Dirk Wessendorf from Ahaus is the master of 30 million flies. When he goes to his black soldier flies, dozens of the 1.5 centimeter animals buzz around him. That doesn’t bother the 50-year-old as long as it works with the young flies – the maggots – in the former textile factory. He feeds these maggots with leftover grain, fruit waste and whey.
Master of 30 million flies: Dirk Wessendorf
What fascinates the breeder so much: Compared to the farm animal pig, for example, the fly maggots need significantly less food, water and space and still provide a particularly large amount of protein. Consumers of the dried, ground insect larvae are manufacturers of dog and fish food, but possibly also producers of food for humans at some point.
farmers wanted
In order to expand further, the qualified civil engineer is looking for farmers who want to get into insect fattening. You can purchase the ready-to-use industrial fattening system he developed and also regularly purchase young larvae. However, at six million euros, it is not a very cheap investment.