In the 19th century earthworms were considered a soil pest. Even though this view has changed, earthworms receive little attention in agricultural practice. Very few farmers only actively promote them. Increasingly heavy machines, intensive tillage and intensive use of pesticides have in many places eliminated earth worms in fields. In contrast to this scenario, in the healthy soil one hectare of grassland one to three million earthworms can be found. Number and diversity of earthworms in a soil are considered an important criterion of soil fertility, be- cause earthworms contribute in many ways to healthy and biologically active soils and better adaptation of farming systems to climate change, thus providing key soil functions that favour many positive ecosystem services. Due to their numerous services that increase sustainability of agro-ecosystems, earthworms should receive more attention in sustainable farming systems.