australian-vermiculture

What Drives Us & Why the Worm?

delprice@australianvermiculture.com.au (Del Price) — Sun, 11 May 2025 22:21:26 GMT

The Humble Worm & Soil Health

The essential minerals that we rely on for our well-being, our body can’t make them on its own, it must get them from our food. The thing is our food can’t make them either, it must get them from the soil.

Food that is grown from nutrient dense soil has a far higher nutrient value to the body that consumes it.

Increase in synthetic fertiliser prices, interest in regenerative agriculture and a heightened awareness of the connection to soil, plant, animal and human health has created an increased demand and interest for organic compost and fertilisers.

It's time to minimise the soil hangover, put the Waste Engineers, the humble worm, to work and expect clean, nutrient dense food grown from nutrient dense soils.

School Stem November 2020

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 14:56:38 GMT

It was a bitterly cold morning when the students of years 6 and 7 from Seaview Downs and Brighton Public schools began their STEM journey at AV’s Mt Compass worm farm. Introduced to the schools as a potential STEM project by curious school holiday helper, Hayley Saunders of Seaview Downs Public, the question of communicating the importance of soil health was introduced to the, now, team of soil warriors.

Following a download of information on the processes of AV and the bigger picture of soil health in agriculture and at home, the students returned to school to begin their knowledge seeking drive.

Donning their creative caps and forward to a much warmer four months down the track with visits to both Seaview Downs and Brighton schools to find out what the students had come up with.

From lobbying government, multiple website refreshes, flyers, banners, organic waste disposal education, media campaigns, field day attendance, trials conducted in the school garden, a new retail range (which we were in the process of doing) and more we were blown away with a plethora of well researched and thoroughly considered approaches to the question put forward on that cold morning at the worm farm.

Thank you Brighton and Seaview Downs students, you have surprised and delighted us with your responses and reminded us, from a future generation, why we do what we do.

Platinum Ag Advertorial Summer 2020

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 14:56:38 GMT

Ongoing Research Key To Educating Soil Health Best Practice

Australian Vermiculture, since the establishment of key partnership with Platinum Agricultural Services, has grown from strength to strength in uncovering the benefits of its products for growers particularly in intensive horticulture.

The company in conjunction with leading growers, horticultural researchers and soil microbiologists have begun uncovering findings behind the interaction of their worm casting based products particularly with issues such elevated levels of salt, the availability of phosphorus and the prevalence of soil borne pathogens in such intensive growing environments as Virginia on the Adelaide Plains.

Microbiology Laboratories Australia lead by Dr Ashley Martin and Dr Maria Manjarrez Martinez have been behind the laboratory work uncovering the interactions between Australian Vermiculture’s ProPell pelletised worm casting and Pythium. After ongoing successful field trials potatoes, Australian Vermiculture also began uncovering a correlation between the level of soluble P in the soil and the efficiency of their products.

Previous product trials in 2018 had observed levels of phosphorous mineralisation increase by up to 60 percent meaning with the use of Australian Vermiculture’s worm-based products could increase the utilisation of nutrients more effectively translating to greater plant health and yield. Given this research and more recent information coming to light about elevated levels, this stresses the findings being a significant change to how traditional practices were approached.

With Australian Vermicultures focus over the last three years being in vegetables in South Australia, in the wake of the devastating bushfires in the 19/20 the company has turned to investigating the effects of using worm-based products in encouraging the regeneration of soil biology post fire. The trials are all conducted using independent organisation with a mission of uncovering information and educating farmers on best practices when considering soil biology.

Australian Vermiculture envisions working with industry and growers to educate around best practice management of soil when considering soil health in intensive systems. The company understands the requirements of intensive agriculture and horticulture and the necessity of utilising fertilisers in optimising crop health. With findings in the pipeline, the company hopes to conduct education seminars in the 2020 summer and into 2021 through a transition to soil health program conducted in conjunction with Microbiology Laboratories Australia.

Next Gen Worm Farmer

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 22:47:58 GMT

Be inspired by our budding young worm farmer and her impact by taking her new found passion to become part of years 5/6 Stem. Read the article here

From one farmer to another

Sat, 30 Jan 2021 23:10:09 GMT

At present we are using Australian Vermiculture's ProCast as our seed coating.

Don puts it on at 10kgs per ton seed ($9.50 T). The application is pretty raw....we measure it out into buckets (enough to do a truck load of seed), then just throw it on by hand as it’s going into the seed truck. We are intending to purchase an elevator which will make this process more mechanised. At present putting it through an auger causes a few blockages.

We also use phos-start (12% chelated phosphorous) as a seed coating as well. Don puts this on raw (not watered down) at 5 litres per ton of seed.($35.50 T, last years price) which he applies by spraying it on through the auger at the end of the grouper just before it goes into the airseeder. (see attached photo) It’s very sticky but once it’s dry it seems to be ok. Last year we used 6% phos-start which wasn’t as sticky.

At around 3 to 5 leaf stage we spray Australian vermiculture ProGro (we call it “the Juice”) at 5 litres per HA plus ($10.50 HA) 2 litres per HA Zinc sulphate ($2.80 HA).This is put out with the broad leaf spray program.

On some weaker areas we go back over it approx a month later with another 5 to 10 litres pro grow per HA (eg sandy hills or areas where skeleton weed has dominated.)

We are finding many changes in our soil (for the good) and have been able to eliminate fungicides and last season eliminated the use of pesticides on our peas. We did have some insect damage but it was minimal. Our soil PH has dropped from readings between 7.8 to 8.2 down to 6.8 to 7.1 within 4 years.

Our input costs are lower to receive the same or better yields as area averages, and no downgrades from small grain.

Protein levels have risen 1/2 to 1 %. Perhaps the biggest thing we have learnt is the use of pickle on the seed is very very detrimental to the microbiology in the soil (despite what agronomists advise).

Mycorrhizal fungi is probably the biggest alli in the soil that we have. It expands and gives 10 times the root surface area and is responsible for nutrient exchange to the plant. eg converts all nutrients to a plant available form, particularly phosphorous. The plant exchanges carbohydrates (which it produces through photosynthesis) with the mycorrhizal fungi to receive the nutrients.

If the seed is pickled it will take longer for the bacteria to break down the chemical (pickle) and for the mycorrhizal fungi to get established. Once mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria becomes dominate in the soil it protects the plant from root diseases (like ryzochtonia) and actually uses them as a food source. (Hard to believe but it’s true)

Last season we disconnected the gas system because we kept getting too many blockages, but didn’t notice any difference in yield. We aren’t against it...it just isn’t suiting what we are doing at present.

The other thing we have noticed is the seed germinates very quickly (usually out of the ground in 3 to 4 days) but then puts a lot of energy into root production before the plant takes off on the surface. Farmers crops that are sown using DAPs & MAPs etc look more vibrant etc for alot of the season, while the system we use just ticks along and grows with the conditions (not force fed) but then puts it’s energy into the head (which is what we want) with no small grain and a massive root system to supply it.

We have a lot of info here about soil biology and many other aspects of biological farming in general that we collated from many many hours of research etc that we are happy to share, some of it takes a bit of getting the head around but is very interesting.

peas approx 3 weeks after sowing, and comparisons of carbon powder (on right) verses pro cast on pea seed (3 weeks) below.

I hope this is informative for you and not too confusing or biased..... it is easy for me to start rambling on and forget about whether or not the person reading it can understand my rave on.

Let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.

Good luck for the season ahead.

Cheers

Carolin & Don Rankin

Crop Walk 2016 - A Follow Up

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 22:57:40 GMT

Dr Ash Martin from Microbiology Laboratories Australia & Australian Vermiculture's Brendon Price

dig deep at the 2016 crop walk. Click here to read the article published in the Mildura Weekly November 4 2016

Partnership Key to Improving Soil Health

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 22:54:13 GMT

Soil health in South Australia is set to get a boost as a partnership is formed between Australian Vermiculture, the country’s largest worm casting producer, and South Australian leader in rural services, Platinum Agricultural Services.

With a focus on soil, plant health and sustainability, Australian Vermiculture was founded from humble beginnings in the NSW town of Broken Hill. Founder, Brendon Price notes, “For something like soil biology, that has so long been conveyed as so complex, our solution has been simple, the humble worm.”

Trials, research and development work in the early 2000’s was conducted in the Millewa region, west of Mildura, VIC. The farming conditions are incredibly harsh and yet, where Australian Vermiculture products were used, the plants thrived and success saw fertilisers being replaced completely in many broadacre cereal and legume programs. Mr Price attributes this success “to the replacement of endemic microorganisms that symbiotically live with plants feeding off the exudates in roots and in return feeding nutrients directly to the plants.”

This exciting partnership will initially see over two thousand tonnes of Australian Vermiculture’s pelletised worm castings acquired for Platinum Agricultural Services’ clients. They will cover a range of crops from fruit & vegetables to cereal crops and pastures.

Australian Vermiculture’s, Technical Consultant, Xavier Smith, said he believed the synergies in the partnership will support the development of growers understanding of biological farming practices whilst allowing them to work specifically with local farmers to improve the benefits in soil regeneration as well as the end produce. Mr Smith said, “as we move forward we will begin to pin point exactly what the specific functions these microorganisms are having on our soils as well as in our end produce.” He said, “it has been well known for a long time the efficacy of using vermiculture based products in home gardens, but to develop and be able to commercially provide a product that positively affects soil health and regularly improves yield, has the potential to be a game changer in the agricultural and horticultural sectors.”

“We’ve only scratched the surface uncovering the benefits of using vermiculture products in farming systems. We know it increases yield and increases consistent nutrient uptake, for example, Phosphorous. We also know that having biologically balanced soil minimises risks of soil-borne diseases like Pythium,” Mr Smith said. “Securing this partnership and working alongside a leader in the industry, with a network of Agronomic specialists, allows us to continue to unlock the benefits of vermiculture in farming and we look forward to seeing further positive results for Platinum Agricultural Services’ clients.

General Manager of Platinum Agricultural Services, Peter Cook, says, “Our existing relationship with AV, has enabled us to market this product exclusively for Platinum Agriculture Services’ clients. We are excited about the product, given the market testing through a number of trials with SA based growers has consistently produced an increase in yield. The potential of increased production and healthier soils for growers across a broad range of crops is something we are very interested in”

Partnership Key to Improving Soil Health

seth@bower-bird.com.au (Seth Khouri) — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 14:56:38 GMT

Soil health in South Australia is set to get a boost as a partnership is formed between Australian Vermiculture,
the country’s largest worm casting producer, and South Australian leader in rural services, Platinum Agricultural Services.