Farming 'wiggles' around in Big Rock

Aug 14, 2023

On this farm, there is something brewing inside the red barn, sometimes under the cover of darkness.

Their underground diet consists of rinds of watermelon, pumpkin, cucumbers, rotten lettuce, a big helping of horse manure, with sliced apples tossed in for dessert.

Outnumbering the 1,100 residents of Big Rock, there are two million of them…livestock that is only one to two inches long in worm bins or “condos” in the barn.

Jerry and Russ Callison run the Northern Illinois Worm Farms.

In his home garden, Jerry witnesses the magic of nature like squash overtaking the backyard.

Inside a plastic barrel, the recipe is water, molasses, microbes and bacteria, all churning for 24-48 hours. Don’t forget the five to ten pounds of worm poop for a cup of “worm tea.”

Then there is the long, huge wind-tunnel looking, revolving machine or trammel, a classifier where the castings or poop are relocated, one scoop shovel at a time.

So, you have to decide on granules of worm poop or a worm poop slushy for your plants. You might wind up with a humongous pumpkin, a tomato the size of a basketball, or an ear of corn the length of a baseball bat.

These red wigglers are also good for catching small fish, that’s where the Callison brothers started, then realizing they were using the wrong end and turned to worm poop or castings.

Inside that barn, these creatures may…

So lookout Big Rock, a science fiction horror movie if those two million red wiggler worms escape.

Before a marketing campaign, the Callison’s had sold the worms all over the United States: Washington State, Florida, Montana, and Puerto Rico.

You can contact the Callison farmers at [email protected] or on their soon to be operating website northern illinois worm farms.

In addition, Callison will speak to youth and civic groups or at schools.

He hopes to draw new fans of worm farming…poop and all.

You can listen to Mark Harrington's radio story by clicking below:

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We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!