MOORLAND farmer Maurice Medd has quit sheep farming - to breed worms.
Mr Medd's family have been leading sheep farmers at Newton-on-Rawcliffe, on the North York Moors, for about 70 years, but now he has switched to producing thousands of worms.
He said: "Horse manure is best, although we can use cattle and pig waste - but not poultry, which is too high in nitrogen."
Bedding consisting of peat, manure and shredded cardboard is used to increase egg production.
People fishing for salmon, sea trout and eels use the worms, and they are invaluable to gardeners, said Mr Medd, of East Hambleton Farm.
"I came to the conclusion that there isn't a lot of future in farming livestock, and I had seen the price of pigs slump, so I decided to have a complete change of earning a living.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article