by Penny Mio
editor

Deciding to go into the nightcrawler breeding business was one that the Wiersma family debated for about three years. Research and health issues came into play, but when they learned that the business is actually two-in-one, that sealed the deal.
Since December, the family has been getting their new business, Creepy Crawler Industries off the ground. It was after talking to another worm farmer that Dean Wiersma was told, “don’t forget about the castings.”
They are raising cultured nightcrawlers to be used as bait, and using their waste to create organic fertilizer. “Those castings are the best organic fertilizer you can get,” said Shirley Wiersma.
Dave Wiersma demonstrates the shaker that seperates out the clumps of dirt for bedding. The Office of Economic Development and Mike Reed have helped Tom's Tackle expand to a new business of worm farming with Creepy Crawler Industries.Worms
The best thing about these worms, Dave Wiersma said, is that they don’t need to be refrigerated. In fact, they like to be about 70 degrees.
Every two weeks the worms are given new bedding and food. The food lasts 10 to 12 days, and the days when the worms are searching for food is when the breeding happens.
The worms then produce cocoons, of which can have one to two worms.
So, every two weeks the buckets of worms and bedding are emptied. The cocoons keep the new worms coming, and the business grows exponentially. By the end of the year they could have millions of worms, from a few thousand.
The amount they keep will depend on demand for the worms and for the castings.
Since the worms do not need to be cool, they can sit on a shelf or counter for sale, and there’s no need for a cooler when fishing, just keep them out of the sun.
They also can be shipped by freight, since they don’t need cooling.

Fertilizer
The castings are sold in bags for use with houseplants, flowers, vegetables, lawns or basically anything that grows in dirt.
There’s no smell and since it isn’t made of chemicals it won’t ever burn the roots of plants, Dave said.
The fertilizer is shelf stable for a few years, so next winter they will stockpile the castings for use in the spring and summer.
“Go green,” said Dave.
Area businesses who already carry the castings include Fischer’s True Value and Cenex Country Store in Baudette, Marvin Home Center in Warroad and  Coast True Value in Roseau.

Growth
The Wiersma’s first business is Tom’s Tackle, which they have expanded to include other products than tackle.  They now make ice chisels, anchors, auger extensions and other fishing gear. Tom’s Tackle now hires three people in addition to
 the family.
In the past few years they have been working with the Office of Economic Development on trademarks and registering names. They’ve also been a pilot project, helping that office under the direction of Wyatt Johnson to learn and make contacts that can help businesses in the area.
“It has proven to be worthwhile,” said current, contracted director Mike Reed. “Everything they did made the Creepy Crawler industries has grown worms up to 10 inches, and has all stages back to cocoon.next steps easier.”
When the worm farm idea came up, they’d already met the involved players and had a path to follow.
A big help came from the Industrial Development Corporation, who  provided Creepy Crawler with a building in the industrial park south of Baudette. Northwest Minnesota Foundation approved a loan for the business.
These are the projects that people need to see, said Reed. Marvin Windows, DigiKey and Arctic Cat all started in small shops like this, so investing in the local people is one goal of the economic development office.
With Tom’s Tackle delivering tackle and fishing gear around the area in a large trailer, the bait nightcrawlers are a good fit. They already have the contacts set up for that distribution.
The new part will be to contact the hardware stores and nurseries to see if they will carry the fertilizer. Eventually, the worm farm will need more employees. Right now there aren’t enough worms and the family is still figuring out the process.
But they already know that it could take one to three more people to run the worm farm once it takes off.
For more information on Creepy Crawler Industries, call Dave Wiersma at 218-434-0260.