn, but once you learn those, it's easy to do and
extremely beneficial, and many people enjoy it, " Kyle adds.
" They almost look at the worms as their pets. "
Kyle says worms can help Missourians contribute to the
environment's health no matter where they live.
" It's very adaptable to a big system or a small system,
indoor or outdoor system. Almost anyone can do it anywhere, "
he says. " It's better than any fertilizer you can
buy. It's 100% organic and natural. That is
an extreme benefit to growing anything. "
Conway
For more information, call Kyle
Strickland at 417-733-6231, visit
www.midwestworms.com or follow
Midwest Worms on Facebook.
Jainchill is a freelance writer
from Columbia.
Left: Jen and Kyle recently added two, 25-foot windrows to expand Midwest Worms' capacity for growing and harvesting worms and worm
castings. Right: Kyle waters a bed of fully grown European nightcrawlers, famed for their use as fishing bait.
AUGUST 2023 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 39

http://www.midwestworms.com http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Rural Missouri - August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - August 2023