Central Wormworx owner Robbie Dick has had his lease extended by the Central Otago District Council but still feels his business is on borrowed time, with council able to cancel the lease with six months’ written notice.

Robbie and his wife Rosanna operate a worm farm on about one hectare of land that is part of the council’s Plan Change 18: Cromwell Industrial Zone Extension, under which 52ha of land would be rezoned from rural to industrial. 

Robbie was concerned last year when a neighbour was offered an early lease extension and he was not, but the Cromwell Community Board on March 22 voted to extend the lease with additional rights of renewal, with a final expiry date of June 30, 2024.

The lease carries a cancellation clause, however, that states after the renewal date of July 1, 2024, either party may cancel with no less than six months’ notice.

The couple started the worm farm 23 years ago at a cost of $47,000, with half a tonne of worms. 

They have already had to shift premises once in that time and have been on the current site for 20 years.

Central Wormworx owner Robbie Dick with worm castings

Robbie said there is a one- to two-year downtime attached to any shift, as the land and irrigation is first prepared, the worms moved carefully and then given time to re-establish and breed up again.

“When we first started, we were 15 months without any income at all. It’s all outgoings at the start.”

The operation sells worms for domestic worm farms, which have been subsidised for Queensland Lakes District Council residents by 50 per cent “for years and years”, Robbie said.

Another popular product is worm castings, also known as vermicast or vermicompost, a nutrient-rich compost that is a byproduct of the worm’s digestive tract. 

“We sell a lot of the castings,” he said. “Some go as far as Blenheim to grow blueberries and grapes.”

The business also assists in waste minimisation, taking apple pulp from growers in Roxburgh and paunch grass - the undigested grass in the stomachs of sheep and cattle - from abattoirs.

The site is educational as well as practical, Robbie said.

“We have a lot of schoolchildren and garden clubs come here. The schoolchildren have studied a lot about worms before they come and ask some very good questions.”

He said he was getting too old to start over, and is looking at other options, which could include selling or handing over management.

“I’m 76 and have had two knees, two hips and a shoulder replacement, and now my back is not so flash either.” 

He is adamant that the worm farm should continue, with or without him at the helm.

“You can understand some of the councillors as the land value is going up,” Robbie said. 

“But you have to look after the environment as well as the bank manager.”