DaveD

Planting as late as August??? - come August I'm looking at the maize and wondering when I can start ensiling.

You can get it in earlier.

hi and thanks for your reply.this is 10 rai that i am able to rent for 4 years if i get it now .cassava is being harvested today then the land will be vacant.i was considering getting a crop of corn ,but it seems as if im too late .My sister in law,planted corn in the same area last week so i wonder what yield she will get.

As to my questions about varieties and characteristics , any prefered hybrid?

Dave

I am trying to learn a little about growing corn .as we might be planting soon if its not too late.the area is without irrigation and im afraid that come december the corn will die .

what is the best seed to use ?I understand my sister-in law is using Nk 81.and also NK858.

Are ther better varieties ?higher yielding ? drought resistant.

Price is 1100 baht per 10 kg.bag

I assume sowing at 3 kgs per rai

forgive me if i sound stupid ..........i am!

I have read the previous articles by maizefarmer and understand.

I hear only today that seed corn is in short supply in pakching and sikhiu areas.Does this make sense?

regards

Dave

my father in law has 15 rai . fallow for a year. he says he needs to plough twice, to get soil friable and a tractor again to plant seed. hes grown corn many times but wants me to finance it, which i,m not. question is how much to get this done. just checking to see how much b/s i,m being fed. oh hes claiming 25k, like ye i,ll buy it at market thanks. cheers.

We planted sweet corn earlier this year and the ploughing was B300/rai for disc harrow in two directions and then rototilled in the direction of the planting rows. Syngenta Hybrid 3 seed was ~B800 per rai. So you should be looking somewhere around 1100 x 15 or B16,500. We planted in Feb so with the increases in fuel costs and probably seed maybe B25k isn't so far off the mark.

rgds

Basics for cultivating corn on the cob:

a) Cross-cut @ 7 - 10 days spacing between 1st & 2nd cut.

First discing as deep as poss - 15cm - 25cm will be great

c) 2nd discing (@ 90degrees to first) - set discs for approx half depth of 1st. This will consolidate the germination zone and help to hold moisture.

You should now be able forego with the cost of roto-tilling.

d) Irrigate (sprinklers) as soon as poss aftew 2nd cut and do so daily for 7 - 10 days - deliberately to promote weed grow.

e) Spray with herbicide and wait 36 - 48 hours - then plant (this will reduce weed growth by 50%-70% and leave more water, soil nutrient and fertilser for the corn)

f) Planting: rows at 75cm - 1m and distance between seeds 50cm - 75cm.

Costings: Baht 300 for cross-cut work is pretty much the going rate currently

Baht 800 for H3 per/rai - mmmmmm........ how are you buying it(?) - in those small boxes it is sold in? You can get it cheaper (B670) from wholesalers.

Fertilser - are you using any (if so which?) - idealy apply at planting and again 30/45days into growth.

NB - Class A s/corn from Sygenta (H3 is a good stuff) needs regular irrigation.

How many kg was obtained per rai for the last planting?

Hi maizefarmer,

I read your piece about moisture content with interest.

How can the average farmer avoid being shafted at the factory gate as regards ,moisture content of corn,stach content of cassava,dirt on tubers etc?

I see factories posting prices at the gate ,but one inside with a crop ,the reality is different.

regards

Dave

I have had a good laugh reading the latest posts on this thread. With that thought, let me make a few comments with my tongue appropriately in my cheek.

========================

Garro:

Under no circumstances do I think you have ever driven a vehicle without the proper documentation readily at hand. I do not believe you have ever broken the law in any shape, form or fashion and have lived nothing but the most stalwart of lives. OK??? Are we still friends???

========================

Rixalex:

In an earlier post somewhere in this endless thread, I made reference to my earlier lost youth handling weapons of destruction. I did refer to my mayhem as murdering "SMALL' furry animals, not just furry animals. I just think the record needs to be set straight on this matter. JoeinSurin did beat me to the question about your eating habits, though. I was also wondering if you are vegetarian or if you partake of eating dead animals. fish, fowl, etc. Inquiring minds would like to know.

========================

Here is my personal situation. I plan to retire in our newly completed home outside Udorn in the next few months. It is my intent to obtain a legal permit for a shotgun for a number of reasons. We have a small plot of land (2 rai) upon which my lovely bride has planted a number of vegetables. trees and other such greenery. The 2 rai abuts some rather serious jungle, which tends to have some rather serious creatures living within it's boundaries. Not having any desire to have an 8 foot cobra sharing my breakfast on the patio with me, it seems prudent to have some method to dispose of the problem other than yelling "shoo" very loudly. You folks do know that snakes are deaf, don't you.

Another reason might be the occasional rabid animal. There have been a few instances in Thailand of these illnesses taking over dogs and I would, again, like to have a method to dispose of this problem.

The third reason might be the odd burglar that enters my home without my permission and wishes to cause harm to me or my family. If it would make all of you anti-gun folks feel better, I promise to load the SHELL" with rock salt so it won't kill the intruder but will make him regret the day he tried to do me harm.

I hope I have allayed all the fears of the anti-gun lobby and you will not fear traveling on the Udorn to Loei highway lest I be out and about. I have handled weapons all my life and feel very comfortable with one. Why, even today I am part of the vast right wing military-industrial complex.

I have donned my asbestos underwear and await your vehement protests to my plan. Unfortunately for you, it is unlikely I will pay any attention to your recommendations.

hi,i have been following this thread and i have to chip in.

my wife and i,when we finish building will be living ,remote from our nearest village.

We are doing this because we dont want ,barking dogs ,radios ,motorbikes at all hours and general village noise.

we like quiet.

However this comes with a lack of neighbour type security.

if anything .should happen we could scream all night and noone will hear us.

So what should we reach for if we hear a motorbike or car pull in,late at night .

The phone?

The tea pot?

Whilst i hope i would never have to use any weapon,in self defence of my family ,i will sleep a lot better knowing i have some means of defence.

....

Thanks cat.

Ive seen the locals using 15-15-15.but i think they also use

16-8-8 ????? im not sure .

can anyone confirm??

If 15-7-18 is not available locally is there a suitable alternative?

15-15-15 is a perfectly acceptable alternative (though more expensive than 15-7-18). 16-8-8 contains too little K (the last figure) for cassava. You may still be able to obtain 15-7-18 at your local Government operated Sahagon branch.

Rgds

Khonwan

Hi Khonwan ,

Than you for the info.Is It correct ,that you have to be a member of the local sahagon before you van buy from them?

Dave

Hi Dave,

i looked in pak chong in all the stores and none had the 15-7-18,plenty of 15-15-15,one lot in yellow red bags 350, 50kgs.

imported 15-15-15,,,1000bt plus,, 6 weeks ago,i did not check SHI. Q

cat

Thanks cat.

Ive seen the locals using 15-15-15.but i think they also use

16-8-8 ????? im not sure .

can anyone confirm??

If 15-7-18 is not available locally is there a suitable alternative?

Sawasdee kap khun Khonwan, I am interested to know whether you have any costing for the processing of the cassava to produce ethanol in Thailand.

hi again and im looking form advice on fertilizer.you mention 15-7-18,is that suitable for the sandy /loam soil we have in sikhiu?.im sorry but i didnt get a soil analysis.i just found it enough to get the jod of planting done in the time we had .So im looking at fertilizer time coming soon

i understand that 50kgs per rai is required ,but what composition?

Dave

Dave, ok, so you are not here full-time to keep an eye on things, i am, but even then things go bad, 2 days ago, we bought fertilizer for the cassava, took it to the farm neighbour who we employ sometimes for spraying and odd jobs ect,

Normally i go to the farm on my 1200 Yamaha about 2/3 in the afternoon, this governs my work hours to about 2.5/3 hours because of lower back problems, anyway, yesterday, it was a bright morning and no rain, first time for a week i think, so we went to farm on mrs wave, only to see farm neighbour spreading OUR fertilizer on HIS cassava, [had i been on my bike, he would have heard it a K away] now, ive seen my mrs angry before, but never like this, her face was red and the man was crouched down with his head in his hands, im sure he was willing to pick up all the grains and re-bag them and put on our cassava. [my first thought was to put 5litres of diesel in his fish pond] but 1 retaliation can cause another,

I intervened because i felt sorry for this poor man, {mrs] i told him, ok, use this fertilizer and pay us 920bht when you harvest cassava, and if you want help again, ask me.and we bought another bag which he will spread free today.[no wages]

Its certainly a risky venture, farming from overseas, not one i would undertake, its possible you will recieve calls/e-mails saying Need more money for vitamin,weedkiller,labour,ect. I would need a pic and and a local landmark to verfy pic before i sent more money.

Sorry this is a bit of the dark side of the moon reply, and i hope all goes well with your crops, Rgds Lickey.

Thanks Khonwan,

Im pleased to say that planting is finished.Iwas impressed the way a gang of 27 arrived and got stuck in at 7;30am .They were well organised with women cutting sticks and guys caryying and planting .the whole 27 rai was finished by 2pm at a cist of 20 baht per rai.

The following night and day we got rain,so i guess a bit of luck also.

the next task will be to organise weeding and then fertilizer.The same gang have said they will carry out weeding with kubotas at 130 baht per rai.

the big problem is organising the fertilizer ,because of the high cost ,and the way it can dissapear!!!

regrds

Dave

sorry 200 baht per rai

Dave, ok, so you are not here full-time to keep an eye on things, i am, but even then things go bad, 2 days ago, we bought fertilizer for the cassava, took it to the farm neighbour who we employ sometimes for spraying and odd jobs ect,

Normally i go to the farm on my 1200 Yamaha about 2/3 in the afternoon, this governs my work hours to about 2.5/3 hours because of lower back problems, anyway, yesterday, it was a bright morning and no rain, first time for a week i think, so we went to farm on mrs wave, only to see farm neighbour spreading OUR fertilizer on HIS cassava, [had i been on my bike, he would have heard it a K away] now, ive seen my mrs angry before, but never like this, her face was red and the man was crouched down with his head in his hands, im sure he was willing to pick up all the grains and re-bag them and put on our cassava. [my first thought was to put 5litres of diesel in his fish pond] but 1 retaliation can cause another,

I intervened because i felt sorry for this poor man, {mrs] i told him, ok, use this fertilizer and pay us 920bht when you harvest cassava, and if you want help again, ask me.and we bought another bag which he will spread free today.[no wages]

Its certainly a risky venture, farming from overseas, not one i would undertake, its possible you will recieve calls/e-mails saying Need more money for vitamin,weedkiller,labour,ect. I would need a pic and and a local landmark to verfy pic before i sent more money.

Sorry this is a bit of the dark side of the moon reply, and i hope all goes well with your crops, Rgds Lickey.

Thanks Khonwan,

Im pleased to say that planting is finished.Iwas impressed the way a gang of 27 arrived and got stuck in at 7;30am .They were well organised with women cutting sticks and guys caryying and planting .the whole 27 rai was finished by 2pm at a cist of 20 baht per rai.

The following night and day we got rain,so i guess a bit of luck also.

the next task will be to organise weeding and then fertilizer.The same gang have said they will carry out weeding with kubotas at 130 baht per rai.

the big problem is organising the fertilizer ,because of the high cost ,and the way it can dissapear!!!

regrds

Dave

KhonWan,

Thank you for providing the spreadsheet for downloading. This is my first post, so my apologies for not being able to make a contribution yet, to this very helpful forum. I have been living between the UK and Isaan for the last 5 years. I am just an amateur hobbyist who enjoys aspects of farming, but I always find the knowledge and wisdom of the postees on this forum clearly informative and very useful. You guys are doing a great job.

Pikwik

Hi Pikwik

Welcome to the forum.

Rgds

Khonwan

My thanks to you also.

My wife and i are in the middle of planting our first crop.

Ploughing is finished ,and set selection starts .i read this column every night now to keep alert to the problems we face .

So far the only problem has been overcharging for service ,but we knew that before we started .

i feel i can accept the overcharging ,if it keeps everyone sweet.We dont live here but are absentee owners .

My wifes family can assist to a degree ,but that brings its own raft of problems.

This year is an experiment and a learning experience for us ,both in farming ,and in human nature

regards

Dave

Hi guys ,

i have done the job now so i can answer my own questions.

my wife bought land from siam commercial bank that we had found on their website.

The price was agreed and the bank faxed us a contract here ,that basically said we had one month to turn up and pay the balance after my wifes sister had gone and paid 10% for us.

We few back to thailand anticipating a raft of problems.

My wife had previously gone into the land office to check their valuation of the land we wanted to buy.whilst there she got friendlt with some of the staff ,and maintained contact with them when we came back home.(please note this paid dividends)

We made an appointment with the bank to pay the money and the day before that my wife called the land office to see if anyone could come out with us and do a quick check of the chanoot markers and the area .within 30 mins we had two guys and tapes etc on the way with us.When we dropped them back to the office we tipped them.My wife went to see the people inside and was asked if she wanted an express service to which she agreed and was asked to bring in copies of id card,tabien bann,marriage cert ,my passport.that afternoon ,in advance of our meeting with the bank.

The following morning ,we met with the bank official and the money was transferred from our account to theirs .Areceipt was issued ,then it was acroos town to the land office.

My wife went in first with the bank offial and soon called me inside ,i was called to the desk and aske dto sign a copy of our marriage cert,a copy of my passport and the relevant form stating that this deal did not form part of the marital joint possessions

i left again and my wife paid the taxes ,based on the offices valuation of the land we had bought.

my wife emerged from the office 15 mins later with her chanoot ,with her name registerd on the rear .

The whole process from the time we met with the bank ,until she had her chanoot was 1 hour,even the bank official couldnt believe it.

so it was a job well done ,i believe due to "homework"

i expected a long drawn out stressful day but it in fact turned out to one of my most enjoyable days

this is a shortened version of the whole story from when we first found the land on the banks website,if there are any questions ,ill enlarge as we go along

Dave,

My wife and I bought from the KasikornThai Bank (ThaiFarmer Bank) so what I have to say relates to that purchase, but I believe that the procedure is the same(ish) for all banks.

First you need to understand how the land has come to the bank: There are two ways this happens:

1. Someone defaults on a loan for which the land was being used as collateral and the COURT sells the land in an auction.

This is done by a gradually reducing price in four seperate COURT AUCTIONS. The proceeds of the sale a split between the COURT the BANK, and the Defaulting Lender. (The COURT takes its costs, the BANK gets funds upto the outstanding debt + costs and then if there is anything left this goes to the Defaulting Lender).

Somnetimes the BANK will bid in the COURT AUCTION when the cost of the property falls below what is owed to the Bank and where the BANK believe there is a proffit to be made.

2. Someone who can nolonger afford to maintain a loan, signs the deeds of his Collateral Property to the Bank to close the deal.

When I say BANK I do not mean the BANK BRANCH, but an ASSETS MANAGEMENT COMPANY owned by the BANK (This might have an office/notice board/member of staff working in your local Bank Branch but remains a seperate Business - The Head Office of the Assets Management Company are likely to be in Bangkok).

When you make an offer on a property at the BANK you are making an offer to the ASSETS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, they will check your offer against their own ASSETS ASSESSMENT - This will be done by someone at the ASSETS MANAGEMENT COMPANY HEAD OFFICE ----- Not at your local Bank Branch.

This then explains why there is a delay (not a problem) just a procedure to make sure that no 'local deals are being done'.

How does the offer procedure go?

You will be asked to make a bid with an administration deposit. (I am surprised that you haver been asked to make two deposits).

Your offer will be taken to the ASSETS MANAGEMENT COMPANY (Head Offic) and checked - If your offer has is accepted you will be contacted and asked to go to the Bank with the full payment. We had to go to the Head Office in Bankgok.

A thing to note is the ASSETS MANAGEMENT COMPANY are conducting their own Auction - Each property they have will be offered for sale (usually once per month) - You make a bid and your bid will be considered against other bids.

They may hold your bid over one or two months to see if there are any other intereted parties.

This is quite normal practice - They bought a debt from the BANK and are now trying to sell it on at the highest proffit.

You may find, like we did, that the checking takes ages and ages, and then all of a sudden out of the blue you'll get a message to present the rest of the money at extremely short notice.

Like you, we were overseas when we bought our land and of course this created problems to us of getting to Thailand and (since our money was in the UK, we were in Singapore) we had problems sorting out money transfers too.

My wife explained we were overseas and asked for a two week extension - We also asked for a 'check survey' by the local land office just to confirm that we were buying what we thought we were buying. (The check survey was arranged by a friend who made a 'donation' to the land office to get the survey done).

At the appointed date we turned up at the ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY OFFICE (Bank Office in BKK). Paid our money and received a receipt.

I headed back to Singapore and my wife took a flight up North to the local Bank Branch, who then did the land transfer at the local land office.

Taxes

We were asked to pay the transfer taxes in the sale - this was a selection choice in the 'Online Bid' (I'll explain our bid price and how we decided on the price below).

The taxes where paid to the ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY in BANGKOK.

Make sure you find out about who is paying taxes, where and when they are being paid.

Be aware that because the Chanote has recently changed registration (in the Court/Bank) there will be taxes.

What Price to Offer - What's it worth Gov?

This is a bit tricky. The bids are blind and you only get one crack of the whip, so you need to get the right price.

We bought after the ecconomic crash at the time when the banks where stuffed full of seized property and not many buyers, but still, it turned out we had some competition in the bid.

What you need to do is have a look and see how much you are willing to pay for the land. What is a good price for you?

If you can, and this will be difficult from overseas, try to find out what price the ASSETS MANAGEMENT COMPANY paid for the property and better still, if you can, what the debt was when the land was lost to the COURT.

This seemingly impossible to find information may be common knowledge in the Thai neighbourhood where you are hoping to buy.

It took my wife and I a few hours to find out, even getting sight of the court ruling and a member of the family of the guy who lost the land telling us how much he had borrowed.

We offered over 20% below the asking price - but you need to look at the local market to assess if you have any competitors.

As it happened we did and in the end won our bid by a hair's breadth (The competitor in our bid later told us how much he had offered).

Things to be aware of are, if the land is in an ideal location/size for building a number of houses in a development and there is a lot of building going on you may wind up competing against small developers - Perhaps if reports of stagnation in the building market are true this may not be a problem.

Documents

Your wife will need her ID Card, an up to date house registration in which she is names (has to match the ID Card) and under the new rules she may need proof of where the money came from.

She can get proof of transfer from the Bank when you transfer the money over. To make this seemless, transfer the cash to an account in her name.

I made a transefer of £ Sterling (exchanged in Thailand) and I kept a very close watch on the exchange rates at - Even so on the day of making the payment I had to do a second transfer becausee I had forgotten we had agreed to pay taxes _ I actually drew BHt600K on my Visa Card (not recommended unless in an emergency).

So as soon as you hear your bid has been accepted, make the transefer and then check the amount that has arrived against what you need to pay.

(Confirm the full price + taxes with the bank)

Anyway, best of luck with the bid. Keep a steady nerve and be prepared to have to fly over to Thailand at a moments notice with cash in hand to make the purchase.

As for signing to say you have no interest in the land.

If you don't show your face at the land office they will most likely not know you exist (depending on your wife's ID Card etc).

Alternatively just go along and sign like you are required to do.

Final Word

We are delighted with our purchase, not only did we get a beautiful piece of river front land on the edge the town we dream of living in, but we got it at a bargain basement price.

Later when doing some legal work relating to the land, our BKK lawyer commented that we had been very wise to buy from the bank because since the land had been siezed by the court there was a clear and unequivical exchange of title.

Again, very best of luck and let us know how it goes.

hi and thank you for you very detailed post It seems there are no set rules for this and the bank can set their own terms as they see fit .i see you were able to ask for extra time and that is reassuring .

I gather that you bought from kasikorn bank via the online bidding system.we are buying from scb by tender .tis land has been on their site for a very long time and they have had no offers yet.

my wife changed her id when we married 5 years ago and now has my surname ,so it is obvious she has a farang husband .Its amazing but yesterday she went to a birthday party for a thai woman who live not far from us and she asked people there about this precedure .Everyone of them told her that she cannot buy any land if she has a farang surname.

i was amazed at their ignorance of the system in their own country,no wonder its hard to get genuine info.

I need tio find out more about the need for me to sign a document stating that i have no interest in the land and tht the money is my wifes.

Ill ring the consulate here and see if they have any info .

cheers

GH

Hi guys i know this topic has been discussed and ive searched but cannot find the answers im looking for.

My wife and i are living in europe and she wants to buy land in thailand as part of a future plan.

We found land that we want on a banks website and last time we were in thailand we visited the bank ,got the papers and went for a look.we told the bank we were interested and wanted to buy ,but some problems in the bank prevented sale at that time .

Since then my wife has kept in touch with the bank and the land is now for sale .

They told my wife to bring in 10,000baht with her firm offer(which is the banks asking price anyway),and they would inform the head office.

As we are not in thailand ,we faxed my wifes details to the bank and today her sister went in with the 10,000 baht.

We are now told that in another week we must bring to the bank a further 10%,of the full purchase price if our offer is accepted and then in 45 days to pay the full balance.

This is what cracks me up ,we were not told this ,and still have not been told the exact procedure.

Is there a standard set of rules for this type of deal?

What is the usual timeframe for this?

When does the deal close and is it in the banks office or the land registry office.

Where are the taxes paid?

Is payment to the bank and reristration in my wifes name two seperate events?

Do i have to be present at the land office to declare that the money is my wifes and i have no claim on the land?

I dont want thave to travel to thailand just to do this,is it possible that i can sign a form at some embassy or consulate and if so would the have to subsequently have to be officially legalised at cheang wattana before presentation at the land registry office?

Im sorry to ask so many questions but as many of you will know its hard to get info and ive found that you are only told what will answer your immediate question.You dont get the whole story at once.

So im trying to understand what is happening coming from the bank via my sister in law and my wife aaaarrrrgggghhh!!!

What worries me is that ive heard that banks can make up the rules as they go along,or is that better as you can arrange your own deal and time frame.

I dont want my wife to end up going to the bank to find that she missed a "contract date" that changed !

Yes my wife is thai and so is her sister.

My sister in law is about to have a baby and i dont want to ask her to do to much ,i was hoping some of the regs here who have been thru this process would have an idea of the time involved to complete the puchase and what ther experiences were with 1: bank,2; Land registry office.

my wife knows people who work in the land office and feels that we wont have problems there .

my big concern is that i dont want to have to go back to thailand just to sign a form stating i have no interest in the land my wife is buying .

i would hope that she can go alone to complete the dael

Hi guys i know this topic has been discussed and ive searched but cannot find the answers im looking for.

My wife and i are living in europe and she wants to buy land in thailand as part of a future plan.

We found land that we want on a banks website and last time we were in thailand we visited the bank ,got the papers and went for a look.we told the bank we were interested and wanted to buy ,but some problems in the bank prevented sale at that time .

Since then my wife has kept in touch with the bank and the land is now for sale .

They told my wife to bring in 10,000baht with her firm offer(which is the banks asking price anyway),and they would inform the head office.

As we are not in thailand ,we faxed my wifes details to the bank and today her sister went in with the 10,000 baht.

We are now told that in another week we must bring to the bank a further 10%,of the full purchase price if our offer is accepted and then in 45 days to pay the full balance.

This is what cracks me up ,we were not told this ,and still have not been told the exact procedure.

Is there a standard set of rules for this type of deal?

What is the usual timeframe for this?

When does the deal close and is it in the banks office or the land registry office.

Where are the taxes paid?

Is payment to the bank and reristration in my wifes name two seperate events?

Do i have to be present at the land office to declare that the money is my wifes and i have no claim on the land?

I dont want thave to travel to thailand just to do this,is it possible that i can sign a form at some embassy or consulate and if so would the have to subsequently have to be officially legalised at cheang wattana before presentation at the land registry office?

Im sorry to ask so many questions but as many of you will know its hard to get info and ive found that you are only told what will answer your immediate question.You dont get the whole story at once.

So im trying to understand what is happening coming from the bank via my sister in law and my wife aaaarrrrgggghhh!!!

What worries me is that ive heard that banks can make up the rules as they go along,or is that better as you can arrange your own deal and time frame.

I dont want my wife to end up going to the bank to find that she missed a "contract date" that changed !

Hi,

I hear a lot about the 30 baht health care system but i think i am right in thinking that people posting here dont actually use the system.

Do you know what you get for 30 baht?

Very little ,usually 10 paracetamol tablets ,whatever your ailment.

The system is so bad that most poor thais will scrape together 100-200 baht and go to a clinic(usually the private business of a govenment doctor) and get real treatment.

It seems that like a lot of things in Thailand,30 baht health care is another illusion,but looks good as an election topic.

My info comes from my wifes sister who lives up country and has no faith in the 30 baht system.